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Delaware County Judge Denies Bank’s Objections

April 5, 2013 By

I represent homeowners in Delaware County who are faced with a foreclosure lawsuit. I filed an answer to the bank’s lawsuit, and I raised various defenses to the action. The kinds of defenses in this case are that the bank is not the true owner of the Note and that my clients were victims of bait and switch tactics. For instance, on the day of settlement, the interest rate went from what was promised, at 6%, up to 8.5%. In addition, the originating lender increased the mortgage balance by lumping many of my client’s other debts (credit card bills and medical bills) into the mortgage loan, even though my clients weren’t given advanced warning of that.

The loan is allegedly owned by banking giant, Deutsche Bank, because it is the trustee of the mortgage trust that claims to own the loan. When my clients were sued, I answered in court filings that the bank engaged bait and switch and predatory practices. The banks’ lawyers filed objections to my court papers claiming that the defenses were not relevant to the actions since, in their view, all of the paperwork was in order and my clients knowingly signed onto the mortgage loan. The Delaware County trial Judge denied the bank’s objections ordered that the bank must now respond to my allegations. This was a bitterly contested motion and I am glad that we prevailed on this aspect of the case. A trial date has not yet been set.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or call our office location in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100, or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense Tagged With: , , ,

Safety Takes A Back Seat in Tough Economic Times

April 3, 2013 By

No one can doubt the difficult economic times that we all face. Businesses are also faced with belt tightening that affects both consumers and employees.

Countless studies have shown that when companies face difficult economic obstacles, one of the first measures to be cut is safety. Unfortunately, companies often believe that since safety is not a money producing venture, it can take a back seat to their employees and consumers well being. At Shaffer & Gaier, we have handled several cases where products did not go through the vigorous testing they should have done because the companies were trying to save money toward their bottom line. When these defective products caused injury, it was clear that if the companies had gone through their normal paces, the defects of the products would have been avoided. In addition, we have also had experiences with construction accidents where construction companies have placed their workers at risk by failing to adhere to basic safety protocols because they were trying to add to their profit. Certainly, in these difficult economic times these dangers rise to consumers and workers.

Filed Under: Personal Injury, Product Liability Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Philadelphia Judge Denies Bank’s Motion for Summary Judgment

April 1, 2013 By

My clients own a home in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood in Philadelphia. Their lender is Suntrust Mortgage Company, an Atlanta based lender with offices in the Southern and Eastern U.S. and in the Cayman Islands.

Suntrust sued my clients in a foreclosure lawsuit in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. In January, Suntrust filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing to the court that a trial was not necessary because the loan documents themselves prove that the homeowners are in default. The banks frequently file these motions in which they argue that the bank should have the absolute right to foreclose. A closer inspection of the loan documents, however, established that the bank may not have properly applied the mortgage payments to the principal and interest when the payments were made. This created a question of fact because my clients’ mortgage payments conflicted with the bank’s payment ledgers.

The trial court agreed, on February 27, 2013 the judge denied the bank’s motion for summary judgment. The clients continue to reside in the home and I am awaiting notification of a trial date.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or call our office location in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100, or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Defective Drugs and Medical Devices – The FDA Is Not On Your Side

March 30, 2013 By

The change and developments of the United States Supreme Court has taken with regard to unsafe drugs and medical devices are quite simply frightening. Is there really anyone left in America who still thinks that just because a medication is approved for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is safe and without product defects? If so, then the drugs like Vioxx would never be recalled by the FDA. These drugs made it through the FDA’s incredibly lame screening process to hurt thousands of innocent people.

The pharmaceutical industry, and its giant lobbying group, has tried to prohibit lawsuits against drug manufacturers because the drugs that are approved meet the seal of approval by the FDA. Due to the huge problems that these drug manufacturers have had, and the confidential documents that they never disclosed to the FDA concerning negative research, it is frightening that these companies could be immune from liability. Too often, clients contact our office with questions about defective medical devices and/or defective drugs and I am faced with explaining to them the difficult and confusing decisions by the United States Supreme Court that, in effect, takes away their rights.

Filed Under: Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Federal Court Foreclosure Practice

March 27, 2013 By

I have a case pending in Federal District Court in Philadelphia against Bank of America (the servicing bank) and HSBC (HSBC controls the trust that holds my client’s mortgage). The basis of the lawsuit is that the banks lied to my client when they told him that he should let his loan go into default if he wanted a loan modification. As crazy as this may sound, this is a technique used by the banks over that last couple of years. Of course, this sets up a homeowner for a foreclosure lawsuit. This all happened before he retained me, and as luck would have it, my client did exactly what the bank told him to do—he went into default and the bank filed a foreclosure action against him in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

I filed a lawsuit for fraud and promissory estoppel (i.e., my client relied on the bank’s statement that he should go into default). The bank filed a motion to dismiss our lawsuit, claiming that it was not reasonable for my client to rely on such a promise.

At oral argument on February 14, 2013, it was clear that this was the first time that the Federal Court judge became aware that the bank engaged in tactics like this. Since most foreclosure-based lawsuits are filed in the state courts, this is not surprising. For a good part of the hearing, which lasted about an hour, I felt as if I was educating the Court about 1) the bank practices which led to the housing crisis and 2) the ridiculousness of the loan modification process. Instead of issuing an opinion, the judge ordered Bank of America to look into settling the entire matter, which would include withdrawing the foreclosure complaint and providing a loan modification.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or call our office location in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100, or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Hospital Errors Won’t Get Paid by Your Tax Dollars

March 16, 2013 By

The government is finally poised to prevent hospitals from profiting from their preventable mistakes. Starting last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will deny payments to hospitals for the additional costs associated with treating patients for certain types of preventable hospital acquired infections and medical errors. These very preventable problems are caused by unconscionable care including bed sores, surgical error such as objects casino en ligne français left in patients during surgery and in-hospital falls.

