Tuesday, July 14, 2009
In a move labeled “utter idiocy,” Wells Fargo has found itself serving as both plaintiff and defendant in a Florida civil matter over the foreclosure of a condominium. The bank is holder of both the first and second mortgages on the condo, and as the “party of the first part,” it must sue all lien holders, or the “party of the second part”—which in both cases is the same party, Wells Fargo.
Not surprisingly, lawyers are making a killing off the bank. Wells Fargo hired Florida Default Law Group, P.L. of Tampa to file the lawsuit, and then the bank hired another Tampa legal operation—Kass, Shuler, Solomon, Spector, Foyle & Singer P.A.—to defend itself against its own lawsuit.
“We’ve apparently reached the perfect storm for complete and utter idiocy by some banks trying to foreclose on homes,” wrote Angie Moreschi on The Consumer Warning Network.
Tampa attorney Kristofer Fernandez of the Florida Bar said the Wells Fargo situation is not unique these days, as banks try to dig themselves out from the mortgage foreclosure mess they helped create. “Four or five years ago, you would have never seen this,” Fernandez said. “Now, it’s very common.”
As columnist Al Lewis summed up the matter: “It takes some pretty shameless lawyers and a rich culture of corporate stupidity for a company to sue itself. I hope Wells Fargo loses this case and ends up having to drag itself all the way to the Supreme Court.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Al Lewis: Wells Fargo Bank Sues Itself (by Al Lewis, Dow Jones Newswires)
Have the Banks Gone Crazy? Wells Fargo Sues Itself (by Angie Moreschi, Consumer Warning Network)
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