Oakland Settles Suit Charging Lender, Subsidiaries, Real Estate Agents With Illegal Foreclosure Evictions

From the Office of the City Attorney for Oakland, California:

• A City of Oakland lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase Bank of wrongfully evicting tenants from foreclosed homes has been settled. The lawsuit was one of five filed by the city in recent months accusing banks, their subsidiaries and several local real estate agents of violating an Oakland law that protects tenants from unjust evictions.(1)

• In February and March of this year, Oakland’s Neighborhood Law Corps filed the lawsuits against JPMorgan Chase and Fidelity National Financial, along with their subsidiary companies and the local agents who are paid to remove tenants from properties the banks have acquired through foreclosure.

• Tenants in foreclosed homes and apartments provided numerous examples of improper eviction notices served by those agents. Oakland’s "Just Cause" ordinance allows landlords to evict tenants for specific reasons such as failing to pay rent or damaging property. However, foreclosure is not a "just cause" for eviction under the city’s law.

• JPMorgan Chase agreed to a settlement that includes a $35,000 payment to the city. The settlement also includes an example of a legal notice that banks can use to determine the occupancy of a foreclosed property in Oakland. "Evictions resulting from the foreclosure crisis continue to cause extraordinary hardship for working families here in Oakland and across California," City Attorney John Russo said. "I congratulate JPMorgan Chase and other defendants for quickly stepping up to settle these lawsuits and for recognizing the law in Oakland. We hope these settlements send a strong message to other banks and agents who do business in our community."

• Russo also praised real estate agents Joseph McNulty and Percy Cheung, the first defendants to agree to settlements.(2) The City Attorney’s Office is in settlement negotiations with other defendants named in the complaints.

For the Oakland City Attorney press release, see Oakland reaches settlement with JPMorgan Chase on eviction lawsuit.

Go here for other posts on illegal foreclosure evictions in violation of Oakland, California's Just Cause Ordinance.

(1) For more from the Oakland City Attorney's Office on these illegal foreclosure eviction lawsuits, see:

• Press Release: Oakland City Attorney sues major banks, local agents to stop illegal evictions and abuse of tenants’ rights;
• Lawsuit against: JPMorgan Chase, Chase Home Finance, EMC, etc.,
• Lawsuit against: Fidelity National Financial, etc.,
• Lawsuit against: Keller Williams, etc.,
• Lawsuit against: Session Real Estate,
• Lawsuit against: Smart Choice Realty, etc.
• Examples of Wrongful Eviction Notices,
• City Attorney's Guideline for Tenants' Rights in Foreclosed Housing.

(2) According to a San Francisco Chronicle report, Joseph McNulty will pay $3,000 and Percy Cheung of Smart Choice Realty will pay $2,500, said Alex Katz, spokesman for City Attorney John Russo.

California Appeals Court Upholds Oakland's "Just Cause" Tenant Protection Law

From the Office of the City Attorney, Oakland, California:

• On Tuesday, March 3, City Attorney John Russo announced that the city has prevailed in a 6-year lawsuit filed by landlords seeking to overturn Oakland’s strong tenant protection law – the Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance [Measure EE].(1) A decision last week by the California Court of Appeal upholds the Just Cause ordinance and affirms the right of tenants to receive significant damages and attorney fees from landlords who break the law.

• "Oakland has been hit with waves of illegal evictions as a result of the foreclosure crisis," City Attorney Russo said. "Some banks and their agents have routinely violated the law by evicting good tenants from foreclosed apartments and homes without cause."

For the rest of the Oakland City Attorney's press release, see Oakland’s Tenant Protection Law Upheld by Appeals Court.

For the ruling of the California Appeals court, see Rental Housing Association of Northern Alameda County v. City of Oakland.

