More than 300 homebuyers accuse California Attorney General Kamala Harris of “doing Bank of America’s bidding” by seizing legal files from their attorney, Mitchell Stein, denying them the right to the legal counsel of their choice.
They say Harris “acted as the pawn of America’s most powerful banks, rather than in the interest of California homeowners,” to silence their attorney in lawsuits against mortgage lenders.
Similar complaints have been filed in Miami and New York. The allegations in this article come from the 54-page complaint in Los Angeles Federal Court.
The plaintiffs claim that Harris’ raid on their attorney’s law firm is an attempt to prevent homeowners from gaining ground in lawsuits against Bank of America and other banks which, they claim, “have committed various types of mortgage fraud and then stolen, or tried to steal, the homes of these plaintiffs in violation of state and federal laws.”
The plaintiffs include more than 300 homeowners from several states who hired Mitchell J. Stein’s law firm to represent them in lawsuits against Bank of America and 13 other financial institutions.
According to the complaint: “On Aug. 17, 2011, defendant Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General for defendant State of California, grossly violated plaintiffs’ civil rights by seizing plaintiffs’ legal files and denying plaintiffs the right to the legal counsel of their choice.
(Read more)
Daily Archives: 23 April 2012
While Obama’s Thugs Raid Marijuana School, People Die
As I sit and watch video after video of Monday’s senseless federal raid of Oaksterdam University and other medical cannabis-related facilities managed by Richard Lee, the orchestrator of California’s historic Proposition 19, a few serious concerns come to mind.
I noticed agents from at least three federal agencies: the Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Marshals Service and the Internal Revenue Service. I’m not talking about two agents here and a couple more there. There were several dozen federal agents spending their day on the scene.
Meanwhile, just blocks away, a deadly shooting was taking place. While federal agents were using a battering ram, a sledgehammer and power saws to break into a business that complies with state and local law and pays taxes, a gunman was murdering seven people at Oikos University, just three-tenths of a mile away.
As a retired police officer who wore the badge for over 30 years, this is not how I want our law enforcers to be spending their time. (Read more)
Sweden Grants Religious Recognition To File-Sharing Church
The Swedish government has formally recognised a “church” whose main belief is the right to file-share, in a move that is unlikely to be well-received by the Hollywood studios.
The recognition of the Church of Kopimism as a religion by the state of Sweden was revealed in a statement on the Church’s Website, after more than a year of trying to gain formal recognition. (Read more)
France tightens grip on super rich
The French public are resoundingly in favour of tightening the grip on the mega-wealthy. François Hollande, the Socialist frontrunner who polls say would win the second-round vote in May, has promised a 75% tax bracket on earnings after €1m. More than six out of 10 French people approve. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the fire-brand leftist backed by the Communist party, has surged to third place in the polls with his promise to cap fat cat salaries at €360,000 (£300,000), after which income tax would be 100% and the state would “take it all”.
Even Sarkozy, known as “president of the rich” for his generous tax breaks to the wealthy, has restyled himself as “president of the people”, offering to cut tax loopholes and make French tax exiles who flee abroad pay back the difference to the French state.
The French people are more distrustful of capitalism than the Chinese, polls show. Two-thirds agree with the concept that the state should take from the rich to give to the poor. But many question whether the election rhetoric will succeed in rooting out a deeply unfair French system where the super-rich often manage to pay barely any tax at all, conducting startling tax dodges by hiring top accountants to pick through the myriad legal loopholes in their favour. (Read more)