From WFMY News, out of Collier County, Florida comes this report of true justice.
Seems Bank of America filed foreclosure papers on a home that was owned by a couple free and clear - no mortgage, no loan, no debt and certainly no bank mortgage.
You'd think the bank could figure that out when they got the court papers from homeowner Maurenn Nyergers' attorney, but no. the bank still went to court and the home owner's won.
More than that, the judge then ordered Bank of America to pay the legal fees of the homewoners, saying it was a wrongfully filed foreclosure. Five months later, the bank still hadn't paid up. So the couple's attorney did exactly what the bank threatened to do.
He executed on the bank - sending the sheriff out with a court order to seize the bank's assets - the desks, computers, copiers, filing cabinets and cash in the teller's drawers.
The attorney, Todd Allen, told CBS that the bank ignored his calls and letters. Naturally he had to take action so he did. You can see the tv news video by clicking here.
The sheriff padlocked the bank and after an hour or so, the bank manager handed over a check for the legal fees the bank owed.
Now, folks, that really is justice. Attorney Allen said that he often sees bank making errors because (in the rush to foreclose) they often don't investigate adequately and it makes for a long and costly fight for the innocent homeowner.
We seen and heard of more and more cases like this where banks and their collection lawyers make mistakes. For instance, one of our Ohio clients got foreclosure papers served on him for a house in Florida that he never heard of. He's never even been to Florida, let alone bought a house there. In spite of numerous letters and emails and phone calls, the bank and their foreclosure lawyers then dropped him out of the lawsuit only to serve him all over again a few months later. Now he has a claim pending back against the bank.
Big banks make mistakes when they rush their foreclosure papers thru and when their foreclosure lawyers have so many files to handle they can't keep them straight. Frankly, it is likely that only when the bank has to pay for their mistakes that they will learn to slow down before they mess up more people's lives.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Known nationwide as a leading Lemon Law attorney, Ronald L. Burdge has represented literally thousands of consumers in "lemon" lawsuits and actively co-counsels and coaches other Consumer Law attorneys. From 2005 through 2018, attorney Ronald L. Burdge has been named as the only Lemon Law Ohio Super Lawyer by Law and Politics magazine and Thomson Reuters Corp., Professional Division. Burdge restricts his practice to Lemon Law and Consumer Law cases. The Ohio Super Lawyer results are published annually in the January issue of Cincinnati Magazine. Ronald L. Burdge was named Consumer Law Trial Lawyer of the Year 2004 by the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the nation's largest organization of consumer law private and government attorneys. "Your impact on the auto industry has been magnified many times over because of the trail you blazed for others," stated NACA's Executive Director, Will Ogburn. Burdge has represented thousands of consumers in Ohio, Kentucky and elsewhere since 1978 and is a frequent lecturer to national, state and local Bar Associations and Judicial organizations. Burdge is admitted to Ohio's state and federal courts, Kentucky's state courts, and Indiana's federal courts. Other court admissions are on a "pro hac" temporary, case by cases basis.