(1) Measure EE is codified at Oakland Municipal Code chapter 8.22.300 et seq. SkimmingKappaRent

Broker Intimidation Used To Illegally Harass Tenants Out Of Foreclosed Homes, Says Oakland Lawsuit

In Northern California, The Oakland Tribune reports:

• The city of Oakland filed suit Monday in Superior Court against [Walnut Creek's Tri-County Properties licensed real estate broker Craig] Jarvis, accusing him of forcing tenants from foreclosed properties through intimidation and harassment. Oakland City Attorney John A. Russo said Jarvis' citing of the Civil Code was bogus while the City's Just Cause Ordinance expressly forbids eviction of tenants from a property that has been foreclosed. Jarvis could not be reached for comment. The attendant who answered his phone said he was "in court on eviction hearings."

***

• Russo estimated at least 10 families were treated in similar ways. He said the bigger concern, however, is how many other real estate brokers are doing the same thing — pushing tenants out so lenders can dispose of their foreclosed properties more quickly. "This is the worst type of bottom feeding," from which real estate and mortgage brokers and banks win tremendous profits, said Russo.

• The suit accused Tri-City Properties of engaging in practices that put honest practitioners at a competitive disadvantage. It cited Jarvis' violations including intimidating tenants to take paltry "cash for keys" offers that do not reflect the actual cost of the move for the tenant; turning off tenants' heat and electricity; refusing to return tenants' phone calls in reply to notices to vacate; refusing requests for information about the foreclosure or the identity of the new property owner; claiming to have instituted eviction proceedings against the tenant or threatening to do so if they do not comply with his demands; and citing incorrect legal authority to lend an aura of legitimacy to his demands.

• Russo urged Oakland tenants so threatened as well as homeowners who risk foreclosure to call the Oakland City Attorney's hot line: 510-BE-ALERT or 510-232-5378.

For more, see Suit: Broker harassing Oakland tenants (City alleges 10 families may have been intimidated) (if link expires, try here).

See also, San Francisco Chronicle: Oakland sues landlord, claims illegal evictions.

Go here for posts on illegal evictions in violation of the "just cause" ordinance (Prop EE).

Oakland Tenant Walks Away With $4K Settlement, Over A Year Of Free Rent In Battle Against Lender & Its Illegal Foreclosure Eviction Attempt

In Oakland, California, Beyond Chron reports the story of one tenant's battle against a foreclosing mortgage lender and its attempt to carry out an illegal eviction, despite the city's Just Cause Ordinance, which, with exceptions, prohibits a lender from doing so. He ultimately sought out the assistance of the local non-profit law firm Eviction Defense Center to fight the lender:

• [H]ughs said that his experience with the Center was user-friendly, unlike the rest of the legal system; he paid $40 for a consultation and to file papers, and it cost him $90 to go to court. Considering all the money he was saving while on rent strike, the minimal fees seemed worth it. Hughs first approached the Eviction Defense Center on Nov. 20, 2008. The Center filed a demand for a jury trial, and on Feb. 6 they represented him at a court appearance. A week later, Hughs got his settlement: After a year and a half of maintaining his home and living rent-free, he promised to leave the property within 30 days in exchange for $4,000.

For the story, see Oakland Resident Squats Bank-Owned Home.

(1) Reportedly, the Eviction Defense Center does not represent prior owners who have been foreclosed on, only tenants, who are protected by Oakland’s Just Cause Ordinance. According to executive director Anne Omura, many attorneys who represent banks are from out of county and are unfamiliar with local laws, the story states. When they do know the laws, they reportedly try to circumvent them. Numerous real estate agents and law firms are said to be on watch lists for continually filing lawsuits with no legal merit. Or for using intimidation. “Banks hire aggressive and often times unscrupulous agents who will bang on the door and threaten [tenants],” Omura said, “and a lot of people don’t know their rights and end up getting displaced.” RentSigmaSkimming

Washington Mutual, Countrywide Accused Of Illegally Booting Oakland Tenants In Foreclosed Homes

In Oakland, California, KGO-TV Channel 7 reports:

• Renters in the East Bay have been forced out of their homes because the owners of those homes have defaulted on their loans. One Oakland grandmother is facing eviction by Washington Mutual bank even though it's illegal in Oakland to force out a renter for any reason other than just cause.

