Opinion ID: 2980641
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The World Wide Mortgage

Text: In September 1994, Daniel and Sheryl Sutter (“the Sutters”) bought a home in Lapeer, Michigan (“the Sutter property”). Beginning sometime in the mid to late 1990s, the Sutters experienced financial difficulties that ultimately resulted in the filing of a petition under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy laws, followed by a grant of discharged issued by the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on January 30, 2004. Prior to entry of the discharge, the Sutters attempted to refinance their existing mortgages on the subject property. Eventually, they came into contact with World Wide Financal Services, Inc. (“World Wide”), also known as LoanGiant.com.1 Following the entry of discharge, World Wide agreed to refinance the Sutters’ loan and mortgage obligations by issuing a new mortgage on their property, to be funded by New Century Mortgage Corporation. In order to facilitate a quick closing, the Sutters requested to close the refinancing transaction in California, where they would be visiting as part of 1 At the time, World Wide was a “sub-prime home mortgage lender [that had been] located in Southeastern Michigan since 1994. . . . In 2000, World Wide expanded its business to the Internet, with a presence as LoanGiant.com.” Aleynu, Inc. v. Universal Prop. Dev. & Acquisition Corp., No. 1:07-cv-11707, 2008 WL 3252342 at  (E.D. Mich. Aug. 5, 2008). On February 24, 2006, the Commissioner of Michigan’s Office of Financial and Insurance Services issued and entered a consent order finding that World Wide had violated prior consent orders, engaged in improper lending practices, and providing that World Wide “shall not enter into any new transactions to broker, lend, or service mortgage loans.” See 2006 Consent Order at 2, 3, available at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/WorldWideFinancialConsentOrder_159502_7.pdf No. 10-1656 Sutter, et al. v. U.S. National Bank, et al. Page 3 a previously scheduled vacation. World Wide agreed to this request, and arranged for a closing in Sacramento, California, on April 8, 2004. At the April 8 closing, the Sutters signed a note payable to World Wide in the amount of $78,000. The Sutters signed a number of additional documents in connection with their refinancing, but apparently did not sign a mortgage instrument. Nevertheless, New Century provided the funds to pay off the two existing mortgages on the Sutter property, as well as allowed the Sutters to pay off additional existing debts. At some point after the closing, World Wide and New Century assigned the mortgage instrument (“the World Wide mortgage”) to U.S. National Bank, with Saxon Mortgage Services, Inc. (“Saxon”) as the mortgage servicer (collectively “the Appellants”).