VA Bankruptcy Judge slams Deutsche Bank for robo-signing

On November 8, 2010, a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, slammed Deutsche Bank National Trust Company appearing as a securitization trustee and alleged creditor for using a Deed of Appointment (a document initiating foreclosure in Virginia) that was fraudulently signed by Mr. Liquenda Allotey, now a known robo-signer and employee of Lender Processing Services (LPS), a company under investigation by at least one State Attorney General.

The judge stated:

           "It is certainly true that in Virginia recitals in a recorded instrument are prima facie evidence of the truth of those matters but prima facie does not mean conclusive and a party can always present evidence to show that the recitals are incorrect. I believe that the plaintiff here has produced enough evidence to call into serious questions whether Allotey [the robo-signer] was in fact a vice president and a person authorized to sign the deed of appointment of substitute trustees; and since I have counsel for the firm here, I would strongly suggest that . . . it obtain a new deed of appointment of substitute trustees, signed by someone who actually was an officer of Deutsche Bank."

Even though the fraud claim could not ultimately proceed for other (procedural) reasons, the above pronouncement is significant because it addresses on the record the issue of the burden of proof in foreclosure defense cases in non-judicial states, such as Virginia.  An excerpt from the hearing transcript can be accessed here:
          http://www.scribd.com/doc/44479970/Transcript-Excerpt-Long-AP