Shuster & Saben obtains $46,878 fee judgment against U.S. Bank

J.R. Ewing of TV drama Dallas was fond of saying “revenge is a dish best served cold.” In January of 2012, our firm obtained a judgment for attorney’s fees and costs against US Bank for in excess of $46,000.00. Our client’s revenge was served cold, approximately six months after a judge dismissed US Bank’s foreclosure case. In a foreclosure case when the bank loses the bank has to pay the prevailing homeowner’s attorney’s fees and costs. In this case, firm attorney Richard Shuster, spent 101 hours defending the case, and the Court, found that 95 of the hours were reasonable. The Court ordered U.S. Bank to pay the firm 95 hours at $450.00 per hour ($42.500.00) together with $3,562.50 of expert witness fees, $500.00 of interest, and $65.00 of costs.

This was the largest attorney fee judgment against a bank or loan servicer the firm has ever obtained and is one of the largest fee awards awarded in Brevard County in a foreclosure case. In this case U.S. Bank went to the mat. At mediation the lender offered our client a token interest rate reduction of less than 1% that would have cut the clients mortgage by less than $50.00 a month. Our client, a county employee, had lost most of his overtime compensation in the wake of government cutbacks that were widespread in the Space Coast, after the housing bubble burst causing property tax revenues to fall off a cliff. Our client owed nearly double what his home was worth. At mediation, we tried to convince U.S. Bank that their case was not a slam dunk but the attorney for U.S. Bank was a “coverage” attorney brought in just for mediation because he had an office in Melbourne. The banks coverage attorney saw the file for the first time the day of mediation. For more than two hours, attorney Shuster pointed out to bank several of the serious obstacles they would face if they proceeded and some of the wholes in their case. US Bank was cocky and complacent. Their position was that they would win and that the homeowner’s choice was to either take the banks crappy offer or lose their house. Our client made another choice. He choose to stay the course and fight.

Shuster & Saben wins foreclosure case with its own motion for summary judgment.

Another Shuster & Saben foreclosure client has won their case against a securitized trust. After firm attorney, Richard Shuster, noted that the lawsuit filed by U.S. Bank N.A. as trustee for a securitized trust was not supported by any evidence that the foreclosing bank owned or held the note, he filed a motion for summary judgment on behalf of the homeowner and against U.S. Bank. Foreclosing banks often file motions for summary judgment against homeowners as a means to win cases without having a trial. A judge can only grant summary judgment when the moving party comes forward with competent evidence in the record and the other side fails to come forward with any record evidence to oppose the motion. Unfortunately, many foreclosure defense lawyers never file offensive motions for summary judgment against banks because they are content to merely delay the bank’s attempts to foreclose on the property.

Most of the lawyers at Shuster & Saben come from a civil litigation background. When we are not defending homeowners, we are suing insurance companies, banks, and bill collectors. We are used to taking cases trial where unless we win we don’t get paid one thin dime. When we take on a foreclosure case, we usually have four goals, (1) prevent default, (2) stop the bank for obtaining summary judgment, (3) implement an asset protection strategy for the client, and (4) win the case by dismissal, offensive summary judgment, or trial. Not every foreclosure case is a winnable case. In those cases where the bank’s case is very strong and the homeowner’s case is weak we let out clients know and give them frank objective advice about loan modification, short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, and in very rare cases bankruptcy. Even in the tough cases we invest a large amount of time to thoroughly conduct discovery to make sure the bank has evidence to prove every element of their case. When the bank is missing proof on any issue its our job to take their case apart. In the case we won by summary judgment the bank’s lawyers failed to come forward with any record evidence that the Plaintiff, U.S. Bank owned or held the note. As a result the Court entered summary judgment and final judgment in favor of the Defendant / Homeowner. To review a redacted copy of the summary judgment order please click the link below.

Redacted Summary Judgment Order