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Wrongful Bank Foreclosure
- Bank Bail-Out II, the Sequel: How the Banks Got a Mulligan in the Wrongful Foreclosure Crisis
- Massachusetts Attorney General’s Foreclosure Lawsuit Applauded by Private Consumer Attorneys
- 4 Million Borrowers May be Eligible for Review of Foreclosures
- Mortgage Deficiency
- Will a Massachusetts bank approve a short sale?
- Should I short sell my Massachusetts home?
- What happens during a Massachusetts short sale?
- What is a short sale in Massachusetts
- Soldier returns home from Iraq to foreclosure
- What happens during a wrongful foreclosure, illegal lock-out and trash-out?
News
- Posted on 2/8/2012Robo-signing Foreclosure Scandal Leads to Criminal Charges for Lorraine O. Brown and DocX
- Posted on 10/18/2011Attorney General Martha Coakley May Sue for Foreclosure Abuses
- Posted on 8/26/2011Couple faces foreclosure after paying mortgage early
- Posted on 8/23/2011Bank of America admits error in foreclosure case
- Posted on 8/23/2011springfield approves anti-foreclosure laws
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Testimonials
- "I sent this letter certified after receiving the free guide [from] Phillips & Garcia P.C. Saved Foreclosure. Thanks a million!" A.D. from Colorado
- After seeing first hand what you are up against concerning the big banking companies, we are even more amazed that you are willing to fight the fight. The little guy needs your help and your fearless attitude. You are good people and true Americans. We are honored to be called your friends. R.R. - Mich., Lockout & Trashout Victim
- The attorneys were very professional and I felt as though they always had my best interest in mind. Without them I would have been pushed around and just another number to the bank. N.L., Wrongful Lockout Victim
- Thank you Mr. Phillips. If we hadn't found you the [Bank] would have foreclosed on our property and I can't imagine the misery that they would have caused. S.N. - Arizona
Breaking Legal News & Current Events
California Widow Sues Bank of America for Wrongfully Entering Home and Disposing of Husband's Ashes
Posted on Dec 22, 2010
A California widow filed suit in federal court after returning to her home and discovering that her locks had been changed and the entire contents had been removed, including the ashes of her deceased husband. In her lawsuit, Mimi Ash, alleges that a home that she owned in Truckee, California was wrongfully foreclosed on by Bank of America and that a bank contractor broke into the home, changed the locks and threw out all of her and her son's belongings without telling her beforehand.
One of Ash's attorneys, Andrew Garcia said that "Ash's story is similar to many of the wrongful foreclosure lockouts happening across the country. Yet, the losses here are reprehensible. How does someone justify disposing of a person's ashes in the course of a lockout?"
The New York Times carried Ash's story and detailed the claims of homeowners like Mimi Ash who are being wrongfully locked out of their homes. Ms. Ash alleges that although she was behind on the payments on the Truckee, California home, she was actively trying to work out a mortgage modification with Bank of America to no avail.
Months before the seizure of her home, she alleges that the bank wrongfully conducted a foreclosure auction on the property. The bank later acknowledged that it wrongfully sold the home at auction and rescinded the sale. Despite the rescission of the foreclosure auction, Ash then came back to the house to discover that contractors for the bank broke into her home and took everything that belonged to her and her son.
The NY Times reports that the ransacking of Ash's home followed several years of personal and professional hardships for her. During the real estate boom, Ms. Ash and her late husband, Robert, ran thriving real estate businesses and Mr. Ash bought the Truckee home in 2003. Two years later, he was stabbed to death following a road-rage incident near the town.
Following her husband's death, Mimi Ash tried to work with the bank, which was originally Countrywide Financial (Countrywide was later bought by Bank of America), on assuming and modifying the mortgage on the Truckee home. According to Ash, representatives from the bank continued to bungle the process by losing paperwork and failing to respond to Ash's many telephone and electronic inquiries about the status of the loan.
After learning of the wrongful foreclosure auction, Ms. Ash continued to work in good faith with the bank while they agreed to rescind the sale. Sometime in late October 2008, work crews for the bank broke into the house and cleaned it out. Not only did she lose all of her valuable personal belongings, memories of her marriage in the form of photographs and videos were stolen from her. She even lost her deceased husband's ashes which were taken from the couple's master bedroom.
A bank spokesperson told the N.Y. Times that they are taking Ms. Ash's allegations very seriously and that they are thoroughly researching the claims. According to the Times, BoA will work with Ms. Ash and her counsel to determine the extent and cause of her claims to move forward to an appropriate resolution of the case.
SOURCE: The New York Times (Dec. 22, 2010)
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