Utah to get $1.3 million in foreclosure settlement

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah will get $1.39 million in a national settlement covering improper home foreclosures.

The settlement deals with a practice known as "robo-signing," when banks automatically sign off on foreclosures without properly reviewing documents. The settlement targets a company called Lender Processing Services.

Attorney General John Swallow announced the settlement Thursday, saying that mortgage companies are victimizing consumers with rubber-stamped foreclosure operations. Utah is one of more than 40 states to receive money in the estimated $120 million national legal action. The attorney general's office estimates that improper conduct by the company affected nearly 40,000 documents.

Lender Processing Services President and CEO Hugh Harris said the settlement is a major step in putting past business practices behind the company.