News on U.S. government agencies, U.S. politics, companies doing business with U.S. federal government. Read U.S. national and local news. This site is not affiliated with United States Government.
Pam Ragland tells her story about the unlawful actions of US Bank in forging her mortgage documents
(USGovernment-News.Com, March 06, 2013 ) Rancho Santa Margarita, CA -- If the only way to get justice is to “bring the Wall Street Banks to trial,” as Senator Elizabeth Warren stated recently in her now infamous Congressional Hearing videos that have gone viral on YouTube — then single mom Pam Ragland is doing her part to bring US Bank (U.S. Bancorp, N.A.) to justice. When Ragland started her “David vs. Goliath” battle with US Bank more than four years ago, she had no idea her landmark case would pave the way for possibly millions of homeowners to fight their own wrongful foreclosures, or to stop their foreclosure in its tracks.
On Monday, February 25th, US Bank lost another of many repeated attempts to block Ragland from getting justice. After Ragland won her CA appeal on 9/11/2012, US Bank tried to get the case reclassified to a “Limited Civil Jurisdiction.” This move would have limited their damages to $25,000 or less. In cases like Ragland’s, attorneys fees alone can easily be triple that amount or more. Orange County, CA Superior Court Judge Gregory Lewis denied US Bank’s motion, using the court’s ability to exercise discretion in Ragland’s case, among other points.
Ironically, Judge Lewis is the same judge who denied Ragland’s preliminary injunction in 2008, paving the way for US Bank to sell Ragland’s home. Fortunately for Ragland, things have changed since then, including winning her appeal -- which Judge Lewis has since used to grant others injunctions to stop their foreclosure sales. Ragland’s home was sold in 2008 during a restraining order waiting period, which US Bank admitted knowing about at the time. “US Bank illegally sold my home of 19 years, with equity, during a restraining order waiting period. When my attorney called to tell them the sale was illegal, they said ‘I know’. I was shocked, and in that moment I knew they felt they were above the law, and had probably gotten away with this before”, says Ragland.
Ragland was served eviction papers on Christmas Eve -- for a home the CA Appeals Court ruled US Bank sold prematurely. In 2009 her family was in fact forcibly evicted from their home. The eviction caused considerable emotional trauma to Ragland’s family. Her son, then 6, suddenly began displaying behavior and learning issues in school. She later found out he is autistic, and the sudden change was especially traumatic for him. Her 71 year old live in nanny, who was more like a grandma to her kids, left for fear of being homeless – further traumatizing her children and leaving Ragland without childcare while she worked to support her family. Ragland was forced to move to a smaller home, displacing many of her family’s belongings in the process. The family lost nearly all their lifelong neighborhood friends, who were shocked by the sudden eviction.
About PamRagland.com:
Ragland sued US Bank and lost a Summary Judgment in 2010, barring her from continuing her lawsuit. She then appealed in the CA Appeals Court. Ragland V US Bank set multiple historical precedents — including allowing people to sue for such common occurrences as telling people not to pay their payments to modify their loan, and refusing to accept loan payments once a homeowner fell behind. Ragland’s case revealed there can be hidden forgeries many homeowners may not even realize could exist in their loan. The statute of limitations on fraud doesn’t start until a mortgagee discovers the forgery — regardless of when the loan originated. Before now, homeowners either didn’t realize they had legal recourse, or had lost in courts previously ignorant to the illegal activities of the banks. With Ragland’s appeal victory and subsequent win against the motion to limit the bank’s damages, the tide seems to be changing.
The original lawsuit started when US Bank / Downey told Ragland not to pay her payments while they investigated her confirmed loan forgeries. “I found those forgeries by a fluke. Most people don’t even know this may have happened to them”, Ragland explained, continuing with “I hired a handwriting expert. It turns out my loan was swapped for one of those toxic variable rate loans without my knowledge.” Based on multiple reports she has since learned forgery on mortgage documents is a common occurrence. This area of loan origination fraud since the Foreclosure Crisis began hasn’t been well known. Many homeowners may not even suspect it.
“My case opens up a whole can of worms the banks don’t want exposed. In January, they made a deal with the OCC (who oversees the US banks), to settle many wrongful foreclosures. Some families may get as little as $800 even though they could be entitled to sue for millions. Every loan since 1999 is suspect and should be checked for forgery before accepting ANYTHING.” stated Ragland.
If a homeowner facing foreclosure hasn’t lost their home yet, they may be able to cite Ragland V US Bank to fight the foreclosure. If they have been foreclosed on and evicted, they may be able to use Ragland’s case to sue for substantial damages. Ragland has set up a website to help other homeowners at http://www.RaglandVUSBank.com. Her full appeal ruling is available there.
We are pleased to offer you this exciting, new, and entirely free professional resource. Visit our Free Industry resource center today to browse our selection of 600+ complimentary Industry magazines, white papers, webinars, podcasts, and more. Get popular titles including:
