Social Apocalypse

KABOOOOM! WA SUPREME COURT DECISION in TRUJILLO!!

This is good news! We all knew this was going on, but finally the courts are starting to get it.  The foreclosure mill "Trustees" are cutting corners, ALWAYS in the banks favor, and running for the foreclosure sale so they can get paid and keep their "Clients" happy.

This has been a long time coming, and the significance of this ruling will become even more apparent in the weeks to come! Stay tuned!

Following our recent decision in Lyons v. U.S. Bank National Ass 'n, 181
Wn.2d 775, 336 P.3d 1142 (2014), we hold that a trustee cannot rely on a beneficiary
declaration containing such ambiguous alternative language. Trujillo therefore
alleged facts sufficient to show that NWTS breached the DT A and also to show that
that breach could support the elements of a Consumer Protection Act (CPA) claim.
Ch. 19.86 RCW. However, her allegations do not support a claim for intentional
infliction of emotional distress or criminal profiteering. We therefore reverse in part
and remand for trial.

Download WA SupremeCt TRUJILLO v NWTS, WF_2015-08-20

WA. State A.G. Amicus In Support Of Borrower v. Foreclosure Mill Trustee NWTS

BRAVO Washington State Attorney General Rob Ferguson!

It is with great appreciation and optimism that I present to you evidence <see below> that our AG is paying attention.  I am grateful to Mr. Ferguson for taking on this very distasteful and long-overdue issue: Northwest Trustee Services routinely steamrolls borrowers who attempt to intervene in their wrongful foreclosure using statutory "safe havens" by twisting the words that are in them.  

Our Deed of Trust Act (You can read it HERE) was created primarily to facilitate a fair and legal process for non-judicial foreclosure to take place so that the rights of both the creditor AND THE BORROWER were protected from harm and corruption. 

We have a long way to go.  Please share this outstanding example of a regulator doing something that needs to be done.  

Additional gratitude to the attorneys for justice listed.  They are not making millions doing this work, and they are even getting SUED by the Trustee's law firms for even trying to defend homeowner's. Yes, it's true. GOD BLESS THEM for their fearless dedication to restoring justice.  Nobody is trying to get a free house here, we are just trying to fight for the right to pay what we owe for it.

Please read the following Amicus and related documents and understand the underlying recurring issue: Trustees skirting their responsibilities and not being the impartial party they are supposed to be .  We always seem to see the same names on these matters, don't we?

Download StateAmicusBriefTrujillo_v_NWTS2015-05-08

Download AmicusDecServState2015-05-08

 

@AGOWA Open Letter To Attorney General of Washington State

Dear Honorable Attorney General Ferguson;

First: A heartfelt THANK YOU for your recent Amicus regarding foreclosure trustee culpability in the Washington Deed of Trust Act! The citizens of this State that are paying attention are immensely gratified when we see evidence that not everyone is corrupt in government. Thank you for this:  Download StateAmicusBriefTrujillo_v_NWTS2015-05-08

There is more to do.

We have submitted the below information to your office in the form of a formal complaint and look forward to reaching a resolution, and will share it here when it happens.

We are presenting the the following disturbing case for consideration by the public at large so as to display a typical, chronic violation under your supervision that is happening in Washington State.  

The violation that we are referring to is TRUSTEE MISCONDUCT, and in our state, it is rampant. We are well aware that your office is inundated with these complaints. It is unclear why we are not seeing any evidence of regulation or enforcement action with regard to these trustees.  Is this because all of the complaints coming into your office are of no merit?  Is it because you don't think there is a problem?  We respectfully ask, what is the reason?

For purposes of illustration of the flagrant disregard local trustees have for the Washington Deed of Trust Act, we present this ONE example that exists in our own case.  

For your convenience, I have linked to and displayed the relevant clause in the Act for review. MAYBE the trustees have forgotten? I bet that's it.  Well, it's YOUR duty to remind them. You are their regulator, and we ask for questions to be asked about behavior such as this.

