Friday, April 08, 2011

Bank of America Asks Judge to Throw Out Loan Modification Case

April 8 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp., accused in a lawsuit of violating obligations to homeowners seeking to modify mortgage loans and avoid foreclosure, asked a federal judge to throw the case out.


Borrowers say the bank “systematically failed” to comply with a U.S. government program aimed at stemming foreclosures and violated contracts for modifying loans, according to a complaint in federal court in Boston that consolidates cases from across the country.

Bank of America, the biggest U.S. lender by assets, asked U.S. District Judge Rya Zobel at a hearing yesterday to dismiss the complaint. The bank argues that not all homeowners are eligible for inclusion in the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, and that it isn’t required to permanently modify all loans that are eligible.

“The bank is constantly working on the process, and the Treasury is breathing down its neck to make the process better,” said James McGarry, a lawyer for the bank.

The complaint consolidates 26 lawsuits from around the country with another 10 to be added, Gary Klein, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an interview. If Zobel dismisses the complaint, all the lawsuits would be thrown out, Klein said after the hearing.

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