Inside Foreclosure Litigation
Borrowers in two states have gone to federal court to secure their piece of the government's loan modification program. In two more states, servicers are defending their right to use a third party to file foreclosures. Meanwhile, as a U.S. congresswoman calls for more lawsuits against lenders, two law firms are vowing to throw more litigation at mortgage servicers.

A class action filed in Minnesota federal court against U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and several servicers has been dismissed. The case alleges that the plaintiffs were denied access to the Home Affordable Modification Program. A motion for a preliminary injunction was denied.

The lead plaintiff, Nichole Williams, financed a home purchase in 2004 and refinanced the loan in 2007.
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States Battle Foreclosure Firms
Texas and Florida are taking foreclosure firms to court. But a Nevada law firm has filed a lawsuit against state regulators over suggestions that its staff is not qualified to help borrowers who are facing foreclosure.

Firm Abandons Mortgage Lending for Energy
An Indiana-based firm is closing its mortgage originations business to focus on energy in the Middle East. More than 100 loss-mitigation employees are impacted from the decision.

Mortgage Litigation Activity Tumbles
Firms that collected up-front fees for loan modifications pushed modification-related litigation to the forefront of the Third Quarter Mortgage Litigation Report from MortgageDaily.com. But overall mortgage litigation slowed significantly.

American Home Settles With Mass.
American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc. has reached a settlement with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Saxon, Citi & GMAC Score Well on HAMP
Saxon Mortgage Services Inc. received the highest grade from the Obama administration for its performance on the Home Affordable Modification Program. But some other servicers are touting their own HAMP performance.

American Home v. Ohio AG v. American Home
American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc. and Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray are suing each other allegations of poor servicing practices.

HAMP Good News, Bad News
Two firms are reporting exceptional performance in helping servicers offer, process and complete loan modifications under the Home Affordable Modification Program. But even after completion, many modifications may still fail.

Special Servicer Sees Success A Texas-based servicer of distressed mortgages that launched only late last year expects to hire more than 100 employees during the next 12 months. The high-touch servicer is seeing big success with its modifications -- which are re-defaulting are a far lower rate than the rest of the industry.

Mortgage Bankers Meet in San Diego The nation's mortgage bankers are converging this week in Southern California for their annual shin dig. Other upcoming mortgage-related events include a workshop for government modifications, two events exclusively for chief executives and a conference in Las Vegas.