Here is the relevant portion to this example being given:

RCW 61.24.010
Trustee, qualifications — Successor trustee.

 (3) The trustee or successor trustee shall have no fiduciary duty or fiduciary obligation to the grantor or other persons having an interest in the property subject to the deed of trust.

     (4) The trustee or successor trustee has a duty of good faith to the borrower, beneficiary, and grantor.

In a non-judicial foreclosure, it is well settled, that the foreclosure trustee is appointed to shepherd the borrower and the creditor through the turbulent process of separating a borrower from their home without troubling the Court system.  This is a viable, efficient idea on it's face. In an effort to assure that borrowers (or creditors) rights are not completely trampled in this process, the Deed of Trust Act was born, and it's mandates are quite clear and have been well-established in our court system.  This is where the AG comes in...

The focus of this particular issue is the Trustee's duty to impartiality.  The Trustee is NOT permitted to show preference to either the borrower or the Creditor in performing it's duties, it is a violation of the law.  Their job is, essentially, as "referee" to the process.  Just like in a basketball game. It is expected that a creditor can provide the Trustee with accurate information that will satisfy the Trustees duty to assure that a default that can trigger foreclosure has taken place.  Again, this is not just a "tradition' it is THE LAW.  As in Trujillo, and you concur in your Amicus Brief; the creditor's declaration, under penalty of perjury, is sufficient to empower the Trustee to take a borrower's home by force without the benevolent court room overseeing the activity.  We agree, as long as the trustee is performing their obligations according to the law, and they are not.

Now, it is also expected that if the creditor violates the borrower's legal rights as outlined in the Deed of Trust Act under "Requisites to A Trustee's Sale"then the Trustee MUST TAKE ACTION to protect the borrower's rights.  The relevant part of the statute is in BOLD:

It shall be requisite to a trustee's sale:

     
     (7)(a) That, for residential real property, before the notice of trustee's sale is recorded, transmitted, or served, the trustee shall have proof that the beneficiary is the owner of any promissory note or other obligation secured by the deed of trust. A declaration by the beneficiary made under the penalty of perjury stating that the beneficiary is the actual holder of the promissory note or other obligation secured by the deed of trust shall be sufficient proof as required under this subsection.

In our case, our mortgage was rescinded via TILA Rescission before the alleged beneficiary acquired it from whom we rescinded it.  We have spent the last 6 years, at huge cost, trying to convey to the courts what it means when a TILA Rescission is invoked.  Finally, we got a lot of help from no less than The Supreme Court Of The United States (USSC), who ruled on January 13, 2015 and made it crystal clear that we rescinded properly and yes, our note was voided by operation of law at that time.  That was in 2009. You can read about the USSC ruling in Jesinoski HERE Justice Scalia does a far better job than I in describing what TILA Rescission means.  

Back in 2012 (3 years after we rescinded, mind you), while we were in litigation with both the alleged creditor (PennyMac Loan Services, LLC) and the foreclosing trustee (Northwest Trustee Services, Inc.) to stop a wrongful foreclosure on a mortgage that was never in default, and to enforce our TILA Rescission, a new case ruling in the 9th Cir. Court created new (albeit erroneous) controlling precedent that said we did our rescission incorrectly.  That ruling was just reversed by the USSC. Of course, we do not expect the AG to be involved in this battle, we are seeking remedy in the courts as we should.

This is the relevant part that we request an answer to:

When this new case was ruled upon, discrediting our TILA Rescission, our creditor immediately moved for Summary Judgement (MSJ) in our case to invalidate our rescission.  This is not surprising, I would have done the same if I were them, and they prevailed.  But that's not the shocking part.  

The shocking part is that their PARTNER in the MSJ to kill our TILA Rescission was: Northwest Trustee Services. They BOTH filed the MSJ against us. This motion was separate and distinct from the foreclosure action and from the lawsuit we had filed. This motion simply asked the Court to rule that our TILA Rescission was time barred.  Why should NWTS have an interest in WHETHER our note was valid or not? WHY should they have a vested interest in the ability of the lender to foreclose? Why would they try to remove our ability to get remedy on a fraudulent mortgage? Therein lies your answer. THEY HAVE A VESTED INTEREST, and that is not lawful.  

