Several weeks ago, we brought you the story of a Philadelphia man who foreclosed on his local Wells Fargo branch ("Turning The Tables: Philadelphia Man Forecloses On Wells Fargo Branch") after the bank failed to pay a judgment the man obtained against the bank for violating the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. The bank eventually paid. Well, now it has happened again.
In Florida, which should just change its name to the "Foreclosure State" at this point, a couple recently received a foreclosure complaint from Bank of America. Nothing too strange in this day and age, except that the couple had paid for their home in full and in cash when they purchased it. As the Naples News reported — in the cleverly titled "Tables Turned, Bank Pays Up In Mistaken Foreclosure Case" — the homeowners were forced to hire a lawyer, who spent weeks on the phone and in court before the case was dismissed, costing the homeowners $2,500 in legal fees. The court ordered the bank to pay these fees, but after five more months of phone calls, neither the bank nor its local counsel had paid.
This is where the story gets interesting. The homeowners' lawyer obtained a writ of execution from the local sheriff in connection with the debt and took it with him — along with local media, sheriff's officers, and a moving van — to a local Bank of America branch and demanded payment or the branch would start losing furniture, money in the cash drawers, and any other assets needed to satisfy the debt. Not surprisingly, the branch manager quickly cut a check to the couple for the outstanding amount. In a written statement, Bank of America apologized to the homeowners and did the only thing it could do, blame the law firm that had been representing the company, which has since gone out of business, for failing to respond to the homeowners' requests.
Pete's Take 