Steven J. Baum, P.C. , is a law firm headquartered in Amherst, New York, United States. It was founded as Marvin R. Baum, P.C. in 1972, and remained under that name until Marvin Baum's death in 1999, after which his son Steven inherited the business and renamed it himself. The practice is primarily in real estate law, especially in representing lenders and servicers in the act of foreclosure housing in the following years.
After the subprime mortgage crisis of the late 2000s (decades), Baum handled 40% of all state seizures, the most law firms in New York. Many of the foreclosures initiated are products of robo marking scandals, and it comes under state and federal supervision. The homeowner activist selects the firm for its aggressive tactics that override the mortgage modification, and carries a class action suit against it. After the state court instituted rules designed to restrict false foreclosure submissions, the rules the company fought for in court, new filings by Baum's clients dropped dramatically.
The company became a national concern in 2011 when a columnist Joseph Nocera published a photo of a company Halloween party the previous year, leaking it to him by an employee. They describe the costumes and decorations that scoff at homeowners and critics of the company. Shortly after, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prohibited lenders and servicers from using the company for foreclosure. State and federal investigations continue. Within a week Baum announced the closure of the company, citing negative publicity and loss of business.
Video Steven J. Baum P.C.
Histori
Marvin R. Baum founded the company in 1972. In addition to practicing law in the field of foreclosure, he wrote and lectured on topics and real estate law in general. He leads the Real Property Legal Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA).
His son Steven J. Baum joined the company in 1986. He presided over the NYSBA Foreclosure and Training Committee. In 1999, when his father died, the company took his name. Shortly thereafter, the related company, Pillar Processing LLC, was created to handle document processing. It then spins into private equity investors, but relies on Baum for almost all of its business.
2000s: role in foreclosures and closures
Following the subprime mortgage crisis of the late 2000s (decades), foreclosures, which were originally only one aspect of the company's business, became its core business. It became the largest state seizure company, involved in 40% of all actions in New York. It opens a satellite office on Long Island, in Westbury, to handle extra business. Many lawyers for homeowners and consumer activists rudely call Baum a "foreclosure factory", and are investigated by state and federal governments for its role in a robo marking scandal, where false documents are filed for action on behalf of clients who may not be lenders or original servicers. A Brooklyn judge said Baum operated "in a parallel mortgage universe, unrelated to the real universe".
The company then paid the Department of Justice $ 2 million, and agreed to change its practice, to settle the claim filed against him by Preet Bharara, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He acknowledges there are no outside faults "occasionally [made] an unintentional mistake in filing his law in state and federal courts." In October 2010, the chief administrative judge enacted a rule requiring clients to affirm original documents under penalty of perjury. This restricts the company's business, and Baum then argues in court that it should be canceled as unconstitutional. The affirmative rule has a bad effect on the homeowner against whom the foreclosure notice has been filed: without it, no mediation effort can commence, and interest and fees continue to grow, eroding the bargaining position of the ultimate homeowner.
Baum came to national attention around Halloween 2011, when Joseph Nocera, columnist at The New York Times, published a photo taken at a company Halloween party the previous year that had been sent to him by an employee. Employees dressed as homeless or poor, and wearing signs around their necks saying things like "Third Party Protestors - I Lost My House and I'm Not Distributed", a general response to the foreclosure process. Another picture depicts a row of artificial houses identified as "Baum Estates" with foreclosure notice in front, and a third view of the death of a Manhattan lawyer who has filed a class action lawsuit against the company. "There is a really arrogant attitude," Nocera quoted the source as saying. "It does not matter people will lose their homes." A company spokesman called the column "another attempt by The New York Times to attack our company and our work."
The company apologized after the uproar, but the controversy did not end. Occupy Buffalo netted company offices, and urged state attorney Eric Schneiderman, who had been investigating the company, to try instead of settling. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac forbid servicers from using the company. Investigations by the United States House of Representatives are also ongoing.
Three weeks later, Nocera wrote a follow-up column that began by quoting an email he received from Baum: "You have destroyed everything and everyone connected with Steven J. Baum PC It took 40 years to build this company and three weeks to collapse , "he said. He has been asking about Baum's efforts to have the rules of affirmation reversed. Baum told him that the firm was just following one of his clients, and that the rule was "confusing". In a recent email, Nocera quotes Baum saying, "There's blood in your hands for this one, Joe, I'll never forgive you for this." Two days later, Baum announces that the company will be closed due to a business lost by Fannie and Freddie's ban.
In March 2012, after the company closed, Baum reached a $ 4 million settlement with the State of New York for a violation in their legal work, without admitting any wrongdoing.
Maps Steven J. Baum P.C.
References
External links
- Company website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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