Foreclosure is profitable, and that is the problem.  But I digress...

WHY is it legal for the Trustee to exert attorney expertise, collect attorney fees from us and contribute substantial legal might in an effort that is SOLELY to take away a right of remedy that Congress afforded us to protect ourselves from fraudulent lending through the Truth In Lending Act (to which the Trustees have no ties)??

IT'S NOT LEGAL.  The Trustee was exposed to NO LIABILITY from a Rescission Action and, as they continue to state, they "have no say in matters in loan origination" yet they are in it up to their neck trying to prevent us from litigating our loan's origination. Their support to the alleged creditor in this case is a direct and strong influence over this case, and that is unlawful.  They should have to explain why they care that our mortgage was rescinded.  They are the Trustee, the details of our mortgage do not involve them, but they are very involved in it's litigation.

This is so fundamental to the problem we have in this state.  Creditors are not having any problem taking homes in foreclosure. Some are justified, some are not.  They do NOT NEED, nor are they entitled, to the aid and support of foreclosure trustees. This is illegal, yet it happens constantly. It's happening to us.  A borrower's ability to fight a wrongful foreclosure is greatly reduced by the sheer impenetrability of the legal force that is unleashed on them if they even try.

The overwhelming majority of these foreclosures are not contested because it takes a lot of tenacity, heart, courage, and mostly CASH (tens of thousands of dollars) to attempt to fight a wrongful foreclosure. The Courts are incredibly jaundiced (probably from the sheer monotony of the "whining" of borrowers filing through their courtrooms) and it takes a sledgehammer to the head to get the Judge to even READ the lawsuit and contemplate it's meaning.  Foreclosure defense attorneys, the few that are actually TRYING to help people, are sleepless and overworked and have soup lines of borrowers begging for help against these behemoths.  You can help restore justice in non-judicial foreclosure actions. There is flagrant, unapologetic malfeasance in our foreclosure trustee gravy-train.  They are flourishing in their garden of amnesty.

As our Attorney General, this falls in your front yard.  You are the one who is responsible for calling foul when this occurs.  If you don't give speeding tickets, people will speed.  Please start enforcing the law. We know that these trustees attend your shrimp feeds and fund raisers and so much more. It's difficult not to see an intentional unwillingness to enforce when complaints are closed within 1 day of filing them with a polite form letter saying, "thanks for your complaint, there's nothing to see here", and reports of  blatant malfeasance are ignored.   I am sure that is not the case, because that would be ugly indeed.

On behalf of all of the citizens of this state who have suffered at the hands of these illegal tactics, we demand  an investigation in which names are named and results are shared publicly.  The Trustees appear to be unregulated.  Stopping in at their offices and shaking your finger at them IS NOT WORKING.  They have a giggle fest the moment the door closes at your back.  You must ACT in such a way that the behavior STOPS and then we the public feel secure that our interests are being considered by the person we elected to consider them.

Thank you and we look forward to press releases of enforcement actions, because we know they are making some illegal mistakes and creating new victims every Friday at foreclosure auctions across our State.

@AGOWA: Your Continued Tolerance Of Corruption In Your Foreclosure Trustees Is Inexcusable

We have a huge problem in Washington State and our Attorney General must take notice.

Washington State is home to one of the largest foreclosure mills in the nation: Routh Crabtree and Olsen and Northwest Trustee Services and their "family of companies". A true FACTORY of foreclosure efficiency.  The herculean size and scope of this highly integrated machine is not to be believed.  The endeavors of this group of companies  is kept firmly beneath the radar of most of the media most of the time, but if you have suffered the ministrations of this monstrosity personally, you will know exactly of which I speak.  It is a rabid, voracious consumer of property rights for not just homeowner's in Washington State who have the misfortune to have a mortgage, but in 15 other states as well. This is a conglomerate the likes of which people cannot easily comprehend.

