Imagine that you left for a trip to visit your child who attends college across the state. Imagine that when you returned home, your were locked out of your own home, and found that your lender had broke into your home, changed your locks, and disconnected your water and applicances. This is what was reported to our firm by a Palm Bay , Florida resident who returned
from a trip to F.S.U., to find her home had
been "winterized" by Mortgage Contracting Services. The
homeowner also reported that valuables such as a flat screen television,
jewelry, S.D. Cards with the family's digital pictures, and musical instruments had been taken. The homeowner reported the incident to the Palm Bay police
department who is investigating the theft.
The homeowner was only a few weeks behind on her mortgage
with JP Morgan Chase. No foreclosure
action had even been filed when a field service contractor entered the home on
Chase's behalf. In almost all mortgages, including the mortgage
of this homeowner, is a clause that allows the lender or loan servicer to enter
the property if the property is abandoned (or appears abandoned) for purposes
of preserving and protecting the property.
The homeowner asserts that no reasonable person would think her property
was abandoned since her lawn was regularly mowed, her mail was picked up, and
her possessions were still in the home.
The homeowner consulted with a prominent board-certified civil
trial lawyer in Melbourne , Florida who was familiar with our firm's
track record of successfully suing lenders, loan services, and field service
companies for wrongfully breaking into consumers' homes. That lawyer referred the
homeowner to Shuster & Saben's Space Coast office. Firm attorney, Richard Shuster, filed suit
against the loan servicer, JP Morgan Chase and the vendor it hired, Mortgage
Contracting Services, LLC, in Brevard County, Circuit Court. The suit was filed less than two weeks after
the homeowner first consulted with the firm.
To review a redacted copy of the complaint click here.
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