Too often, clients are faced with mounting medical bills that are only amplified by medical mistakes. One of the most tragic cases we ever had was a bed sore case where a patient was allowed to develop a bed sore that was literally larger than his fist. This individual had heart surgery and due to the nurses’ negligence in turning the patient, he was allowed to develop a huge bedsore on his buttocks. This made his recovery that much more difficult. We were happy to be able to secure a substantial settlement on his behalf.

Filed Under: Medical Malpractice Tagged With: , , , ,

Nursing Home Violations Widespread

March 2, 2013 By

Many people argue over whether there is too much government regulation concerning our everyday lives. However, we certainly could agree that when it comes to caring for our loved ones, the laws in the book should at least be followed.

In a report released just last week, Federal investigators have found that more than 90% of nursing homes were cited for violations of Federal health and safety standards last year. Most troubling, the for-profit nursing homes were more likely to have problems than any other types of nursing homes Federal investigators found. These problems included infected bed sores, medication mix-up, poor nutrition and abuse and neglect of patients. Inspectors received over 37,000 complaints about the conditions in nursing homes last year and they substantiated almost 40% of them. About 20% of the complaints verified by Federal and State authorities involved nursing home abuse or neglect of patients.

It’s often said that the greatness of a country is determined how it cares for people who can’t care for themselves. Certainly, the elderly fall within this category and no one can contest that these people deserve the best care possible. It is clear from this study that many elderly are not receiving the best care available and that they deserve.

Our firm has handled many nursing home cases throughout the years. We employ a full time nurse/paralegal to review these type of cases. She has over a decade of experience in the nursing field reviewing and evaluating our cases. Please contact us at Shaffer & Gaier, LLC if one of your loved ones has not received appropriate care at a nursing home.

Filed Under: Nursing Home Injuries Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

February 28, 2013 By

When there is something physically wrong with you, the best thing you can do is seek medical care so that you can get a proper diagnosis and take the necessary steps to remedy any medical condition. You have to put your trust in the hands of a medical professional and rely on them to take the proper steps to correctly diagnose your condition so casino en ligne français bonus sans depot you can get the care you need. When you have sought treatment only to have your doctor fail to take reasonable steps to diagnose or treat your condition, the attorneys at Shaffer & Gaier can help.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

At our office, every prospective client receives a free initial consultation. Call us in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100 or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970, or contact us online. Evening and weekend meetings can be arranged upon request. We will meet with you in your home or at the hospital if necessary.

Filed Under: Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

US Department of Justice Continues to Pursue Wells Fargo Bank

February 28, 2013 By

Wells Fargo Bank may be the largest mortgage loan originator in the country, but the Department of Justice says that Wells Fargo continues to violate the terms of a settlement reached in July, 2012. On October 9, 2012, prosecutors in New York filed a new mortgage-based civil action against Wells Fargo, seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for alleged mortgage fraud violations under the False Claims Act. The action asserts that Wells Fargo engaged in a long-standing and reckless trifecta of deficient training, deficient underwriting and deficient disclosure, all while relying on the convenient back stop of government insurance. Essentially, it is claimed that Wells Fargo originated bad loans, and then relied on government insurance through the Federal Housing Administration to pay the claims when those mortgages fell into default.

Wells Fargo, however, claims that the recent action is barred because the alleged conduct was already part of the July, 2012, settlement, and Wells Fargo claims that the slate was wiped clean. In court filings on November 1, Wells Fargo asked a trial judge to declare that the government’s second lawsuit is a breach of the July, 2012, settlement terms.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or call our office location in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100, or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Senior Citizens Threatened by Foreclosure

February 20, 2013 By

Over the last 5 years, the mortgage crisis has made senior citizens especially vulnerable to foreclosures. From 2007 to 2011, nearly 1.6 million older Americans lost their homes as a result of the mortgage crisis. Millions more seniors are underwater (meaning they owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth) and are likely to face foreclosure even as the housing market stabilizes, according to the AARP. According to its report released in July 2012, AARP stated that “millions of older Americans are carrying more mortgage debt than ever before, and more than 3 million are at risk of losing their homes.” In fact, 2.5 million loans of people over 50 years old were underwater, which would result in older homeowners having some of the highest and most serious delinquency rates.

Some of the factors that are contributing to this trend are retirement, loss of job and death of a spouse, all of which decrease a senior’s income, making foreclosure a realistic probability. While some of the factors at work can be planned by the homeowner, most are not planned, and when coupled with the distressed housing market, often leads to the inevitable foreclosure notices.

It is widely believed that Federal and State government programs, which were designed to stem the progression of the foreclosure crisis, have not been adequate. Many seniors are not aware that there are government programs that can offer help, even for the homeowner who is in danger of falling behind on their mortgage payments. One of these programs is Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), launched by President Obama to help stabilize the U.S. Housing Market. There are specific guidelines in order to qualify for HARP, one of which is that the homeowner must be current on their payments. Everyone involved in these programs agrees that it can be frustrating and time consuming, but keeping your financial records currnet and readily available is the only way to get through the process.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or call our office location in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100, or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,
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