Hippos, Hyenas and Foreclosure Mills? Banks and Lawyers Turn on Each Other

What do hyenas, wolves and hippos have in common with foreclosure mills?

Upon learning this week that David Stern’s foreclosure mill decided to sue GMAC as well as some other former clients, the only fitting analogy for such backlash and conduct would be to compare it to species known for eating their young.

In fact, it’s not just Stern’s office that is now in a row with its former client. The Ben‑Ezra Law Firm that was dismissed by Fannie and Freddie now refuses to relinquish files that are to be transferred to other law firms.

While it is not certain why the files are being withheld, the logical conclusion is the firm feels that it has not been properly compensated to date for its services. When a law firm is not paid, the firm has what is called an “attorney’s lien” and may in fact hold the original documents until they are properly paid for services rendered.

Together these banks and law firms perpetuated the foreclosure fraud crisis that continues to plague our nation.

Now, not only are the banks trying to fight the country’s homeowners, but the banks and their lawyers are congruently fighting each other.

It seems only fitting that the banks and institutions that have abused the foreclosure process are now going to find themselves in protracted litigation with the very law firms that have been their agents in crime throughout this debacle.

Even if someone had attempted to write this script years ago, it is unlikely anyone would have envisioned the drama that has unfolded. However, after all that has played out between Wall Street and the American people, is it really that hard to believe that the banks could be so cold and callous as the species that eat their own young?