Many people predicted a legal tsunami over banks' foreclosure practices. To some extent, that is playing out. Civil enforcement actions are a distinct possibility, lots of individuals have filed suits, and big bond holders may file suits seeking more putbacks (though this is more of a warranty issue).

For the moment, however, the banks seem to be dodging a wave of class-action suits. Several well-known plaintiffs' attorneys tell Reuters they have looked at the issues and decided to take a pass. Apparently, the economic harm needed to sustain these suits is somewhat elusive because in most cases people were behind on their mortgages and would have lost their homes anyway.

We'll likely see more suits filed that seek national class-action status. But it is far from a slam dunk. That said, there's plenty of potential legal fallouts here. We'll likely get word fairly soon about some sort of concerted settlement action with the 50 state attorneys general.

For more:
- here's the article

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