Before I share with you the horror that this FORECLOSURE HYDRA has wrought upon thousands of people in our state, I offer full disclosure of my position:

I am NOT an "Anti-foreclosure Evangelist".  I am not a hater of banks in general. I feel very strongly that foreclosure is an unpleasant, but necessary part of the process of loaning people money to own their home.  Sometimes people don't hold up their end of the deal. The bank needs to recover it's losses and unfortunately, sometimes (SOMETIMES!) foreclosure is the only way.  Usually not, but sometimes.

Banks are not charities. They are profit-driven businesses and should be allowed to make a profit. It's a great thing that a company will hand someone a LOT of money to own their own home. They should make money doing it.  Their interests should be protected.  People should be held accountable for keeping their promises to repay the loans as agreed, and if they do not and will not, then the house that is the collateral of the agreement should be sold to repay the debt. Pretty simple.

You will not see me marching in front of a bank executive's home with a sign protesting the evils of his company. You will not see me picketing in front of a borrower's house to stop the auction that is about to occur to take his home away.  These are futile efforts in my opinion. They are noble, and well-intended, but they are a hopeless game of "whack-a-mole" that will do NOTHING to prevent the ongoing abuse of borrower's who did everything right and are getting screwed by the system.  It's like putting out a house fire with a squirt gun. It won't work. These guys answer to no one.

For some reason, when complaints are filed, when lawsuits are brought they disappear into some great maw at our Top Cop's office, and this MUST STOP. No more letters saying, "We were unable to find a problem." "We were unable to document your complaint." These impotent responses are shameful and outrageous, enforcement is long over due. There is no time to lose, foreclosures are going to start ramping up again, and the principles of our "Trustees" are already shopping for a new airplane. 

Any parent knows that having disciplined children is directly connected to enforcement of rules.  A simple analogy, but perfectly appropriate. If cops never wrote tickets on the freeway, how many people do you really think would drive a safe speed? Not many.  Without fear of repercussions, greed and lawlessness would overtake any aspect of our society. Foreclosure is no different, and there is a grotesque lack of oversight and enforcement of even our most basic and important laws. When will it end? When the Attorney General HIMSELF gets wrongfully foreclosed on? Probably. Then he will understand that not ALL borrowers can be heaped into the "deadbeat bucket" that is so handily proffered by the foreclosure mills in this state.  Not everyone is a "deadbeat". Sometimes they don't have tens of thousands of dollars to throw at the lawsuit they must wage that will likely NOT stop the foreclosure anyway. IT IS OUT OF CONTROL.

WE MUST END THIS CORRUPTION! 

It doesn't mean that we will stop foreclosures. It doesn't mean that people will get "free houses". It simply means that, as I say over and over again: Foreclosure should not be able to be initiated, facilitated, perpetuated or adjudicated by ANY entity who PROFITS from it. Period.

Judges cannot own bail bonds companies.  
Foreclosure Trustees must NOT be owned and governed by people who profit from the SALE of the home. I know, it seems like common sense, doesn't it? 

It's worse than you think. Northwest Trustee Services is part of a "Family of Companies" (their own term) that handles (and bills the borrower and bank) for all phases of foreclosure. They (the principles) own the process server who delivers the notices on the houses, they own the publication companies where the required legal notice is published, they own the title company that offers title to the bidders at auctions, they own the law firm that makes all decisions and defends BOTH the bank and the Trustee in disputes, and more.  It is truly a FORECLOSURE MILL of high efficiency and high capacity. It is also highly ILLEGAL and against our Deed of Trust Act. They also own a few of our Representatives, but more on that later.

These firms spend big lobby dollars keeping their skids greased. They recently won yet another victory in that now the law says that a foreclosure trustee cannot be held liable for violations of the Deed of Trust Act and other violations until AFTER THE HOUSE IS SOLD!  It's not a mystery why they wanted this. To borrow my attorney's analogy, this is like being repeatedly raped and being told that you don't have any damages because you didn't get pregnant! Their game plan is simple: litigate and harass the borrower until they run out of money, and be free from worry of liability. Recently, one of them sued a borrower's attorney for litigating against them because he said they "were in the public interest". REALLY? HE SUED THE BORROWER FOR DEFENDING THEMSELVES!

