Bank of America, Saxon to Settle on Wrongful Military Foreclosures
Asserting that “the men and women who serve our nation in the armed forces deserve, at the very least, to know that they will not have their homes taken from them wrongfully,” the U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement with Bank of America and Saxon Mortgage that will require BofA to pay $20 million to resolve the lawsuit and Saxon Mortgage Services to pay $2.35 million [1]. Both lenders will also compensate military members who were wrongfully foreclosed on during active duty and provide employees with additional SCRA training to help prevent future mistakes.
Only a federal court can authorize a foreclosure on an active duty military family serving in the Iraq/Afghanistan area [2]. Neither lender notified the military or state courts about foreclosure actions. Both lenders will reimburse families in addition to paying fines and have promised to “inspect bank records of any other active duty military families affected by the corporations’ illegal actions.” Not surprisingly, much of BofA’s troubles in this settlement stem from Countrywide violations. BofA acquired Countrywide in late 2008.
Do you think this settlement will benefit military members or is it too little too late?
