. >> reporter: california lawyer walter hackett spent 27 years in the banking industry. >> when theytried to industrialize the loan securitization market, this is really what they did, they tried to automate everything they could. they started digitizing loan documents and shredding originals. >> reporter: making it harder, says hackett, to track the transfers. >> and, of course, what that means is we have no clue who owns what. >> reporter: what's emerging today, say consumer lawyers, is an industry trying to cover its tracks on loans gone bad. >> what we're doing is using the documents that the securitized trust created, the business model that they created themselves, and were saying: did you do things the way that you said you did it? >> reporter: if not, the ownership of the mortgage is in question and banks may be forced to negotiate. consider the case of sandra orosco, facing foreclosure from a new bank after judge schack threw out her case three years ago. so who owns the loan now? >> bank america supposedly. >> reporter: but you're not sure. >> well, the whole thing is real