***

• Since 2002, when Oakland passed Prop EE, it's been illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant unless they have just cause and a foreclosure [doesn't] change that. The East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley is trying to help [one tenant] and dozens of others keep their homes. [...] Oakland doesn't know how many of these illegal renter evictions are going on, but City Attorney John Russo says he's put banks and eviction agencies on notice.

***

• WaMu returned our calls to say that although their attorney's names appear on all the eviction notices that [one tenant] received the loan belongs to Countrywide.

For more, see WaMu kicks out renters. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

City Of Oakland Files Five Lawsuits Accusing Lenders, Agents Of Illegal Foreclosure Evictions

In Oakland, California, KGO-TV Channel 7 reports:

• Oakland City Attorney John Russo said [Thursday] that his office has recently filed five lawsuits against major banks and local agents he alleges are illegally evicting tenants. At a news conference at City Hall, Russo alleged that despite repeated warnings, banks and their agents have continued to violate Oakland's "just cause" law by sending illegal eviction notices to good tenants in foreclosed buildings.

***

• Russo said the lawsuits name as defendants banking giants JPMorgan Chase and Fidelity National Financial, along with their subsidiary companies and local agents, whom he alleges are paid to remove tenants from properties the banks have acquired through foreclosure.

For more, see Banks accused of violating renters' rights.

For more from the Oakland City Attorney's Office, see:

• Press Release: Oakland City Attorney sues major banks, local agents to stop illegal evictions and abuse of tenants’ rights;
• Lawsuit against: JPMorgan Chase, Chase Home Finance, EMC, etc.,
• Lawsuit against: Fidelity National Financial, etc.,
• Lawsuit against: Keller Williams, etc.,
• Lawsuit against: Session Real Estate,
• Lawsuit against: Smart Choice Realty, etc.
• Examples of Wrongful Eviction Notices,
• City Attorney's Guideline for Tenants' Rights in Foreclosed Housing.

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. RentSigmaSkimming

Foreclosing Lenders Using "Water Shut-Offs" To Harass Renters To Move, Claim Bay-Area Tenant Advocates

In Oakland, California, the Los Angeles Times reports on allegations that foreclosing mortgage lenders are intentionally not paying water bills on foreclosed homes, resulting in water shut offs, as well as using other tactics as a way to illegally force tenants out of homes without formal eviction proceedings:

• [A]rea activists [...] say low-income renters who have the right to remain in their homes are increasingly being harassed in foreclosure proceedings by lenders eager to be rid of them. Oakland is one of a number of California cities that offer tenants stringent protections against eviction, even in the case of foreclosure. But advocates tracking the mortgage crisis say such illegal attempts at eviction have been on the rise statewide.

***

• Dustin Hobbs, spokesman for the California Mortgage Bankers Assn., attributed such eviction tactics as nonpayment of water bills to "some bad apples." "The strict laws in places like Oakland and the fact that this could expose companies to costly litigation are two big reasons why more legitimate lenders wouldn't use tactics like this," he said.

• Throughout the state, those who are watching the effect of foreclosures on tenants believe unscrupulous tactics are common. At the very least, lenders eager to push out tenants are offering "cash for keys" without informing tenants of their legal right to stay, particularly in cities with tough tenant protections, they say.

Housing advocates with Just Cause Oakland and Oakland non-profit law firm, Eviction Defense Center are among those defending tenant rights in these cases.

For more, see Renters tell of harassment in foreclosure proceedings (The lender stopped paying the water bill in a bid to evict them, Oakland duplex residents say. Activists say such tactics are on the increase).

