Clerk's Typo When Recording Mortgage Stymies Lender In Subsequent Foreclosure Action

In Zansesville, Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reports:

• A Zanesville resident won the first round in a battle over his house when a judge ruled that JPMorgan Chase could not pursue a foreclosure. The bank went after Andy Mateja's house last year because the home's former owner hadn't paid a $150,000 lien placed on the property in 1998.

• Mateja purchased the property for $320,000 in 2001 from Dr. Subbarayudu Koppera, but a title search did not detect the lien because an employee in the Muskingum County recorder's office mistakenly entered the lien under the name Koppepa. A Muskingum County judge ruled in favor of Mateja on Monday. The judge didn't say in his ruling why he sided with Mateja. [...] Round 2 of the battle begins Aug. 11 when the sides meet with the judge and Mateja will try to recover $30,000 in court fees.

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• When Mateja purchased the house, he did not take out title insurance that would have protected him from claims against a previous owner, so JPMorgan Chase served him foreclosure papers in August 2007.

For the story, see Bank can't foreclose over typo, judge rules.

For earlier stories, see

• Clerk's error jeopardizes family's home (Undetected lien against seller haunts buyer),
• Errors in lien data could cost buyers (Misspellings, mistakes leave county guessing on property searches). title insurance legal issues