Singer Rundgren’s appeal on ‘wrong’ foreclosure rejected
Robbie Williams to perform at Monaco prince’s July bash
MONACO: British pop star Robbie Williams will be the star turn at a July concert in Monaco to fete Prince Albert II’s decade on the throne, the palace announced Monday.
The July 12 event will also feature performers Lemar and Justin Caldwell in an exclusive event for the some 37,000 residents of the world’s second smallest state behind the Vatican.
Monaco consists of less than two square kilometres of rocky territory carved out of France’s Mediterranean coast that has only 8,000 nationals.
The prince and his wife Princess Charlene will meet their citizens on July 11 for a cocktail party.
Albert is the product of a fairytale marriage between Prince Rainier and the US movie star Grace Kelly. — AFP THE US Supreme Court on Monday declined to revive a lawsuit by singer- songwriter Todd Rundgren and his wife Michele accusing JPMorgan Chase of wrongfully attempting to foreclose on the couple’s Kilauea, Hawaii home.
The court’s rejection of the couple’s appeal lets stand a lower court’s dismissal of their claims for damages and an order to stop a foreclosure sale.
The Rundgrens’ lawyer, Gary Dubin, said the couple are still in their home and have other defences to fight the foreclosure.
“This is just the beginning,” Dubin said by email.
JPMorgan spokesman Jason Lobo declined comment.
Rundgren, set to begin a US tour in April, is best known for such 1970s hits as ‘ Hello It’s Me’ and ‘I Saw the Light’.
The Rundgrens’ dispute stems from a US$ 3 million refinancing loan the couple arranged with Washington Mutual Bank several months before the bank failed in 2008.
Chase bought that bank’s assets, including the Rundgrens’ loan, out of receivership in 2008.
In court filings, Chase said it started foreclosure proceedings in 2009 after the Rundgrens defaulted on their US$ 17,060 monthly mortgage payments.
The Rundgrens’ lawsuit alleged that their mortgage was void because of numerous fraudulent acts by Washington Mutual Bank, also called WaMu, when the bank originated the loan. The lawsuit said WaMu created a false loan application, exaggerated the Rundgrens’ income and used a false appraisal for their home.
The lawsuit said WaMu tricked the Rundgrens into signing the mortgage without giving the couple time to read it and understand its terms.
The loan had been switched from a fixed-rate to an adjustablerate loan, the lawsuit said.
In a motion to dismiss the case filed in 2010, Chase argued that it was not liable for WaMu’s actions.
The bank said that when it bought WaMu’s loans from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, its purchase agreement provided that Chase would not assume related liabilities.
Hawaii’s US District Court and the San Francisco-based US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit agreed, saying claims involving WaMu loans have to be resolved in administrative proceedings at the FDIC.
The courts cited the 1989 Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act, which gave the FDIC broad authority to address claims against failed banks.
In seeking a Supreme Court review, Dubin had argued that it defied logic to leave the couple exposed to foreclosure while they pursued administrative claims.
The case is: Todd Rundgren et al, petitioners v Washington Mutual Bank et al, No 14- 865 — Reuters