When our own wrongful foreclosure started 5 years ago, in our naive attempt to enlighten the "Trustee" as to why it was in error, we were answered by the "Law firm" of the "Trustee" Routh Crabtree and Olsen. The attorney, Joshua Schaer, who works for Routh Crabtree and Olsen, informed us that he asked the lender if there was a problem, they said "No" and so he would continue the foreclosure as scheduled. Isn't that a little like the referee in a basketball game saying, "Well, I will ask the other team if you fouled them or not."?  Later, when we filed suit, our lawsuit was answered by the attorney for the LENDER, you guessed it: Joshua Schaer. Does that seem OK to you?  I felt like the lady who got a speeding ticket from Andy Griffith, and demanded to see the Judge. When I appeared at the Justice of the Peace, Andy Griffith was sitting there and flipped his name plate over to say "Justice of the Peace". That's when I knew, this game is rigged.

When a borrower is served with a non-judicial notice of foreclosure, it sets in motion a chain of events that will culminate in the loss of his home.  Non-judicial foreclosure means what is says: A judge will never see it.  It happens under the scrutiny and oversight of a "Trustee" who is sworn to protect the rights of BOTH the borrower and the lender.  BOTH of them EQUALLY.  Nothing could be further from the truth in Washington State, and this lies at the feet of our Attorney General.  The Trustees in Washington who share the same building as the foreclosure mill law firm are completely captured by the lenders. Borrowers are effectively incapable of stopping a foreclosure sale without costly intervention by an attorney who files a lawsuit.  Not only must a lawsuit be filed, it must be done QUICKLY.  Have you hired an attorney lately? It ain't cheap. It definitely is out of reach for most borrowers. Don't start telling me about "free help" either. Free help is about as good as it sounds. Not much help, and greatly under-staffed and under-funded. Most of them are not litigators, they help you apply for a loan modification. What about if you are being wrongfully foreclosed upon? Too bad.

Many lawsuits have been filed to exploit the undeniably obvious conflict of interest that exists within our stable of "Trustees" in this state, but nothing ever really changes.  They flagrantly skirt the law and once in a while get their hand slapped, but the conveyor belt of foreclosures never skips a beat. Borrowers are churned through the machine at a profitably rapid clip, whether they deserve it or not, and rare is the time when one can escape.  The goal of these trustees: SELL THE HOUSE. Whatever it takes, get it sold. That's what they are paid for. That is why the lenders call them out, the "Bouncers" of the mortgage world. They get a flat fee to get the house SOLD, not to oversee a "foreclosure action", not to make sure everything is as it should be, just SELL THE HOUSE.

I speak on behalf of all Citizens of this State who are outraged at the lack of oversight of our foreclosure trustees by the Attorney General. We watch as these vermin try to change our Deed of Trust act to "loosen up" the standards by which they can take someone's home to make it EVEN EASIER!  Where is our Attorney General?

It is absolutely easy to take someone's home who isn't making their payments. We don't need it to be any easier. Our Deed of Trust Act is all it needs to be, if IT IS ENFORCED!

Mr. Ferguson, we humbly implore you to start enforcing the law. WRONGFUL foreclosures should NOT be happening and borrowers should not have to go through what they do to stop them. The deck is completely stacked against them.  If a foreclosure is warranted, enforcing the law is not going to change anything, but when a foreclosure is wrongful, borrowers need to be able to appeal to a NEUTRAL party to make a determination, that is what our Deed of Trust Act says, but that is NOT what exists in your state. There is a reason why corrupt lenders call these "pit bull Trustees" to get this job done for them.  They are the "hit men" of foreclosure.  

