MI Couple Eui H. Kim and In Sook Kim Win Foreclosure Appeal Against JP Morgan Chase
Big victory for little people: A Shelby township MI couple Eui H. and In Sook Kim won a state Court of Appeals precedent-setting ruling against J.P. MorganChase that stopped a foreclosure and will allow them to keep their home that was once worth $650,000. At least, for now. This story has gotten very little mainstream media coverage and that’s just what JP Morgan Chase wants. Very little media coverage.
The couple won because the bank failed to publicly record its interest in the mortgage after buying it from another bank, and before the sheriff’s sale.
The Kims’ attorney, Flint-based Bernhardt “Chris” Christenson, said the “for publication” decision likely will affect the outcome of other similar lawsuits and force banks to reveal it owns a mortgage before it can foreclose on a property.
“Somebody will know who’s foreclosing on their house,” Christenson said. “Things (mortgages) change hands so frequently nowadays. You could be talking to one bank and they aren’t even the ones that have the mortgage.”
JP Morgan’s acquiring and interest in the property should have been recorded with the Macomb County Register of the Deeds, Christenson said. He said the bank likely avoided recording its interest to save filing costs, which could add up to a large sum of money if done on thousands of foreclosures.
The Kims in 2009 were surprised with the foreclosure because they were trying to work out a modification based on hardship, he said.
The Kims appealed after Judge Richard Caretti of Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens last January granted JP Morgan’s summary disposition request, ruling that a 2004 Michigan attorney general opinion applied. That opinion by former attorney general Mike Cox said the law allows the bank to avoid that requirement if it obtained the mortgage by “operation of law.”
However, a three-judge appeals panel – including former Macomb County judge Pat Donofrio — said that Cox improperly inserted language into the law, MCL 600.3204(3). Source
This case is very interesting and sets a precedent for every homeowner facing foreclosure. Despite the new push for more oversight, it’s obvious that the big banks are still trying to get over on the “little people.”
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