In the News

Almost a quarter of hotels were delinquent on their mortgage payments in July, the highest rate on record, according to a new report.
Some 23.4% of commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) loans, which finance many hotels, were more than 30 days late in July, totaling $20.6 billion. Only 1.34% of hotel CMBS loans were in default in July 2019, according to Trepp, a New York City-based data, analytics and technology company.
“If hotels don't get more help, we will start to see...

Three hotel operators indebted to Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) trusts sued in the Southern District of New York federal court because they received no answer from lenders about whether accepting Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money would violate their loan agreement.
“Borrowers wish to avoid any declaration of default or declaration that a Springing Recourse Event has occurred because they accessed PPP funds to keep their business above water while continuing to...

Chef Thomas Keller has joined the ranks of a small but growing number of restaurateurs who are suing their insurance companies over claims related to the Covid-19 pandemic, his restaurant group said Thursday.
Keller’s attorney, John Houghtaling, on Wednesday evening filed in the Superior Court of California County of Napa for a declaratory judgment on behalf of Keller’s business interruption insurance policy against Hartford Fire Insurance Company.
Keller, based in the...

A group of big banks tried to wreck a New Jersey trucking company during the 2007 credit crisis, the founder claims in a $300 million Manhattan federal lawsuit.
The banks undervalued assets, charged outrageous fees and then threatened a credit cutoff that could have destroyed the business, the suit alleges.
PNC and Wells Fargo, among other banks, concocted “an insidious scheme” to ruin the business, the lender liability lawsuit claims.
The banks’ goal was to...

The owner of Dana Transport Inc. accused PNC Bank, Wells Fargo & Co. and others of costing him more than $500 million with a scheme that thrust the trucking company into default on a loan even though it was current on payments, according to a racketeering suit filed in New York on Thursday.
Ron Dana, the “rags to riches” millionaire who started one of the nation’s biggest transportation companies when he was 18 years old, said lenders worked in tandem with...

Two homeowners have told a New York federal court that Wells Fargo & Co. and Ocwen Financial Corp. illegally collected payments on mortgages they fraudulently declared in default, according to a False Claims Act suit made available Tuesday.Originally filed under seal in September 2014, plaintiffs Mr. and Mrs. Schiano claim the companies diverted a payoff they had made for refinancing their home and told the loan’s owner, government sponsored entity Freddie Mac, that the pair had...

Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) has definitely let itself open to further barbs as whistleblowers call the shots. The investment bank doled out nearly $170 million to three people, and one firm who helped bring to the public domain financial misdeeds of the bank. One firm will also receive part of the dole out.
The amount is believed to be one of the highest in the U.S. history...

Whistleblower Claims & Fraud Recovery Lawyer: Brian Mahany Brian Mahany's evolution from New Orleans street cop to America's newest Billion Dollar Lawyer is a 20 year tale of justice achieved for real people against the super powerful. He chronicles his string of David v Goliath wins in Saints, Sinners & Heroes: Covert Ops in the War Against the C-Suite Mafia...

Bank of America on Thursday agreed to pay $16.65 billion to end investigations into that the bank and its units sold in the run-up to the financial crisis...

Bank of America Corp. is expected to pay nearly $17 billion to settle U.S. Department of Justice accusations it packaged shoddy mortgages into securities and sold them to investors in the run-up to the financial crisis, according to a person familiar with the negotiations...