Sunday, March 14, 2010

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)

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:

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

----------------------

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

(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:

  • 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)).