180 troops will share in a settlement of more than $22 million

Banks settle for $22M in SCRA foreclosures case
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 26, 2011 17:57:49 EDT
About 180 troops will share in a settlement of more than $22 million that was reached with two lenders who allegedly wrongfully foreclosed on the service members’ homes without obtaining court orders, in violation of the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act, the Justice Department announced May 26.

“This will send a strong message to lenders and servicers that they will be held accountable” for protecting service members’ rights, said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Troops “have our backs and they need to know we have theirs,” Perez said.

BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, previously known as Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, will pay $20 million. That’s an average of $125,000 for each of the approximately 160 service members who lost their homes to foreclosure between January 2006 and May 2009, Perez said. The consent order was filed in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California in Los Angeles on May 26.

In the second settlement, Saxon Mortgage Services will pay $2.35 million, an average of $130,555 to each of 17 service members allegedly foreclosed on between January 2006 and June 2009 without court orders.
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Banks settle for $22M in SCRA foreclosures case