Baltimore, MD asked in Civil Litigation and Legal Malpractice for Maryland

Q: Can attorney represent trust & mortgage servicer.Does servicer respond to summons or can trustee answer both summon com

I served 2 summons complaints, one on Ocwen Loan Servicing and second on U.S Bank, NA as Trustees resident agents who were different companies who had different names and addresses. The attorney for U. S. Bank, NA as Trustee is representing both Ocwen Loan Servicing and U.S. Bank on two separate summons complaints that both appear on courts docket. This seems to be unethical misconduct and a conflict of interest.

3 Lawyer Answers
Richard Sternberg
Richard Sternberg
Answered
  • Potomac, MD
  • Licensed in Maryland

A: It depends on whether the defendants have a potential or actual conflict of interest, which most often arises if their positions are contradictory, such as where one of them wants you to lose and the other wants you to win or when one impleads for damages from the other for your claims. If you think you are going to take on U.S. Bank and Ocwen simultaneously pro se, you must be planning to lose, right? Do I guess correctly that this is a foreclosure defense, and both Ocwen and US Bank seek to have your rights foreclosed and for a judgment against you? If so, a conflict of interest would be fairly rare.

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
Answered
  • Crownsville, MD
  • Licensed in Maryland

A: Attorneys can appropriately represent more than one defendant in a given case (or for that matter more than one plaintiff), so long as the parties represented by the same attorney don't have claims or conflict involving each other. What an attorney cannot do is represent parties on two different sides of the same case (E.g, a plaintiff and a defendant in the same case).

Your post does not elaborate on why you suspect there is a conflict of interest, but at the end of the day if two or more defendants chose to hire the same attorney, that is on them and it is hard to see why that would be a matter to the plaintiff.

Thomas C. Valkenet
Thomas C. Valkenet
Answered
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Licensed in Maryland

A: It is not necessarily a conflict, and if so, it can likely be waived. It is not the type of thing that you can take advantage of since you are not adversely affected. It is a common mistake to think that a lawyer's ethical obligations to others can be used to advantage by an adverse party. If there is a conflict, and it is not properly waived, then it is the mortgage company and servicer that may have causes of action against the lawyer.

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.