Military Man Gets 11th Hour Stay Of Foreclosure Sale As Court-Appointed Attorney Gets Slammed For Failure To Notify Client Of Legal Action

In Clearwater, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:

• United States Coast Guardsman Keith A. Johnson returned last year from serving in a defense role overseas to find his bank had foreclosed on his home. It was set to be auctioned off at the courthouse the next day.
• It was a shock because Johnson was never notified of the foreclosure lawsuit against him, court documents show. The lender, Wells Fargo Bank, also failed to notify his wife, even though court records show it had sent her numerous letters about a modification request – up until a few weeks before a judge granted the foreclosure.

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• In this case, Wells Fargo told the court it couldn't find Johnson to tell him about the suit. So the lender's attorney, in accordance with the Servicemember Act, asked the judge to appoint a guardian ad litem to represent Johnson. The St. Petersburg firm representing Wells Fargo, the Law Office of Douglas C. Zahm, recommended Tampa attorney Jay D. Passer, and the court approved the appointment.
• However, three months later, Passer said he also couldn't locate Johnson. He told the court the plaintiff's pleadings "appear to be in compliance" with state law, court records show. That report was key to allowing the foreclosure to proceed.
• "That report waived the service member's rights even though the attorney didn't speak with him one time," said Col. John S. Odom, Jr., a nationally-recognized military lawyer whose book, A Judge's Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, is expected to be released later this year by the American Bar Association.

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• "An attorney ad litem is supposed to defend the person just as though they were being paid $1 million a day to do it," [Sarasota attorney and Florida legal treatise author Henry P. Trawick, Jr.] said. "I think it's ridiculous that they couldn't find him, but even then, the attorney should have tied it up in court until his client returned."

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• St. Petersburg foreclosure defense attorney Matt Weidner represents Johnson and said it would have been easy to find him. "All he had to do is walk up to the Coast Guard gate in Clearwater and say, "I need to find this guy,'" Weidner said. "The military knows where their people are. I don't think his level of inquiry is sufficient for even a civilian."

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• Meanwhile, Johnson waits on this day in court. He was granted an emergency injunction to stop the sale of the home. For now, Johnson is living in the home, but Wells Fargo's judgment still stands.

For more, see Military man returns from war to find home foreclosed.