Lawsuit: BofA At Center Of Another Illegal Trashout As 82-Year Old Man Away On Extended Trip Returns Home To Find Premises Emptied & Padlocked

In Hillborough County, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:

• After going out of town, an 82-year-old man returned home to find his house emptied out. Even the trash was gone. He found a padlocked door and a sign for a company that cleans out properties in foreclosure. But Benito Santiago Sr.'s home wasn't in foreclosure, public records show.



• In a lawsuit filed this month in Hillsborough Circuit Court, Santiago claims that Field Asset Services Inc., took his property and changed his locks in the fall of 2009. He sued the company, along with Countrywide Home Loans, for damages.



• A Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy estimated in an Oct. 5, 2009, report that the Santiago's possessions were worth $29,100. In an interview, Santiago, a retired antiques dealer, guessed they were worth $100,000. "At least," he said.



• Pictures of his deceased wife were among the items taken. He lost everything, including his furniture and an antique wagon wheel. The incident upset him enough that he moved in with a friend. "Everything was taken out of the property," he said. "I feel nervous. I'm not going back."



• Neither Field Asset Services nor Bank of America, which now owns Countrywide, commented on the incident when contacted by the St. Petersburg Times. Field Asset Services said it doesn't discuss client cases. Bank of America requested a copy of the suit.

***

• Carlin Phillips is a Massachusetts attorney who specializes in cases of wrongful "lock-outs" and "trash-outs." In the past year, he's had hundreds. Sometimes, the homeowner is delinquent, but the lockout is premature. Sometimes, cleaners go to a "road" instead of a "court." And in some cases, people who just purchased a bank-owned home will return to find it cleaned out, because no one took it off the foreclosure list.



• Phillips says banks have failed to adopt policies to make sure they have the right house. His experience doesn't bode well for Santiago's possessions. "We have never gotten one piece of property back," he said.(1)

For the story, see Tampa retiree says he lost belongings in foreclosure blunder.

(1) For those homeowners who've been screwed over by wrongful lockouts by foreclosing lenders (and their confederates) and seek some possible guidance on how much their cases might be worth if they seek to sue, see:

• Nevada High Court OKs $1M+ Damage Award To Homeowner Due To Mortgage Company Misidentification Of Home In Foreclosure (for the court ruling, see Countrywide Home Loans v. Thitchener, 192 P.3d 243; 2008 Nev. LEXIS 79; 124 Nev. Adv. Rep. 64 (September 11, 2008)),



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