Foreclosure suits slapped against JPMorgan

Foreclosure suits slapped against JPMorgan

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a regulatory filing that it would be a defendant of two potential class action lawsuits filed against the firm regarding its foreclosure practices.

It said the lawsuits allege “common law fraud and misrepresentation, as well as violations of state consumer fraud statutes.”

The suits against JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Washington Mutual Bank were filed in a district court in Illinois and in state court in California for the suit against Chase Home Finance.

JPMorgan froze its foreclosure activities after reports surfaced that some bank employees either carelessly prepared foreclosure documents or downright were engaged in fraudulent filings. It announced last week that it would be resuming the filings of the said documents in just a few weeks.

Many banks have been the subject of an investigation by the attorney generals of all U.S. states because of allegations that they employed so-called robo-signers to speed up the process for seizing homes.

Investors have filed suits against the banks for misrepresenting mortgages that they bought. Homeowners have also been filing their own suits because of alleged dubious foreclosures by the banks.

Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Bank of America have said that they they are expecting a rise in lawsuits hurled against them because of the foreclosure documents fiasco.

About $375 billion worth of lawsuits is being faced by Bank of America. Citigroup is being charged by Charles Schwab and the Federal Home Loan Banks of Chicago and Indianapolis for irregular underwriting practices. Wells Fargo also faces several lawsuits about its foreclosure filings.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday November 10 2010, 5:38 AM EST. Ref: ABC News. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Finance. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0