Livinglies's Weblog

Reports and affidavits are helpful but not always useful as evidence. It seems that many people think an affidavit from me will be the magic bullet in their case. It could be but only with proper presentation and following the rules of civil procedure and the laws of evidence.

This is required reading for people attending the forensic audit seminar next Friday. In the end I am seeking your reports to conform to the style and content of what I present at the seminar, in this article and other articles appearing on this blog. The end result for homeowner and their attorneys is to file reports and affidavits that are not only admitted into evidence but also given great weight by the trier of fact.

In plain language I would like to outsource the preparation of the forensic reports on the facts and limit my involvement to what I do best: present the facts with opinion corroborated by those facts. That means learning which facts are likely to give the homeowner’s lawyer some traction and which facts are just surplus accusations that can never be proven in a foreclosure case.

Because in a foreclosure case, the issue is not whether the players are bad players, evil or even thieves. The issue is whether the players can successfully present a case in which it appears that they have satisfied the conditions precedent and the elements of a prima facie case for enforcement of the mortgage through foreclosure.

The answer to that is either yes or no. And walking into any courtroom the presumption, at the very beginning, is that the answer is yes. Our job is turn that around and persuade through logic and facts that the presumption of the existence of the elements for a prima facie case for foreclosure are missing. And while out burden of proof is only a predominance of the evidence, in practice, for homeowners, that translates as something more than “more likely than not.” Where the answer is close, the court will always lean toward the party seeking foreclosure.

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THIS ARTICLE IS NOT A LEGAL OPINION UPON WHICH YOU CAN RELY IN ANY INDIVIDUAL CASE. HIRE A LAWYER.
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An affidavit is a sworn statement. It is not evidence unless a judge admits it as evidence. And it get no weight as evidence unless the trier of fact (the judge in most foreclosure cases) decides to give it weight. The judge won’t allow it or give it weight if it is merely opinions that are not persuasively presented by reference to specific facts or absence of facts. So while my affidavit may be helpful, it is not the opinion that counts nearly as much as the credibility and persuasiveness of the affidavit or report. There is also confusion as to how and when to use forensic reports or affidavits from me. So let me put it this way.

“Based upon the chain of title revealed in the forensic report and my examination of the actual documents recorded, together with my education, knowledge, my proprietary database, and my experience in the securitization of businesses and assets including debt, it is my firm opinion that US Bank never purchased the debt of the homeowner nor did US Bank ever receive ownership of the debt from any person who had paid value for the debt. 

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Third party claims of possession of the homeowner’s promissory note are attenuated in terms of credibility and lack foundation as to whether such possession by third parties would be possession by US Bank. But such claims are nevertheless taken as true for purposes of this opinion.

 

Based upon Article 9 §203 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) there are two deficiencies in the claim of U.S. Bank to enforce the security instrument (mortgage), to wit: 

a) it does not and never has complied with the condition precedent in the UCC that it paid value and therefore has a direct financial stake in the come of a forced sale through foreclosure (i.e., the sale will not produce money proceeds that are paid to US Bank either in a representative capacity nor on its own behalf and
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b) US Bank does not possess any claim for restitution because it has suffered no loss. Nor is US Bank expecting the receipt of any funds regardless of whether or not the homeowner makes a payment. While foreclosures have been concluded in the name used as claimant in this case, the proceeds of sale of foreclosed property has never been received or deposited by US Bank or on behalf of U.S. Bank.
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The claim to enforce the mortgage like all civil claims must present a legal person that is possessed of a claim for restitution of a legal debt owed to the claimant based upon a duty of the opposing party owed to the claimant that was breached by the opposing party that produced real legally recognized injury to the claimant.
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Failure to own the debt is therefore failure to present a legally recognizable claim to enforce the security instrument. Such failure is generally regarded in case decisions to be construed as a lack of jurisdiction by the trial court to consider any controversy where the real parties in interest are not present in person or by proxy.
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In this case, neither of these conditions is met. The implied trust (and/or US bank as “trustee”), if it/they has any legal existence, has never entered into any financial transaction in which the debt was sold for value or transferred by a person who had paid value. This eliminates compliance with the UCC condition precedent to enforcement and eliminates judicial standing for US Bank to even bring a claim inasmuch as it lacks a legally recognized claim for anything against the homeowner in the case at bar. 
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The affiant concedes that there is confusion in case decisions on this subject in which possession of the original note gives rise to the presumption of a right to enforce it. While it is doubtful that US Bank ever acquired possession of the original note much less rights to enforce the note, even assuming those conditions were met, that would only raise a presumption of title to the debt and the right to enforce it. But that presumption is factually and completely rebutted by the absence of any claim, transaction or instrument indicating that on any certain day the debt was sold to US Bank.
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In fact, my specific knowledge regarding the securitization of debt is that an investment bank (brokerage firm) funded the origination or acquisition of the debt and retained ownership of the debt for usually less than 30 days. Hence no transaction in which the debt was sold could have taken place without the participation of the investment bank who advanced the funds. No such transaction ever occurred between the investment bank and US Bank.

Hence the subject debt was never sold or entrusted to US Bank. Hence possession of the note, at most, entitles the possessor to enforce the note, albeit not as a holder in due course since no value was paid. Such enforcement would be under Article 3 of the UCC and not under Article 9 relating to enforcement of secured transactions. 
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My conclusion is that none of the parties named in connection with the claim against the homeowner have legal standing nor have any of them satisfied the condition precedent to enforcement of the mortgage through foreclosure.

In answer to the specific question posed by the homeowner’s attorney as to the status of US Bank in connection with this loan agreement, US Bank is not a real party in interest with any actual financial stake or risk of loss relating to the loan agreement nor was its purpose ever to serve as an actual trustee for a legal trustee of an actual trust that had any actual financial stake or risk of loss relating to the subject loan agreement.

Although certificates were sold in the name of the trust by the investment bank and other derivative contracts were sold based upon the value of the certificates, none of those contracts transfers any right, title or financial interest, nor any right to enforce, the subject debt, note and mortgage.

Hence any representations that US Bank is serving as authorized representative or trustee on behalf of the holders of such certificates or contracts is not relevant, since none of them have the right to enforce nor any ownership of the debt, even if they did receive the risk of  loss associated with the actual debt. 

So here is where local counsel comes into the picture. Depending upon how he or she wants to present your defense, is the above what they want, or do they want something more, less or different? Are you getting involved in pleading, discovery, preparation for a hearing or trial?

Because my credentials give me credibility and status, and because I would rather review forensic reports than prepare them, I am giving the free forensic law seminar on August 2 which is sold out. It is my hope that the business plans of forensic examiners will be enhanced by associations with established experts like myself in which affidavits are filed not by the examiners whose credentials nearly always in doubt but rather under the signature of someone whose credentials are not in doubt.

Filed under: burden of persuasion, burden of pleading, BURDEN OF PROOF, discovery, Discovery -Subpoena, evidence, expert witness, Fabrication of documents, foreclosure, foreclosure defenses, forensic investigation, investment banking, Investor, jurisdiction, legal standing, Pleading, prima facie case, sham transactions, standing |