Suit accuses Bank of America of fraud, racketeering

Bank of America Corp. and its Countrywide Home Loans unit are accused of fraud and racketeering in a lawsuit filed by a Marion County resident claiming that perjured affidavits were used to foreclose on her home.

The complaint, filed March 17, is similar to a suit filed in October, which a federal court judge dismissed due to a lack of jurisdiction.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers in the federal case re-filed the suit in Marion Superior Court.

“The battle is now being waged in state court,” said Richard Shevitz, a lawyer at Indianapolis law firm Cohen & Malad LLP.

Shevitz and partner Irwin Levin, who has a national reputation for representing individuals in class-action lawsuits, are representing Judy Canada.

Canada accuses the lenders of using “robo-signers,” people who sign affidavits attesting to facts underlying foreclosures without actual knowledge of those facts, to push through paperwork to take her home in Marion County.

“The robo-signers knew these affidavits were false when they signed them by the thousands, and the robo-signers nevertheless signed them with complete ignorance of the facts … and with callous disregard for the accuracy of the affidavits,” the lawsuit said.

While she’s not asking the court to reverse her foreclosure, she is seeking monetary damages, as well as the class-action status to sue on behalf of anyone whose home was allegedly taken since October 2006 under similar circumstances.

Canada mortgaged her home with Countrywide on Aug. 26, 2003. After allegedly defaulting on her monthly payments, Countrywide foreclosed on the property on Dec. 22, 2009, according to the suit, leaving an unpaid principal of $56,958.95.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America is the country's largest lender.