Remand Denied in National Robo-Signing Class Action
On August 10, 2011, the U.S. District Court of New Jersey denied the plaintiffs' motion to remand in a national robo-signing/false affidavit class action. Defendants represented by Troutman Sanders LLP removed the case based on the Class Action Fairness Act, and plaintiffs sought remand based on the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.
The district court denied the remand finding that Rooker-Feldman did not apply because the source of the alleged harm was the defendants, not the state court judgment. The district court explained that even if the state court judgment allegedly was procured by fraud, that fraud was independent of the judgment itself.
This ruling assists lenders and servicers in removing cases under the Class Action Fairness Act and defending against robo-signing allegations.
Sheehan v. MERS, No. 10-6837 (D.N.J. Aug. 10, 2011) ( view document). John Lynch, Jason Manning, and Mark Schlesinger are counsel for Defendants.
Please do not hesitate to contact David Anthony, John Lynch, Jason Manning and Mark Schlesinger if you have questions.