The Maryland Court Of Appeals is has been asked to decide on a case that experts say could have a widespread impact on how some foreclosures in that state are handled.
A Howard County man, Atta Poku, claims his house was stolen from him.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read this article and why this homeowner thought his home was stolen from him. I thought maybe it was just some BS claim or disgruntled homeowner. But no!
While some are losing their homes because they’ve fallen behind in payments, Kwaku Atta Poku lost his Howard County home when refinancing, the company failed to pay off his mortgage, and he couldn’t prove he didn’t owe.
Yes, he lost his home because he refinanced and the old mortgage company was not paid off, so they foreclosed. This gentleman looks like we is the poster child for “railroaded by the system”.
The lower court ruled in favor of the mortgage company. Maryland’s highest court is now deciding if the process was fair.
“Because of the technicality, there’s no justice, and I don’t get justice. I want my house back. I want my house back. They ripped me off, and the Lord knows they ripped me off,” said Atta Poku.
The Court Of Appeals is one arena. Governor O’Malley put foreclosures on the front burner.
A taskforce recommending the state increase protection for home owners, ensure the integrity of the industry, strengthen law and enforcement against fraud, and improve Maryland’s foreclosure process.
Meanwhile, the Atta Poku case could change how lower courts handle foreclosure cases.
“It’s a very important case for that reason because we want anyone in his situation to have the law reflect that they do have the right to go after the people who wrongfully foreclosed,” said Peter Holland from the Holland Law Firm.
“If they did it to me, they will be doing it to other citizens like me, and I’m an American citizen, and they shouldn’t do this to anybody.
If the judges here in this country believe in justice and they want to give to the people of this great country, they should give me my house back,” said Atta Poku.
That may not happen, but this case could be a turning point.
More news on this Marlyland foreclosure case from the Baltimore Sun.
Despite reams of legal arguments filed weeks before the hearing, Scott C. Borison, the Frederick lawyer who will speak for Atta Poku, said oral arguments can be important.
“My role is to show why at this point, even if all the technicalities were right, [foreclosure] is wrong,” Borison said.
“We have a person here who was living the American dream, bought this house and did everything he was supposed to, and he loses his house,” Borison said.
Phillip Robinson, executive director of Civil Justice Inc., a public-interest law firm, said there is more at stake than one man and his family.
“With Atta Poku’s case, they’ll [Court of Appeals] have an opportunity to reshape the Maryland foreclosure process.”
Robinson said more people are losing their homes to mortgage companies and banks, and the court can decide if Maryland’s foreclosure process “adequately meets various constitutional standards.” The decision could also have implications for reforms Gov. Martin O’Malley and the General Assembly plan to consider during the 90-day legislative session that starts in January.
Winn declined to comment on the hearing, pointing to company policy in cases where litigation is involved.
Attorneys for Washington Mutual filed motions to dismiss the Court of Appeals case because, among other things, they contend that a three-year statute of limitations on negligence claims expired June 4.
In written filings, Atta Poku’s lawyers cited the settlement sheet for the refinancing to argue that the foreclosure was illegal because the mortgage was paid in full. They wrote that Atta Poku took no cash out of the refinancing, and that his sole purpose was to reduce his interest rate and pay off the original mortgage.
Atta Poku’s legal troubles began when he refinanced his Columbia townhouse in 2001. After several years and more refinancings, Washington Mutual, which held his mortgage and refinanced it, said the first mortgage had never been paid off, and moved to foreclose. Atta Poku contended that his original mortgage was paid, but he could not prove it.
The naturalized American citizen, his wife and their three young children were evicted in August 2006 after several unsuccessful court appeals in Howard County. The Court of Special Appeals upheld the foreclosure and eviction May 8. The Court of Appeals announced in late August that it would hear the case.
