BofA's Recent Illegal Padlocking Of Home Not In Foreclosure, Coupled With Abduction Of Homeowner's Pet Parrot Hits Major National News Media

In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Bank of America's recent blunder of improperly padlocking and taking possession of a home believed to be in foreclosure and taking the owner's pet parrot, Luke, has hit the major national media outlets, evidenced by the following stories:(1)

• ABC News' Good Morning America: Bank of America Apologized for Accidentally Repossessing Home (Experts Say More Wrongful Lockouts as Foreclosure Rates Increase),
• The Wall Street Journal: Bank Sorry for Taking Parrot (BofA Believed Woman's Home Was Vacant, Padlocked It and Kept Bird Over a Week),
• The Wall Street Journal's Developments Blog: BofA and the Parrot: Bird’s Eye View of the Foreclosure Mess.

The Wall Street Journal reports that:

• [The homeowner's] lawyer, Michael Rosenzweig, a partner at Edgar Snyder & Associates in Pittsburgh, said Ms. Iannelli was seeking damages of more than $50,000. The amount of any damages would be decided by a jury if the case goes to trial.(2)

This is not Bank of America's first screw up in this regard, according to the ABC News' story:

• The owners of a St. Petersburg, Fla., home claimed their belongings were cleaned out, despite paying for their home with cash, the St. Petersburg Times reported. In Galveston, Texas, the power was shut off at a vacation home, resulting in 75 pounds of spoiled salmon and halibut for the owner, according to the Galveston County Daily News. A pool in an Orlando, Fla., home was even drained after an alleged wrongful lockout. A neighbor told WFTV that it looked as though "the army came up and took over the house."

For other published reports of similar Bank of America screw-ups, see:

• Naples, Florida: Another BofA Blunder: Files Suit To Foreclose On Former REO Sold To Retired Ex-Cleveland Cop For Cash, Then Issues Apology For Foreclosure Fiasco,
• Floyd County, Kentucky: Man sues after bank takes wrong house,
• Trenton, New Jersey: Mortgage mix-up in Trenton,
• Johnson City, Tennessee: Plaintiff home sick by decision.

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(1) The media appear to be having a field day reporting on this story, as evidenced by the following headlines:

• Bank of America: Polly wants a lawyer,
• Pay up or the parrot gets it, says bank,
• Woman loses parrot, has house ransacked by Bank of America in mortgage foreclosure mix-up: lawsuit,
• Bank Of America Apologizes For Parrot Snatching,
• Bank of America sued for seizing parrot,
• Bank of America: They Steal Parrots, Don't They?,
• Bank of America Hijacks Parrot, Forecloses Wrong House,
• Bank Of America Seizes Wrong House, Holds Parrot Hostage.

(2) Based on a few recent reports of litigation involving foreclosing lender screw-ups in this regard, damage awards to the victimized homeowners in cases of improper lockouts have ranged from $150,000 to well over $1,000,000. See:

• Long Island Judge Hammers Wells w/ $155K Tab For Oppressive, Heavy Handed, Egregious Conduct For Pre-Sale Lockout Of Homeowner In Foreclosure (for the actual ruling, see Wells Fargo v. Tyson, 2010 NY Slip Op 20079 (Sup. Ct., Suffolk County, March 5, 2010)),

• Plaintiff home sick by decision (Attorneys seeking to lower a $1,050,000 award to $200,000 obtained a tentative reduction of $550,000, and left the status of another $300,000 in punitive damages up in the air. The remaining $200,000 in damages was left untouched),

• Court reduces $3 million judgment in wrongful foreclosure case (A company that wrongfully foreclosed on a Las Vegas family’s condominium will pay the owners $1.29 million, not the original $3 million jury verdict. The Nevada Supreme Court reduced the amount that Countrywide Home Loans Inc. must pay Gerald and Katrina Thitchener and their family in general and special damages, but upheld the $968,070 in punitive damages; for the actual ruling of the Nevada Supreme Court, see Countrywide Home Loans v. Thitchener, 192 P.3d 243; 2008 Nev. LEXIS 79; 124 Nev. Adv. Rep. 64 (September 11, 2008)).