Banking and Finance Law Commons^™

"We Buy Houses": Market Heroes Or Criminals?, Cori Harvey

Journal Publications

The residential sale/leaseback/buyback transaction is a socially beneficial foreclosure rescue transaction that is being regulated increasingly by the criminal courts to the detriment of the homeowners, investors, and society at large. Because the transaction is being regulated more aggressively with the criminal law, peculiar outcomes arise, which include investors being sentenced, in some cases, to draconian sentences --a trend that will eviscerate the transactions rather than improving them.

In calling for a retreat from that position, this Article makes both descriptive and prescriptive claims. The first descriptive claim is that the transaction is a beneficial one and that it has …

"We Buy Houses": A Foreclosure Rescue As The Solution To The Trapped Homeowner Equity Problem, Cori Harvey

Journal Publications

Foreclosure rescue transactions are viewed widely as scams designed, among other things, to dupe poor, minority, and elderly homeowners out of the equity in their homes. However, foreclosure rescue transactions come in many forms and, as an alternative to foreclosure, often maintain valuable options for homeowners that the homeowners otherwise would lose in the traditional foreclosure process. For this reason, many of these transactions, though imperfect, should be preserved and supported.

This Article introduces one such foreclosure rescue transaction, the residential sale/leaseback/buyback ("RSLB") transaction, into the legal literature from the perspective of the rescue investors. A basic RSLB transaction allows …

Credit Cards, Attorney's Fees, And The Putative Debtor: A Pyrrhic Victory? Putative Debtors May Win The Battle But Nevertheless Lose The War, Jennifer M. Smith

Journal Publications

This Article addresses the current credit card industry and its detrimental impact on society, and it discusses the history and purpose of attorney's fees, as well as the pitfalls in attorney's fee legislation. It analyzes the case study under various state laws, with heavy emphasis on Florida and California law, then recommends a legislative change or judicial intervention to ensure that creditors incur financial responsibility when they erroneously sue consumers. With these changes, consumers are made whole when they must defend themselves against small claims lawsuits erroneously filed against them, so as not to become victims of needless debt.