NEW YORK - December 13, 2010 - Bank of America restarted about 16,000 home foreclosure cases across the United States earlier this week, a company spokesman said Friday.

Bank of America spokesman Dan Frahm said the bank notified its outside attorneys on Monday to resume foreclosure proceedings on the first significant amount of homes since the bank lifted its repossession ban in October.

Many banks, including Bank of America, JPMorganChase, Citigroup and Ally Financial, had temporarily suspended the foreclosure process for some time amid a firestorm of allegations that banks used "robo-signers" to sign hundreds of foreclosure documents a day without proper legal review.

For BofA's latest round of foreclosures, the homes are primarily vacant or non-owner occupied houses, said Frahm. Of the 16,000 properties, 7,800 are in states where a judge must approve any home repossession.

In those states where court approval is not required for foreclose on a home, the bank has asked its attorneys to lift the hold on 8,000 delayed foreclosure sales.