News

Four Shapiro Haber & Urmy Partners Named 2012 Massachusetts Super Lawyers; Three Shapiro Haber & Urmy Attorneys Named Massachusetts Super Lawyer Rising Stars

We are proud to report that all five of the partners at Shapiro Haber & Urmy have been named 2012 Massachusetts Super Lawyers or Massachusetts Super Lawyer Rising Stars by New England Super Lawyers magazine. In addition, two Shapiro Haber & Urmy associates have been named 2012 Massachusetts Super Lawyer Rising Stars.

Super Lawyers is an annual publication that evaluates lawyers on indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement.  No more than five percent of the lawyers in Massachusetts receive this recognition from their fellow attorneys.  Super Lawyers Rising Stars are 40 years old or younger, or have been practicing law for 10 years or less.  No more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in Massachusetts receive this recognition.

The Shapiro Haber & Urmy partners named 2012 Massachusetts Super Lawyers, and the area(s) of litigation in which they were named, are:

  • Thomas G. Shapiro – Securities Litigation, Class Action/Mass Torts, and Business Litigation
  • Edward F. Haber – Securities Litigation, Consumer Law, and Antitrust Litigation
  • Thomas V. Urmy – Class Action/Mass Torts, Employment Litigation, and Consumer Law
  • Michelle H. Blauner – Class Action/Mass Torts and Securities Litigation 

The Shapiro Haber & Urmy lawyers named 2012 Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars, and the area of litigation in which they were named, are: 

  • Ian McLoughlin, partner – Antitrust Litigation, Business Litigation, and Securities Litigation
  • Adam M. Stewart, associate – Class Action/Mass Torts, Business Litigation, and Securities Litigation
  • Robert Ditzion, associate – Class Action/Mass Torts, Consumer Litigation, and Securities Litigation

Secretary of Commonwealth Brings Charges Against Putnam Investment for Fraudulent Sales of Pyxis CDO 2006-1 and Pyxis CDO 2007

The Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts filed an administrative complaint on October 17, 2012 against Putnam Advisory Co., LLC, a subsidiary of Putnam Investments, LLC, alleging fraud and dishonest conduct in the sale of $3 billion of Pyxis CDO 2006-1 and Pyxis CDO 2007 to investors.  The securities sold by Putnam are collateralized debt obligations backed by subprime and midprime mortgages.  The complaint alleges that Putnam failed to disclose to investors that it knowingly allowed a hedge fund to recommend some of the mortgage securities included in the CDOs and that the hedge fund was taking a short position on the same securities. 

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Thomas G. Shapiro at tshapiro@shulaw.com, or call 617-439-3939 or 800-287-8119.  Alternately, click here to contact us through our website.

Federal Court of Appeals Rules That Plaintiff Properly Alleged Bank of America Acted in Bad Faith in Force Placing Flood Insurance In Class Action Brought by Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP

The lawsuit alleges that Bank of America breached its mortgage contracts and acted in bad faith by forcing borrowers to maintain excessive amounts of flood insurance.

On September 21, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued a decision upholding claims by borrowers in a class action lawsuit against Bank of America.  The lawsuit alleges that Bank of America breached its mortgage contracts and acted in bad faith by forcing borrowers to maintain excessive amounts of flood insurance.

In that decision in Kolbe v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP, d/b/a Bank of America, N.A. (Case No. 11-2030), the Court upheld claims that Bank of America breached the terms of FHA mortgages and violated U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines by requiring borrowers to carry flood insurance in excess of the amount they owed on their loans.  The Court found “strong support” for these claims in the mortgage contract, and noted that the mission of the FHA loan program is to make home ownership “affordable.”

The Plaintiff Stanley Kolbe is represented by Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP.  “This was a terrific victory for homeowners who are struggling to keep up with the cost of owning their homes,” said attorney Edward F. Haber who represents the Plaintiff Stanley Kolbe.  “The Court recognized that the mortgage language and other evidence provides ‘strong support’ for our position that Bank of America is forcing people to pay for more insurance than they are obligated to have on their homes.  And that improperly makes home ownership less affordable.” 

On September 21, 2012, the Court of Appeals, in a second case, captioned Lass v. Bank of America, N.A. (Case No. 11-2037), also upheld similar claims that Bank of America “demand[ed] more flood insurance than required by federal law or the mortgage agreement,” and also upheld claims that Bank of America “unjustifiably charged borrowers for backdated coverage and commissions[.]”  In particular, the Court noted that the plaintiff’s allegations of improper kickbacks or so-called “commissions” in connection with force-placed insurance “easily meet the threshold for a viable claim.”  Please click here to view the decision.

The Court’s decisions could have broad implications for people all over the United States who have mortgages not only with Bank of America, but other banks and mortgage servicers.  If you believe you have been required to maintain excessive amounts of flood or fire insurance, please contact Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP through our website http://www.shulaw.com/, or call us toll free at 800-287-8119. 

National Law Journal Highlights Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP Libor-Based Financial Instruments Case

The National Law Journal recently highlighted In re Libor-Based Financial Instruments Litigation, in which Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP represents a putative class of community banks. The case is C.A. No 11-md-2262 in the Southern District of New York.  The complaint alleges substantial damages from a massive conspiracy to artificially lower the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).  LIBOR is widely used throughout the world as a benchmark to set values of financial instruments.  The complaint alleges that Defendants, who are among the world’s largest banks, secretly colluded together to report that they could borrow money at lower rates than was actually the case, thus lowering LIBOR.  This conspiracy allowed Defendants to benefit financially and to inaccurately improve the appearance of their own financial condition.  Defendants’ actions harmed members of the putative class, who made loans with interest rates (and thus their own profits) tied to the artificially lowered LIBOR.

Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP Named Pro Bono Firm of the Year

Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP was selected to receive the 2011 Pro Bono Law Firm Award from the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project (PAIR) for its work in representing asylum seekers.  PAIR is nationally recognized for its pro bono model of securing safety and freedom for individuals who have fled persecution, and promotes the rights of unjustly detained immigrants. 

PAIR wrote that "Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP stands as a model law firm in providing outstanding pro bono legal services. The firm has made a generous commitment of attorney time and resources in representing numerous PAIR asylum-seekers, who fled from persecution in Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Guinea. Firm attorneys have handled complex asylum cases before the Asylum Office and the Immigration Court and have continued to help with family reunification after winning asylum for their clients. In one case, the firm attorney was so dedicated he called PAIR from the hospital, when he was undergoing emergency back surgery, to discuss strategies for his asylum client."

Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP was honored at the annual PAIR Gala on June 8, 2011.