Class Action Against NY Law Firm Ends
BY: Andrew Keshner,web-editor
April 27, 2011
A putative class action lawsuit alleging fraud and racketeering against Steven J. Baum P.C., an upstate law firm representing foreclosure lenders, and MERSCORP, the operator of an electronic mortgage registry, has come to a close. In Campbell v. Baum, 10-cv-3800, two plaintiff homeowners, one in Brooklyn and another in Sullivan County, sued the law firm and MERSCORP claiming RICO, wire fraud and other violations. The suit contended that the Amherst-based law firm knowingly filed false documents and engaged in a conspiracy to “unlawfully extract money and property from desperate homeowners throughout the State of New York.”.
But the plaintiffs came to a settlement with the Baum firm and the case against MERSCORP was dismissed without prejudice. Eastern District Judge Jack B. Weinstein signed a stipulation of dismissal on April 11. Details of the set-tlement were not disclosed.
Plaintiffs Concepcion Campbell and Jeffrey Miller were represented by Susan Chana Lask of Manhattan. “The case was settled amicably with the Baum defendants” but the suit against MERSCORP can be brought again by Mr. Miller, Ms. Lask said in an e-mail.
The Baum firm was represented by Brett A. Scher of Kaufman Dolowich Voluck & Gonzo of Woodbury. MERSCORP was represented by Namita E. Mani of Morgan Lewis & Bockius in Manhattan.
