By Daily Mail Reporter
8th January 2011
Foreclosures in the U.S. have been plunged into doubt after a court voided the seizure of two homes in what could prove a key ruling.
Bank shares fell, dragging down markets, after the decision by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusett against Wells Fargo & Co and US Bancorp.
Judges decided their seizure of two homes was void because they had failed to show they held the mortgages at the time of foreclosure.
The court case is among the earliest to address the validity of foreclosures conducted without full documentation.
Blocked: Wells Fargo & Co and US Bancorp lost a court case over the foreclosures on two properties
The issue prompted an uproar last year and led to lenders including Bank of American and JP Morgan temporarily stopping seizing homes.
Courts in other U.S. states are considering similar cases, and all 50 state attorneys general are examining whether lenders are forcing people out of their homes improperly.
The decision may also threaten banks' ability to package mortgages into securities, including whether loans that were transferred improperly might need to be bought back.
Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp lacked authority to foreclose after having 'failed to make the required showing that they were the holders of the mortgages at the time of foreclosure,' Justice Ralph Gants wrote for a unanimous court.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1345295/Foreclosure-chaos-US-court-voids-banks-seizure-homes-lax-mortgage-paperwork.html#ixzz1B7FkZYOY
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