Been Sued By Mortgage Company?

After a foreclosure in Alabama, it is typical to be sued by the mortgage company (or Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac) to evict you or eject you from your home.  Normally this is done by the lawfirm of Sirote & Permutt or Johnson & Freedman.

These lawsuits are to be filed in Circuit Court — in the county where your home is located.

We have recently seen some companies file these cases improperly in Alabama District Court.  This is simply a continuation of the improper conduct by mortgage companies.  These cases need to be, and most judges recognize this, in Alabama Circuit Court.

The whole point of suing you is to get you out of your home.

You have the option, if the facts support this, of counter claiming against the mortgage company and the company suing you.

Most of our cases involving foreclosure follow this pattern:

  • Mortgage company (or foreclosure lawyer) says it will foreclose;
  • Homeowner has been working on a modification;
  • Homeowner is confused by foreclosure since working on modification;
  • Homeowner asks mortgage company about the foreclosure (usually after receiving papers that contradict the date of the foreclosure);
  • Mortgage company says “Oh, don’t worry about the foreclosure date.  It has been moved because you are in the modification application process.”
  • The homeowner feels a huge relief;
  • The day after the “cancelled” foreclosure sale date, the foreclosure lawyer sends a letter that says “We foreclosed on you yesterday, now you have to get out.”
  • The homeowner is stunned, and calls the mortgage company to figure out what is happening;
  • The mortgage company says “Oh, sorry.  Our mistake.  We did foreclose.”
  • So the homeowner asks “How do we undo the foreclosure because you told me it was not happening.”
  • Mortgage company says “Yeah, sorry about that.  We can’t do that.  You just need to move out.”
  • If the homeowner does not move out, the homeowner gets sued for “ejectment;”
  • Usually a few weeks later the homeowner gets a letter from the mortgage company talking about a new modification program and how the mortgage company does not want to foreclose.

 

When we are hired, we normally file an answer to the lawsuit, denying that the company suing has the right to evict/eject us.  We also file counterclaims against all responsible parties, where appropriate, to bring to light the wrongdoing our clients have suffered.
Particularly related to the lies on the foreclosure date being postponed.

 

Here is an example of a recent counter suit against Freddie Mac and Citi Mortgage for wrongful foreclosure that illustrates what is mentioned above.

 

The objective of the counterclaims is to either get to a trial or to obtain a favorable settlement along these lines:
  • Set aside the foreclosure sale as void, null, and of no legal effect.  This is done through an order of the judge that has the case with the counterclaims;
  • Clear the negative false credit reporting;
  • A new loan modification that is fair to both sides; and
  • Cash paid from the mortgage company for its wrongful conduct.

If you are facing a foreclosure ejectment lawsuit, get with us or another Alabama foreclosure defense attorney before it is too late.

We often see Alabama consumers try to handle this on their own, normally with disastrous results.  There are cases that can be handled without lawyers (see for example our Sued By A Debt Collector website) but foreclosure cases are normally not good candidates to represent yourself.

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