JPMorgan Chase Mortgage Fraud Class Action Lawsuit Continues
By Matt O'Donnell
A
federal judge has ruled that JPMorgan Chase must face a class action
lawsuit that claims it defrauded New Jersey residents who applied for
the Home Affordable Mortgage Program, a federal program designed to help
homeowners in danger of defaulting on their homes.
Chase
opted into HAMP through Fannie Mae shortly after the plan was
implemented in 2009. The plan is designed to lower homeowners' monthly
mortgage payments to sustainable levels, but New Jersey homeowners say
they never got the benefits of the program. Instead, they say, Chase
took the federal money designed to bail out homeowners and
systematically rejected HAMP applications based on false claims that
homeowners did not provide the appropriate documentation, even though
many homeowners claim they did.
Lead
Plaintiff Johny Thomas claims in the JPMorgan Chase mortgage fraud
class action lawsuit that in October 2009, he and his wife were
struggling on their home mortgage loan and requested a HAMP
modification. Later than month, he claims Chase sent them a letter
telling them they were eligible, but that they should sign up and pay
for a trial-period plan.
Thomas
says he and his wife made these trial payments for about six months,
until they received a letter from Chase stating their application was
declined because it did not meet an unspecified requirement, even though
Thomas says he met all the requirements necessary. Chase then refused
to apply several of the payments Thomas made before foreclosing on their
home on August 2, 2010.
A
second Plaintiff, Johnny Fields, makes the same allegations in the
Chase HAMP class action lawsuit, saying that, just like Thomas, he
applied for a HAMP modification on his mortgage in December 2009 and
made trial payments. Just as in Thomas's case, Chase eventually declined
his application, citing inadequate documents, which Fields says he
field. A year later Chase sent him a notice of intent to foreclose.
Thomas
and fields filed separate class action lawsuits but later joined forces
in a consolidated case against JPMorgan Chase in February, charging 10
separate claims. Last week, U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin
dismissed eight of them, but ruled that JPMorgan Chase must stand trial
for counts of violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and engaging
in negligent misrepresentation.
The JPMorgan Chase Mortgage Fraud Class Action Lawsuit case is Johny Thomas and Johnny Fields, et al. v. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Chase Home Finance, LLC, Case No. 10-cv-08993, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.
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