Journal-News.com

After months of tears of grief and worry over her mortgage, Kim Baker said she is finally shedding a different kind.

It's all thanks to a lawsuit regarding deceptive mortgage practices that has resulted in Bank of America Corp. agreeing Monday, Oct. 6, to pay up to $8.4 billion to modify nearly 400,000 loans from customers of Countrywide Financial Corp., the troubled mortgage lender it acquired last summer. The lawsuit includes Ohio and 10 other states.

Baker, whose loan falls into those affected by the lawsuit, said it's just what she needed to start moving things back on track.

"My husband and I will finally be able to sleep at night," said Baker, of New Miami. "I've been crying tears of joy all day."

For Ohio, the settlement would translate into $102.9 million in relief for about 8,000 residents, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

Bank of America said it will launch a new mortgage aid program in December as part of the settlement. Depending on the type of loan, about one-fourth to one-half of all Countrywide sub-prime loans in the state are delinquent, Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers said in a statement.

"Foreclosures have devastated our communities and crippled our economy," she said.

In a statement, Barbara Desoer, president of Bank of America's mortgage, home equity and insurance services, called the plan "a comprehensive program that provides more solutions than ever before to assist troubled borrowers and put them back on the path to sustained home ownership."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.