MoDOT wants day in court on highway lawsuits
The Missouri Department of Transportation wants its day in court when it is sued over injuries or deaths blamed on defects in state roads. The highway agency contends it is paying out millions of dollars more than necessary because of arbitration rulings against it. So the department wants to be able to take its chances before a judge and jury. Legislation considered by a Senate committee this past week would repeal a 1999 law that allows plaintiffs to decide whether to submit their cases to binding arbitration instead of a jury. The bill would require lawsuits to go to arbitration only if the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission agreed to it.

No. 2 bank overcharged troops on mortgages
One of the nation's biggest banks — JP Morgan Chase — admits it has overcharged several thousand military families for their mortgages, including families of troops fighting in Afghanistan. The bank also tells NBC News that it improperly foreclosed on more than a dozen military families. The dispute apparently caused the bank to review its handling of all mortgages involving active-duty military personnel. Under a law known as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), active-duty troops generally get their mortgage interest rates lowered to 6 percent and are protected from foreclosure. Chase now appears to have repeatedly violated that law, which is designed to protect troops and their families from financial stress while they’re in harm's way.

Marine sued by HOA over flagpole
"They're suing me for $200 a day and lawyers' fees and everything," Michael Merola said. Merola said he went through the proper channels to ask for permission to put up a 20-foot flag pole, but permission was denied.  The HOA told him he was welcome to attach a small flagpole to his house.

JPMorgan Chase Wrongly Forecloses On Military Families
JPMorgan Chase has admitted to overcharging military families on their mortgages, and illegally foreclosing on 14 families, NBC News reports.  NBC's report  focuses on one military family's five-year battle with the mortgage giant, who overcharged them by as much as $900 a month. While Marine Captain Jonathan Rowles was away on active duty, his wife Julia got calls demanding $15,000 they didn't owe. "It's been a nightmare, it's been my living nightmare," Julia Rowles told NBC News.

On the Commons with Janet Ahmad
The American dream of homeownership seems to be falling apart.  First the heavy handed HOAs and all the many problem associated with that largely unregulated layer of government reducing the dream to a nightmare, followed by the massive mortgage fraud that has stripped housing consumers of their homes and now we hear about the problems with the actual physical product, the building itself.  Is the American dream of homeownership all it is cracked up to be?  What are the dangers of owning a piece of the dream?  On The Commons this week we are joined by Janet Ahmad. Janet is the founder and President of the Texas based Home Owners for Better Building.  Their web page hobb.org is full of information and stories about the issues HOBB gets involved with.  Please join us On The Commons.  We'll find out what prompted Janet to take on this huge issue and what pitfalls of ownership we should look for. On The Commons is a weekly radio show, dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory membership common ownership developments.  It is broadcast live from WEBR, Fairfax, Virginia. 

 Listen to, On The Commons Podcast

Anatomy of Mortgage Fraud, Part I: MERS's Smoking Gun
In two recent pieces I harped on the problems at MERS, the Mortgage Electronic Registration System. ("Support Representative Kaptur's Bill: Time To Shut Down Mers And To Restore The Rule Of Law" and "Shut Down MERS"). Briefly, MERS purportedly offers an alternative to paperwork, maintaining an electronic record of mortgages that are usually packaged into mortgage backed securities (MBSs). When mortgages go delinquent, MERS helps mortgage servicers foreclose on homes. 
Part II: The Mother of All Frauds,  Part III: MERS'S Role in Facilitating the Mother of All Frauds

Nationstar Mortgage LLC and Centex Home Equity Sued for Truth In Lending Violations and Participation in Unregistered Securities Scam
Nearly two dozen home loan borrowers filed a multi-million dollar unfair business practices and negligence case against Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, and Centex Home Equity, LLC. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated. The San Diego Superior Court case was filed as Case No. 37-2008-00092170-CU-BT-CTL on September 22, 2008. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, is a Texas-based company which took over Centex Home Equity and maintained past mortgage loan operations in Southern California. The case is captioned Mark Richter, et al., v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, et al..

Why Couple's Dream Home Is Making Them Sick
The Defenders show you what's making a local family so sick, they can't even live in their own house. Could it be in your home?  See News 4 Report  See related links: Our Toll Brothers Experience,  Toll Mold in New Jersey and Austin Texas,   Boston Globe: Special Report on Toll Brothers

Wichita Homeowners Warn Prospective Buyers
Beware. Do your own homework because in the under-regulated homebuilding business in Wichita, you're on your own if you buy a new home, the homeowners say. "You buy a $140,000 house that you think is OK and the seller's just gone, never to be heard from again. And that's OK," said Will Thomas, an Air Force pilot whose $140,000 home is cracking apart in the Maple Shade development near Webb and Harry. There are gaps in the way the city building codes protect new home buyers — a lack of basic soil testing and slab foundation inspections, a city inspection department influenced by the builders, an arbitration system with builders hearing complaints about other builders. That's the largest of many frustrations before a group of people who've lost most of their money in the crumbling homes.  See related reports

Broken Homes, Broken System
Some patio homes in the Maple Shade gated community in southeast Wichita are falling apart, their foundations cracking and shifting atop poorly drained soil. Wichita building codes lack provisions to test soil before building and also don't give city stormwater officials the authority to settle drainage disputes. 

Read series of reports