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Some Foreclosing Lenders Conducting Illegal Tenant Evictions In Oakland

A story in Northern California's Inside Bay Area is reporting that lenders who have acquired ownership of homes in foreclosure may be illegally evicting tenants or telling them to move in direct violation of a local ordinance that prohibits the practice in many cases. According to the story:

• Across Oakland, scores of renters ... are being served eviction notices or being told to move out as banks take over buildings from defaulting landlords. Yet Oakland's tough rental laws exclude foreclosure as a legal reason to evict tenants, except in rare circumstances. These banks, or the brokers representing them, appear to be ignoring city law or hoping tenants don't know about them. "We are getting quite a bit of evidence that there are many violations of Measure EE" — the city's voter-approved renters' rights ordinance, City Attorney John Russo said earlier this month. "The banks foreclose and the landlords take off."

• Tenants caught in between the banks and their errant landlords may face difficult straits, he said, including eviction. In some cases, building utilities have been turned off because landlords stopped paying the bills.

[...]

• Measure EE, the "just cause" eviction ordinance passed in 2002, specifies when eviction may occur. Except in dwellings built since 1980, the owner cannot evict rent-paying tenants who abide by rental agreements unless the owner occupies at least a third of the building or intends to move into the unit or move family into the unit. The measure also says landlords must abide by lease agreements unless tenants fail to pay rent, damage property or breach some other portion of a rental agreement.

For more, see Mortgage crisis hurting tenants (Some renters illegally evicted from buildings in foreclosure) (if link expires, try here - courtesy of FindArticles.com).

See also, Oakland City Attorney: Foreclosures Shouldn’t Force Evictions (KCBS Radio - 740 AM).

Measure EE available online courtesy of the Oakland Association of Realtors. unwittingly equity skimming beta

California AG Starts Probe In Effort To Ensure That Tenants In Foreclosed Houses "Aren't Rousted From Their Homes In Violation Of The Law!"

From the Office of the California Attorney General:

• Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. [] launched an investigation aimed at protecting the rights of the "forgotten victims" of the housing market collapse -- the tens of thousands of tenants facing eviction from buildings that have been foreclosed by banks.

• "Tenants who live in properties in foreclosure are the forgotten victims of the collapse of the housing market," Brown said. "We'll fight every step of the way to ensure they aren't rousted from their homes in violation of the law." As a part of his investigation, Brown [] sent letters to 24 banks, loan servicers, private investors, and law firms demanding information about whether they are complying with federal, state, and local laws regarding foreclosed properties and their treatment of tenants.

• More than 20 housing rights and public interest groups from across California have petitioned the Attorney General to take action, citing a "pattern of illegal conduct" and tenant harassment by banks, real estate agents and lawyers attempting to speed up evictions so that foreclosed properties can be sold.

***

• In his letter, Brown requires banks, loan servicers, private investors and law firms to provide information by July 19 about their policies and procedures when dealing with foreclosed properties and current tenants. It specifically asks the recipients to outline how they "promote or preserve tenancies after foreclosure".

• In May 2009, the federal government enacted the "Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act" giving tenants new protections, such as the right to stay in their homes for at least 90 days after receiving an eviction notice. While state and local laws also contain strong protections, unlawful evictions and harassment of tenants continue.(1)

For the California AG press release, and the text of his letter to the 24 alleged evil-doers, see Brown Investigates Whether Tenants' Rights Are Violated in Foreclosures.

For more on foreclosures and the rights of tenants, see National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty: Staying Home: The Rights of Renters Living in Foreclosed Properties.

(1) According to the California AG, the rights of tenants in foreclosed homes and apartments include:

• Tenants cannot be required to move out of their homes for at least 90 days following an eviction notice.
• Tenants can insist on staying until the end of their leases. The only exception occurs when the new owner of a single-family home wants to move in.
• Tenants can require banks and their agents to put all communication in writing.
• Tenants are not obliged to accept "cash for keys" money to move out sooner than the law prescribes.
• Harassment, such as improper entry into a person's home, shutting off water and lights, or changing the locks without a court order is illegal.
• The above rights extend to tenants living in government-subsidized Section 8 housing, who may also have additional protections under state and local laws.

In addition, the state Attorney General points out that if a California city has a "just cause for eviction" law, a landlord must have a specific reason to evict a tenant, and foreclosure may not be recognized as a legitimate basis for eviction. Tenants should check local ordinances.

