My factual summary and announcement of press release to attorney Russell Grandy, CBSK aka AHL
I’ve been talking to Russell Grandy, CBSK aka American Home Loans attorney, for about a week and he assured me that they were absolutely against junk faxes and that he never wants to have to talk to another person like me to have to settle these claims.
Well, I’m going to make sure that the word about CBSK gets out and here’s my e-mail to ensure that I’ve got the facts straight for the press release.
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2/4/05
Russell,
Let me start by apologizing for being so naive, I was very gullible and actually believed that CBSK is doing whatever it can to ensure that nobody orders junk fax leads. I guess you offered me only $500 because I came off as a little on the stupid side, immediately offering to release you from my claims for only $3,000.
My offer to settle with CBSK (American Home Loans) for $3,000 is hereby rescinded and I am now seeking $12,000 + costs and any other relief I’m entitled to from CBSK and the other defendants, jointly and severally.
It is time for a press release to give the rest of the world a badly needed clue about CBSK and its marketing and business practices.
Of course I want to be sure that the release is accurate and I’m sending you this e-mail so that you have the opportunity to correct any misunderstandings.
1) I received 4 junk faxes advertising mortgage rates, unsolicited and with header violations, and my calls were answered by Keith Hyatt’s call center.
2) One of my calls was transferred to Robert Molnar, CBSK branch manager.
3) You stated that Molnar resigned in mid January and that you would have fired him if he was still employed.
4) You stated that you would not provide me with Molnar’s address even if requested through discovery to protect his privacy.
5) You don’t actually know that Molnar arranged to purchase the leads, the person responsible could be another CBSK employee or officer.
6) CBSK was served on 1/6/05, prior to Molnar’s resignation, and as of 2/2/05 nobody had investigated who ordered the leads and CBSK does not intend to investigate, sue the fax broadcaster or take any other action to determine what exactly happened and ensure that the responsible parties will at least be identified.
7) CBSK has settled numerous junk fax claims.
8) CBSK has no written agreement with its agents to ensure that all agents know that it is not only illegal to purchase mortgage leads, but that they may be liable for many thousands of dollars in damages.
9) CBSK does not advise its agents that it will report any illegal marketing to the DRE for disciplinary action.
10) Despite the junk fax (and other illegal marketing) settlements, CBSK has never reported a licensee to the DRE for disciplinary action as required by law.
11) The DRE Regulations and Law as of 1/05 at http://www.dre.ca.gov/relaw_pdf/Regs.pdf:
“2725. Broker Supervision.
A broker shall exercise reasonable supervision over the activities of his or her salespersons. Reasonable supervision includes, as appropriate, the establishment of policies, rules, procedures and systems to review, oversee, inspect and manage:
(e) Advertising of any service for which a license is required.”
http://www.dre.ca.gov/relaw_pdf/Relaw.pdf
“Broker Must Report Discharge of Salesperson for Violation
10178. When any real estate salesman is discharged by his employer for a violation of any of the provisions of this article prescribing a ground for disciplinary action, a certified written statement of the facts with reference thereto shall be filed forthwith with the commissioner by the employer and if the employer fails to notify the commissioner as required by this section, the commissioner may temporarily suspend or permanently revoke the real estate license of the employer, in accordance with the provisions of this part relating to hearings.”
The advertisement of mortgages requires a license and these 4 junk faxes violated numerous provisions of the DRE advertising guidelines.
I believe that these are the points we can agree on, please let me know if I misunderstood anything. The following are my conclusions:
While CBSK pretends to not condone the purchase of illegal mortgage leads, it has done absolutely NOTHING other than to fire employees for violating this policy after a suit was filed against CBSK.
The reason for CBSK’s disinterest is obvious: CBSK profits from the illegal marketing.
How many employees have actually been fired?
How many loans did Molnar close from junk fax leads?
How much did CBSK make on those loans?
How many other CBSK agents received and CONTINUE to receive leads through illegal marketing?
I looked up Molnar at the DRE, and as of 2/4/05 he’s still licensed with CBSK with NO disciplinary action.
http://www2.dre.ca.gov/publicasp/pplinfo.a...nse_id=00757456
I tried to call the DRE to find out why it takes several weeks for them to update the records, but I could not get through. So *I* will take the time to report Molnar’s illegal marketing (since CBSK NEVER reports any illegal activities by its agents despite the legal requirement to do so) and I’ll see where that goes.
Of course I can name Molnar in my suit, but I’m definitely looking for a judgment against all parties involved, jointly and severally. Your repeated assurances that I can recover the difference between the $12,000 and the $500 you offered by litigating against Molnar and the broadcaster were such an eye opener.
You failed to mention that a California real estate broker such as CBSK is liable for its agents’ actions.
