On March 9, 2011, Davis Polk and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee) filed a lawsuit on behalf of New York-area homeowners scammed by for-profit loan modification companies. The complaint marks the beginning of a national legal campaign to pursue those who exploit homeowners affected by the financial crisis.

Filed in Nassau County as Rush v. Save My Home, the suit aims to permanently enjoin the deceptive practices of a network of companies that cheated homeowners through these scams. The primary target is a group of closely related entities that have operated under several names, including “Save My Home,” “Save My Home Now,” “Selig Law Group,” “Express Modifications, Inc.,” “Express Debt Solutions,” “Express Home Solutions,” “Express Home 411,” “Empire Home Saver, Inc.” and “Empire Home Savings.” Several media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and the New York Daily News, covered the filing of the complaint.

In addition to the lawsuit, Davis Polk is assisting other loan modification scam victims on an individual basis. This includes drafting demand letters to the alleged scammers, filing individual actions and representing victims who have already begun their own legal proceedings across New York City and Long Island.

Providing relief to those affected by loan modification scams is an important initiative of the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network (LMSPN). Since the launch of the LMSPN database in February 2010, more than 10,000 homeowners have reported scams or potential scams, totaling over $27 million in lost money. Of those, over 500 complaints come from New York State residents, with reported losses of over $2 million.

The Davis Polk team includes partner Daniel F. Kolb and associates Andrew J. Bruck, Virginia A. Farmer, Sagar K. Ravi, Erik Paulsen, Noah Solowiejczyk, Jayme A. Feldheim, Vesna Cuk (not yet admitted) and Connor Kuratek (not yet admitted).