EDITOR'S NOTE by Neil Garfield, ESQ.

& MBA and owner of the LivingLies Weblog: Blog Posted 10/25/2011 There are a lot of "services" out there that are now able to provide you with pretty reliable information as to whether one or more of the signors on your mortgage or foreclosure documents is a known robo-signer. OR YOU CAN LOOK IT UP FOR YOURSELF RIGHT HERE (lists are not all inclusive). http://livinglies.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/more-resources-list-ofrobosignors-signature-examples-and-links/ But the issue is EVIDENCE not information. That someone has signed multiple documents with multiple signatures for multiple "employers" is information, not evidence. You will and should be thrown out of court if you think that identifying the use of a robo signer will win you your case. If it were otherwise you wouldn't have a defense at all because it would mean that an allegation is as good as proof. And most negative impact cases are decided on the allegation that the borrower didn't make the payments so who cares about all these technical deficiencies? The fact that the payment might not be due, or that it had already been made by the servicer or that the party claiming to collect it is improper doesn't get a chance to be heard. Information provides context and might be admitted as corroboration of real evidence once you have established your foundation for introducing evidence into the court proceeding. To that extent a list of robo signors might be helpful and it might not. Paying for the list will get you nothing more than another ding in your wallet since the list is right here for free. The issue in YOUR case is whether you have one or more documents that were not properly executed and whether the execution constitutes a forgery, a fabrication, or lack of authority. The clever lawyer will force the burden onto the would-be forecloser to offer witnesses that can testify and prove the authenticity of the document, the signature and its contents. In most cases, that issue slips by and the burden shifts to the homeowner for failure to lodge an appropriate objection. Remember also that a document can be admitted into evidence as proof of its existence, as proof of the matters recited or both.

So let's look at what you REALLY need to do. If you think you have a robo-signor on your hands there are actually several possibilities, which is why most people are getting thrown out of court, surprised they lost their case and blaming the Judge for corruption when all he did was apply the rules of evidence. The possibilities are as follows: 1. The signature is the signature of the person whose name is stamped or typed or written beside the signature. 2. The signature is NOT the signature of the person whose name is stamped or typed or written beside the signature. 3. The signature was forged. 4. The signature was not forged --- the person simply used different signatures for different purposes. 5. The signature was placed there with permission from the named person on whose behalf the document was signed. 6. The signature was placed there without permission from the named person on whose behalf the document was signed. 7. The person whose name is stamped, typed or written beside the signature was authorized to sign the document. 8. The person whose name is stamped, typed or written beside the signature was NOT authorized to sign the document. 9. A valid document (corporate resolution, power of attorney etc.) exists authenticating the authority of the person whose name appears next to the signature. 10. A valid document (corporate resolution, power of attorney etc.) does not exist authenticating the authority of the person whose name appears next to the signature. 11. A witness exists who can authenticate the authorizing documents for signature on the document that you are objecting to. 12. No witness exists who can authenticate the authorizing documents on the document that you are objecting to. Unless you know how to deal with all these possibilities, the Judge has no where to go but to say that what you have presented is interesting but it is not evidence. This is accomplished through discovery --- investigation, deposition, interrogatories, requests to produce and requests for admission and being very persistent about getting real answers to real questions. The COMBO and an Expert Witness Declaration will get you part of the way, but you need to know how to present your side of the case in an intelligible manner and quickly because the Judge is not going to give you hours to figure out how to show that the document you are challenging is not valid. Remember that failure to record or even

failure to execute properly for recording does not, in and of itself invalidate a document. Check with a lawyer licensed in the jurisdiction in which your property is located before you use this information or the services that people want to sell you. Many of those services provide information that might be valuable but only in terms of making further inquiry.