Generally every employer is liable for the employees’ work related actions, but the real estate law is especially explicit.
I suppose you think it’s the right thing to do to mislead a pro se litigant and to save CBSK a few thousand bucks. Well, that backfired. And you can’t say that you didn’t know what I’m doing and why - you had my cover letter with the summons and my previous e-mail. Do you think all people are liars like the corporate scumbag lawyers?
During our negotiations, you accused me of extortion when I asked for up to $3,000 per fax. Please have a look at http://www.junkfax.org/fax/action/how_to_sue.html and especially at the $40K in small claims judgments at http://www.junkfax.org/fax/action/Judgment...stChartered.pdf
Now please explain to me why it is extortion to ask for what’s been routinely awarded by the courts?
Of course you argue that CBSK did not know about the junk faxes, but that’s not a convincing argument to me.
CBSK did NOT even report agents who ordered leads in violation of the law to the DRE and instead SETTLED the other claims in order to avoid having to take any action.
As I told you, MY motivation isn’t just money. Plaintiff’s attorneys may not appreciate this, but I am sincere about wanting to STOP the mortgage junk faxes. It’s not just about my resources and statutory damages, it’s about the FACT that people who engage in illegal marketing also engage in other illegal activities, such as low quoting, changing the rates and fees at closing, etc.
I have hundreds of e-mails from consumers pleading with me to help them because their lender lied to them. Even if I was an attorney, there is nothing I could do for them - they can’t prove the lies. Many end up with serious financial problems, become depressed and suicidal and/or get divorced. To you it’s all about money, to me it’s about changing the mortgage business.
So now I’m taking a different approach, a mix of litigation, publication and complaints with regulatory agencies. I am very unhappy with the lack of enforcement by the DRE - are they just overwhelmed with complaints or are they on the payroll too? I hope to find out.
This is an open letter, posted at my websites, in the spirit of sharing my CBSK experience. I hope that many others will sue CBSK and will file DRE complaints, hopefully consumers will NOT get their loans from such a corrupt company and maybe one day my publications will cost CBSK so much money that the decision makers will find it more cost effective to comply with the law.
That’s why I don’t mind going through discovery, finding out what’s REALLY going on at CBSK and sharing the information on the web.
Please let me know if I misunderstood any of your statements or drew incorrect conclusions.
Sincerely,
Christine Baker
Comments:
Perhaps you are unfamiliar that it is illegal to practice law in Arizona and California without a license. Perhaps also you may not be familiar with recent filings in California that overturn your fax suit. You fail to post the truth in your website, so I am certain you will erase my post as it is easy to blog on and on about your slanderous tales. It appears that your only source of income is sueing deep pockets as a profession. Few people would actually send a donation or sign up for your information which is more accurately and truthfull represented other sites for free. Do you in fact refer legal cases to Clint A Brown or is that just a front? You have not done your homework, and your website is so one sided that it does not allow any one to post the truth. I found numerous complaints about you and your tactics. You are not an activist. You are a person who does not work but sues people for a livingWith your assistance, I am looking forward to improving the quality of my publications.
"Perhaps also you may not be familiar with recent filings in California that overturn your fax suit."
I know NOTHING about these filings and hope you will provide me with the URL or fax them to me so I can dismiss all my lawsuits before they will be "overturned" and I wasted a lot of time and money.
"am certain you will erase my post as it is easy to blog on and on about your slanderous tales."
Everybody gets to submit constructive postings. Since you have information, I approved your comment.
However, in the future you MUST submit links to reputable documentation or other evidence for your accusations. Ever notice how many links I post to public records and other reliable sources?
I don't refer legal cases to anyone and I don't "practice law." http://junkfax.org/ is *the* best place to look for legal resources - people can join existing lawsuits, learn how to file pro se and get referrals to lawyers specializing in TCPA suits.
I don't have a lawyer because lawyers don't like it when their clients submit all these complaints to regulators and publish everything about the case - they're in it for the money. However, at a certain point I will have published all there is to say and I will have filed all my complaints with regulators and then I can get an attorney to take over. For now I just got an attorney to pay by the hour to get some help with procedures as I go along.
"I found numerous complaints about you and your tactics. You are not an activist. You are a person who does not work but sues people for a living"
Isn't it funny how you know so much. It sounds to me like you're a little on the stupid side, but then again, prove me wrong and submit some documentation.
How about some hints about my offshore bank accounts? Maybe I'm getting senile and I forgot about all that money I made and hid somewhere. I'll give you 50% of any recovery!
I doubt that will happen, it's rather obvious that you're a junk faxer or illegal lead buyer and you won't like what I've got in store for you guys
If I'm wrong, I'd like to know what it is you do for a living and where you work and why you are even reading here.
Thank you!
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