Ground zero in the foreclosure crisis engulfing banks has been located: Nicolle Bradbury's $75,000  house in Denmark, Maine. When she faced foreclosure, she turned to a nonprofit group, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, "where for once in her 38 years, she caught a break," according to the New York Times.

Her case drew the attention of a volunteer, a retired lawyer who used to work on foreclosures for a bank. He "realized almost immediately that Mrs. Bradbury's foreclosure file did not look right. The documents from the lender, GMAC Mortgage, were approved by an employee whose title was 'limited signing officer,'" notes the Times. The professional signer was deposed and "casually acknowledged that he had prepared 400 foreclosures a day for GMAC and that contrary to his sworn statements, they had not been reviewed by him or anyone else."

That ultimately led GMAC to halt foreclosures in 23 states in which court approval is necessary. The rest is history, as other banks followed suit. GMAC is still trying to evict her. But Bradbury seems bent on fighting.

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