According to the California Attorney General's office, sixteen cities in California have just cause for eviction ordinances: Berkeley, Beverly Hills, East Palo Alto, Glendale, Hayward, Los Angeles, Maywood, Oakland, Palm Springs, Richmond, Ridgecrest, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, and West Hollywood.

More On Use Of Water Service "Shut-Offs" To Illegally Evict Tenants From Foreclosed Homes

In the California Bay Area, the San Francisco Chronicle reports:

• Faced with reports of landlords and banks in foreclosure cases who stop paying water bills as a way to illegally evict tenants, the East Bay Municipal Utility District is considering a proposal to place liens on landlords' property to collect the unpaid charges.

***

• "It's really kind of an epidemic in Oakland and Berkeley," said Anne Omura, executive director of Oakland's Eviction Defense Center, a nonprofit legal-aid group helping poor renters. "I've never seen a time like this in terms of these foreclosure evictions. The cases are heartbreaking. We have a lot of elderly and disabled clients whose landlords have been foreclosed on."

• Several cities - including Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco - have "just cause" eviction laws that allow tenants to remain in rental properties that are sold unless the new owner intends to move in or convert its use.

• Omura said it's difficult to determine whether landlords and banks stop paying utility bills as a deliberate strategy to evict tenants, but her agency is seeing attempted eviction cases where the taps have run dry. A property owner is legally required to keep rental units habitable. [...] "Based on the evidence we are seeing in the city attorney's office, a large number of evictions resulting from bank foreclosure are deceitful, unjust and flagrantly illegal under local and state law," [Oakland City Attorney John Russo] said.

For more, see EBMUD considers helping renters in foreclosure.

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Water Shut-Offs Hurting Oakland-Area Tenants In Foreclosed Homes; Rent-Skimming Landlords Stiffing Local Utility District

In Oakland, California, the Contra Costa Times reports:

• With five kids at home, including an infant, Kimberly Isaac-Ray knows her family cannot go without water. But when her landlord went into foreclosure, and a bank took over the duplex where she lives, Isaac-Ray found herself without utilities. She was able to convince the East Bay Municipal Utility District to restore her water service after one day.

• Ida Hancox and her family weren't as lucky. They went three days without water in their foreclosed-upon apartment. Their foreclosed landlord had disappeared, and the bank stopped paying the utilities. "Tenants should not suffer because of someone else's mistake," Hancox told the board of directors this week.

• Directors agreed and set a moratorium on water utility shutoffs in any situation where a tenant is left in a foreclosed building. The moratorium will continue through March 11, when the directors plan to consider policy changes to deal with foreclosures and utility shutoffs, including changes suggested by Just Cause Oakland, a tenant group.

For more, see Group argues for tenant rights in case of landlord foreclosure (East Bay residents say their utilities were turned off because their landlords missed mortgage payments).

For story update, see Panel considers ban on water shut-off to tenants in foreclosed buildings. (3-7-2008)

For posts involving rent / equity skimming landlords who pocket rent and allow homes to go into foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, go here, and go here. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Unwitting Tenants Being Left Holding The Bag In Home Foreclosures

Given the high rate of foreclosures in California, The San Jose Mercury News recently ran a story of how these foreclosures are affecting unwitting California tenants who find themselves being required to leave a rented home that they have dutifully paid rent on throughout the period of their occupancy. Some of the highlights from the story:

