450,000 at risk in foreclosure-prevention program
By Tami Luhby, senior writerJanuary 23, 2010: 7:25 AM ETNEW YORK CNNMoney.com –
Hundreds of thousands of troubled homeowners who are making lower mortgage payments on a trial basis are at risk of being kicked out of President Obamas foreclosure-prevention program.Companies that service the mortgages have until Jan. 31 to review all trial modifications that have been underway for several months under the Home Affordable Modification Program HAMP, according to a Treasury Department guideline issued late last month. The Treasury Dept. said it would issue new guidelines next week, but wouldnt give details.During the review period, servicers must determine whether borrowers have made all their payments and have handed in all the necessary paperwork. Those who havent will get letters giving them 30 days to comply.The goal is to clear up the backlog of borrowers stuck in trial modifications, in which a homeowners monthly payments are lowered to no more than 31% of pre-tax income.Some homeowners have spent seven or eight months waiting to hear if they qualify for a permanent adjustment to their mortgages.This directive, however, has some bank regulators concerned.”About 450,000 homeowners currently have HAMP trial modifications and have demonstrated a willingness and ability to make timely payments for at least three months,” said Richard Neiman, superintendent of the New York State Banking Department.
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In LePome v. Berkson, 125 Nev. ___, Docket No. 51891 (Nev. Sept. 24, 2009), the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that a party may recover attorneys’ fees on appeal if the opposing party does not beat an Offer of Judgment. The determination as to whether an Offer of Judgment is beat depends on the final judgment in the case, which includes a judgment from or after an appeal.
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The recently initiated foreclosure mediation process has had mixed results.
“Few take part in foreclosure mediation
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Housing in Southern Nevada
Since July, foreclosure has claimed 38,277 Nevada homes, but slightly more than 10 percent of the owners have taken advantage of the states innovative Foreclosure Mediation Program, according to the latest statistics provided by Bill Gang, public information officer for the Nevada Supreme Court.
As of the beginning of January, 3,890 homeowners who had received a notice of default from their lender have asked to participate in the program, Gang said. Of those, 1,821 have been assigned mediators. Since Sept. 14, a total of 877 foreclosures have been mediated as part of the program, which was approved by lawmakers who gave the task of administering the program to the high court. August saw the most notices of default filings, with 10,187 homes going into foreclosure. Most of the 38,277 notices are concentrated in Clark County, with a significant number in Washoe County, the states two population hubs. The low percentage of participants could be related to the programs eligibility requirements, which include having the owner be the primary resident of the home in foreclosure. Nevada leads the nation in foreclosure filings.”
via Few take part in foreclosure mediation – News – ReviewJournal.com.
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Bankruptcies in Nevada continue to soar. The law office of Hayes and Welsh can assist creditors and lenders who increasingly are forced to resolve disputes through the bankruptcy court process.
Bankrupt in Nevada? Many are Court records reveal filings jump 58.6 percent in 2009 By ARNOLD M. KNIGHTLY LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Bankruptcy filings in Nevada were up 58.6 percent in 2009 as businesses and individuals struggled with foreclosures, unemployment and other financial troubles.Bankruptcies in the state rose to 29,170 filings from 18,389 in 2008, numbers released Thursday by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Nevada show. Nevada outpaced national filings, which increased 32 percent last year to 1.4 million, according to the Automated Access to Court Electronic Records.The state led the country in filings per capita, with 11.2 in every 1,000 residents seeking bankruptcy court protection. Tennessee, last years top state, had 8.6 filings per 1,000 residents in 2009.California led the nation in the number of filings with 205,705, followed by Florida with 95,409 .
via Bankrupt in Nevada? Many are – Business – ReviewJournal.com.
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In Clark County School District v. Virtual Education Software, Inc., Docket No. 50313 (Nev. August 6, 2009), the Nevada Supreme Court extended the absolute privilege to defamation claims to non-attorneys if made in anticipation of a judicial proceeding. The Court had already determined in Fink v. Oshins, 118 Nev. 428 (2002) that statements made by an attorney after his client began seriously considering commencing legal proceedings were covered by the absolute privilege. If the communication is related to the litigation and a judicial proceeding is contemplated in good faith and under serious consideration, then the absolute privilege applies.
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Some of the city’s best-known business leaders sound off about the coming year
Doug Roberts
Larry Charlton
Debra Nelson
Joe Brown
To kick off the new year, the Las Vegas Business Press asked some of the most important members of the business community to give readers their take on the next 12 months — their hopes, wishes and predictions. Somewhere in these words you may find the key to a better business year.
via OUTLOOK 2010 – Business – ReviewJournal.com.
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The American Bar Association has recently published its list of top law related blogs. There is a little something for everyone.
Welcome to the third annual ABA Journal Blawg 100—the best legal blogs as selected by the Journal’s editors. This year we did something even more blog-like. We asked our readers to help us find blawgs worthy of note.
We called it our Blawg Amici and we asked law blog readers to make the case for their favorite law blog, keeping their friend-of-the-blawg briefs to 500 characters or less. We were pleased with the contributions, many of which you’ll see scattered throughout this year’s list.
Our readers even clued us in to a few law blogs we’d never seen before. You’ll find them among the 40 blawgs completely new to our list this year. Those that didn’t make the top 100 are now cataloged in our online Blawg Directory alongside more than 2,500 other law blogs.
And this being the year of Twitter, we’ve also included for the first time Twitter handles for those who have them. According to an October report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, an impressive 19 percent of Internet users now utilize a form of status update like Twitter. More than 70 of our top blawggers use Twitter.
Again this year, you can go vote for your favorite in each of our 10 categories. We’ll be counting votes Dec. 1-31. The winners will be announced in the February edition of the Journal.
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In 2003, the Nevada Legislature enacted legislation requiring all business in the State of Nevada to obtain a State Business License. The definition of what constitutes doing business in Nevada and the exemptions to licensing are found in NRS 360: 760-798. This requirement, unlike a local business license which also considers zoning and land use issues, is solely a revenue generating device. All entities created in Nevada, with very few exceptions, are required to obtain this license. In 2009, the Nevada Legislature transferred collection responsibility from the Nevada Department of Taxation to the Nevada Secretary of State to be collected with the annual renewal filing for the entity. This has caused considerable confusion as these annual filings are now requiring proof of licensing. Unfortunately, this will be another fee that must be considered as part of the cost of maintaining a Nevada corporation or limited liability company.
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Congratulations to our team consisting of Matt, Dave, Dennis and Chris for taking first place in the BYU Alumni Golf Tournament on October 9, 2009. The tournament is held each year that the BYU-UNLV football game is held in Las Vegas. Proceeds from the tournament are used for scholarships for Las Vegas students to attend BYU.
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