NYC Judge Unfreezes Delinquent Homeowner's Bank Account Amidst "Sewer Service" Allegations Against Law Firm For Lender Holding Underwater 2nd Mortgage
In Staten Island, New York, the Staten Island Advance reports:
- A new foreclosure tactic, whereby lenders or debt collectors holding second mortgages freeze bank accounts or garnish pay checks of already struggling homeowners, is emerging and making it even more difficult for people to hold onto their
homes.(1)
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- George Apolinaris of Graniteville said his longtime companion, Maria Gil, got an unwelcome surprise when Ms. Gil tried to withdraw some money for groceries from two small bank accounts totaling $6,000 that the two maintained. The accounts were frozen and in the red for $250,000 -- twice the $126,000 owed on their second mortgage. Apolinaris said the couple never received any notice about the court action that froze the bank accounts. "They claim they handed a notice to somebody, but we don't know who it is," Apolinaris said.
- Robert Brown, an attorney specializing in foreclosure and predatory lending cases, argued successfully in court that Ms. Gil had not been properly notified of judgment proceedings by attorneys for lender Citimortgage. In court papers, Brown noted that the lender's debt collection law firm, Forster and Garbus, had been cited by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for problems in serving legal papers to defendants in civil suits, also known as "sewer service.
"(2)
- Last week, state Supreme Court Justice Judith McMahon sided with Brown and vacated the judgment, effectively unfreezing the couple's small bank accounts. Brown now plans to make a counterclaim under predatory lending laws. He said the couple had fallen behind on their first mortgage but foreclosure proceedings had not yet begun.
For the story, see Homeowners are getting hit a second time.
(1) According to the story, Josh Zinner of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project in Manhattan said some lenders or trusts for banks that went out of business are selling off second mortgages today to debt collectors for pennies on the dollars. Those debt collectors are then going after the homeowners' bank accounts or pay checks to recoup whatever money they can. "The backdrop to that is there are real fundamental problems in the debt buyer industry," said Zinner. "The combination of the second mortgage problem with all the abuses in the debt collection industry is toxic, and could really create havoc for homeowners who are trying to avoid foreclosure on their primary mortgage."
For more on New York's "sewer service" problem, see:
- MFY Legal Services: Justice Disserved (documents problem of improper service of process in debt collection lawsuits that have led to money judgments entered against unknowingly victims),
- NY AG Files Criminal Charges & Parallel Civil Suit Against Process Serving Firm & Its CEO Alleging Massive "Nail & Mail Sewer Service" Operation. SewerServiceAlpha
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