Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
NYC Co-Op Moves To Boot Chain-Smoking Resident Accused Of Willfully Neglecting Effects Of Her 2nd-Hand Smoke Intrusion Into Hallways, Other Units
In New York City, the New York Post reports:
Hit the bricks, smokestack!
A chi-chi Upper West Side building wants to boot the trust-fund transsexual who’s been stinking up the joint with her chain smoking. In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the co-op board of the El Dorado, at 300 Central Park West, says Diane Wells has ignored its pleas to be more considerate of her neighbors — even refusing to use the air purifiers residents bought her for her ninth-floor apartment.
"Wells smokes so heavily that the smoke and odor permeates the elevator and extends as far down as the lobby of the building and at least as high up as the apartments on the 10th floor,” the complaint says. “On multiple occasions, the cigarette smoke and odor [have] filled the entry halls on at least the ninth and 10th floors of building, requiring shareholders to traverse a cloud of smoke between the elevator and their apartment entrances.” The odor “permeates the inside of other shareholders’ apartments,” says the filing on behalf of the El Dorado, which has been home to the likes of Alec Baldwin, Bono, Michael J. Fox and Marilyn Monroe over the years. While Wells has lived — and smoked — in the apartment for about a decade, the problem apparently started this year. The building blames it on holes in the walls of Wells’ four-bedroom apartment, as well as a hole in the plumbing line. Management has offered to seal the holes, but Wells, 59, has denied them access, the suit says. When she refused the building’s requests to buy air purifiers for her apartment, fed-up residents bought her some on their own. But she’s refused to use them, the suit says. Wells, who was born a man, also has fallen behind on her common charges to the tune of $18,000 and is $42,000 short in the escrow account she agreed to maintain in return for living in the apartment, which used to belong to her late mother. The building is seeking an order barring her from smoking until the apartment is repaired — and an order giving her the heave-ho. She could not be reached for comment yesterday. Her multimillionaire mom, Constance Cheney, died in 2007. A Manhattan judge allowed Wells to stay there pending the outcome of a battle for her mother’s estate in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court, where she’s duking it out with her two siblings.
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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