A collection documentation task force has been created by Ballard Spahr to assist clients in verifying that they have the proper mortgage-related documents during the foreclosure process.
Ever since the robo-signing scandal that took place in October 2010 where banks and servicers were accused of signing hundreds or thousands of foreclosure documents a day without reviewing their accuracy, there has been more scrutiny put on lender-services to collect and process the right credit cards, student loans and other types of consumer debts.
The task force is composed of lawyers from the Philadelphia-based firms consumer financial services group who have experience defending mortgage lenders in documentation-related lawsuits nationwide and regulatory lawyers with extensive knowledge of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s national bank foreclosure review process.
“We have already begun to see, and defend against, lawsuits attacking collection documentation used by non-mortgage lenders, and there is growing interest by governmental agencies and consumer advocacy groups in this issue,” said Christopher Willis, chair of the collection documentation task force at Ballard Spahr. “Our experience on both the regulatory and litigation side enables to help clients avoid documentation problems and effectively defend claims by private plaintiffs and government agencies.”
Other attorneys joining Willis on the task force are Martin Bryce, Jr., Burt Rublin, Michael Waldron, Mercedes Tunstall, Stefanie Jackman, and Daniel McKenna.
Members of the task force have already started educating clients on issues relating to resolving any errors during the default foreclosure process by hosting webinars. Two webinars that have been conducted informed clients about the potential transfer of mortgage documentation attacks into non-mortgage collections and discussed preventive measures and leading practices for non-mortgage lenders and debt collectors to help reduce documentation problems.
“Because the examination of documentation relating to non-mortgage collections is just beginning, we believe that much of the risk can be mitigated and controlled by conducting risk assessments with our clients to identify and resolve any issues with collection documentation,” said Alan Kaplinsky, the head of the consumer financial services group at Ballard Spahr.
