NY Court Kiboshes Town's Attempt To Seize Mentally Unfit Homeowner's $200K+ Property For $13K In Back Taxes

In Lewisboro, New York, The Lewisboro Ledger reports:

• Lewisboro erred in foreclosing on a resident’s property without ascertaining that the man was mentally fit, a state judge has ruled. State Supreme Court Judge Gerald Loehr ordered last month that the town must return Richard Egloff’s Lake Kitchawan home to him in exchange for the payment of $13,000 in back taxes.

• According to the judge’s order, provided to The Ledger by Mr. Egloff’s lawyer, Thomas Decea, Judge Loehr ruled that Mr. Egloff was “incompetent at the time of the foreclosure” due to mental illness, and that the town’s seizure of the property, worth more than $200,000 according to court papers, was “invalid.” The town had confiscated the property in May 2008 after foreclosing on the property for non-payment of property taxes. In June, Mr. Egloff sued the town alleging that his rights had been violated, and that the town had ignored his mental illness.

For more, see Judge rules town must return seized house.

Go here for a copy of Judge Loehr's preliminary judgment against the town.

For the lawsuit, see Egloff v. Town of Lewisboro, et al.

For an earlier post on the original story, see Schizophrenic Employee Says In Suit Town Stiffed Him On Five Years Back Pay, Then Seized His $200K Property For $11K In Delinquent Real Estate Taxes.