1. Nearly 9,500 California properties were sold in foreclosure auctions in August, according to ForeclosureRadar.com. Of those, 44 percent were not owner-occupied, the company said.
2. [M]any renters don't know the whole story [about the foreclosure of the home they are renting] until they're being informed by a bank's agent that they need to move in 30 days or face eviction.
3. [One real estate agent] said she has seen cases where landlords rented property to new tenants just before the home's foreclosure auction date, collecting a deposit and rent "knowing that the house would be gone in two weeks," she said. "It's unbelievable what people do, unbelievable."
4. In most cases, once a property has been foreclosed upon and the ownership changes, tenants' leases are wiped out, and they must vacate within 30 days (60 days if they've lived in the property more than one year).
5. Tenants in San Jose rent-controlled units would get 90 or 120 days, depending on how tight the rental market is.
6. Another exception is in rent-controlled units in cities with "just cause" eviction laws that do not list foreclosure as one of the causes for eviction, such as Berkeley, East Palo Alto, Hayward, Oakland and San Francisco (see Some Foreclosing Lenders Conducting Illegal Tenant Evictions In Oakland).
7. Many tenants don't know that lenders newly in possession of foreclosure properties will typically offer "cash-for-keys" payments of $1,000 or more to tenants who agree to vacate in about two weeks and leave the property clean, said Sean O'Toole, founder of ForeclosureRadar.com. The payments save lenders the time and expense of evictions, and also some cleaning costs. Tenants still have the right to recover their deposits from their former landlords.

For more, see Renters left hanging after foreclosures.

For other stories on tenants unknowingly renting homes in foreclosure, go here, or here, or here. equity skimming unwittingly delta

Moratorium On Water Shut-Offs For Tenants In Foreclosed Homes To Continue In East Bay

From the East Bay area of Northern California, the San Francisco Chronicle reports:

• The East Bay's largest water agency agreed Tuesday not to shut off service to tenants in foreclosed apartment buildings for the time being, but stopped short of authorizing liens on the property for bills their landlords have not paid. The Board of Directors of the East Bay Municipal Utility District unanimously agreed to continue a moratorium begun last month on water shut-offs to multi-family buildings whose owners stopped paying the water bill.

***

• The board's action was criticized by Just Cause Oakland, a tenants-support group that had lobbied for a permanent end to water shut-offs where tenants are not at fault for unpaid bills. [...] The board agreed that it would revisit its policy for multi-family buildings in three to four months. [...] Advocates for tenants and some Oakland officials have complained that the surge in foreclosures has caused a sharp increase in attempted illegal evictions in foreclosed rental properties.

For more, see EBMUD won't leave tenants high and dry. equity skimming unwittingly epsilon

Detroit-Area Class Actions Target Two County Treasurers Over Allegations Of Improper Foreclosures For Unpaid Real Estate Taxes; Homeowners Say Faulty Process Results In Property Forfeitures Without Just Compensation

In Detroit, Michigan, The Detroit News reports:

• Thousands of properties in Oakland and Wayne counties have been taken improperly in tax delinquency foreclosures, reaping millions of dollars for government coffers at the expense of cash-strapped property owners, according to class-action lawsuits filed this month in both counties.
  
  The complaints allege treasurers in both counties have seized properties without providing the former owners with due process, equal protection and just compensation.
  
  In some instances, owners claim they were never notified before their property was auctioned, often for tens of thousands of dollars below market value.
  
  The treasurers in both counties, however, insist taxpayers are contacted multiple times over tax delinquencies, given an opportunity to be heard and offered payment plans.
  
  Andre Ohanessian says he was informed by a neighbor that a 2.7-acre lot he owned in Orchard Lake Village had been sold at auction last year to cover $6,000 in alleged tax delinquencies from 2011 to 2013. In an interview, he said he was never notified his taxes were overdue.
  
  The property, off a private road and nature trail in a wooded neighborhood of $1 million homes, netted $82,000. It’s listed for sale at $349,000.
  
  “I learned of the auction sale by a phone call from an Orchard Lake neighbor,” said Ohanessian, 67, a jewelry wholesaler who now lives in Sunland, California. “He called, ‘Did you know they auctioned off your property?’ I was shocked. I had notified the treasurer’s office that I had moved from Michigan.”
  
  The complaints say Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner and Wayne County Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz don’t give delinquent taxpayers the chance to argue why their properties should not be taken. Instead, both have conducted informal, nonjudicial “show cause hearings,” the suits allege.

For more, see Oakland, Wayne sued over tax foreclosures.