Finally, it is discriminatory to create or foster an environment where only borrowers with a lot of ready cash can fight a wrongful foreclosure, but that is exactly  how it is. You know very well, as do your citizens, that all of the "programs" to help borrowers have failed completely, again, because there is NO ENFORCEMENT.  Please avail yourself of what is actually happening. Talk to local attorneys who oppose these companies in court, and learn the truth about what is going on.  It's a holocaust of corruption in Washington State, and it's YOUR JOB to put a stop to it. Please stop asking Routh Crabtree and Olsen if they are corrupt.  Seek another opinion. Stop in at Northwest Trustee Services and ask yourself how this tiny office can handle the volumes of foreclosures they process every month.  Take the elevator up to the 3rd floor. THAT is your "Trustee".

Will you please investigate them in earnest? We don't need more foreclosures. We don't need easier foreclosures. We need enforcement.

The preceding blog post is my personal opinion, and the opinion of a great many others in my acquaintance and is offered as such.  Thanks for stopping by, I invite your comments and contact.  

VIDEO: @KING5Seattle, Correct Your Story: Bank Break-Ins ARE Illegal In Washington State!

It's not helpful when the news channels do not report accurate information, especially when it impacts our society's most vulnerable.

In the below letter, Seattle Attorney Ha Dao of Grand Central Law contacted King5 News in Seattle to correct them on the erroneous information in their recent news story on bank break-ins occurring all over the state.  Ms. Dao is one of a painfully small group of consumer protection attorneys that truly care and advocate on behalf of consumers of all walks of life.  Nothing could be more noble and honorable than "doing the right thing" she does every day, and nothing could be more American than protecting the rights of all Americans, regardless of their situation in life.

King5 Follow Up on Unlawful Foreclosure with Attorney Ha Dao on RCW 7.28.230(1)

 

  

Thank you Ha Dao for being a tireless advocate for those who have found themselves a victim of a corrupt system of justice that needs the REAL attention of our Legislators and Attorney General. If it ever happens, I will be glad to report it here... Until then, we will never give up.  Ha Dao is a Consumer Protection HERO. 

Ms Dao's Letter:

"Mr. Ingalls. I came across your story concerning banks' break-ins and would like to inform you that existing Washington laws DO prohibit such conduct. RCW 7.28. 230(1) provides: 

“A mortgage of any interest in real property shall not be deemed a conveyance so as to enable the owner of the mortgage to recover possession of the real property, without a foreclosure and sale according to law[.]”

A mortgagee does not gain any greater right to possession simply because the mortgagor defaults on the underlying obligation. Howard v. Edgren, 62 Wn.2d 884, 385 P.2d 41 (1963) (A borrower does not lose his right to possession of mortgaged real property by failing to make payments on the mortgage, or by moving out of the community); Northern Pac. Ry. Co. v. Tacoma Junk Co. (1926), 138 Wash. 1, 5, 244 P. 117, 119; Cameron v. Bustard (1922), 119 Wash. 266, 205 P. 385 (The right of possession is not lost because of abandonment).

Once trespasser status is determined, Washington law, RCW 4.24.630 allows the plaintiff to recover treble damages, attorneys fees and costs.

Because creditors have at their disposal an efficient and inexpensive method to foreclose and take possession, post-foreclosure, using the Unlawful Detainer statute, they cannot rely on self-help methods. If a mortgagee wrongfully seizes possession of the land, he becomes a trespasser. Howard v. Edgren, 62 Wn.2d at 886.

​​​Your viewers should be well-advised that our State provides broader protection to its citizens regarding one's possessory right of real property, whether as a homeowner, or as a tenant, prior to the completion of the necessary legal proceedings of foreclosure or eviction.

The public would be well-served to know that banks' repossession of a home before foreclosure is illegal, even if the owner defaulted or abandoned. Information to the contrary will likely discourage victims of this horrific behavior to seek help. I would implore you to review the cited statutory provisions and case law as they relate to the issues being reported by your program and as they set Washington apart from other states where no such laws exist.

Thank you for your public service.

--
Ha Thu Dao, Esq.

The Story that Ms. Dao References can be seen here: CLICK HERE