Friday 16 October 2015

Chase Sued As Man Has Heart Attack After Foreclosure

By Cornelius Nunev


The survivors of Harry Engel are suing Chase Bank after Engel experienced cardiac arrest after foreclosure was initiated. It is contended in the lawsuit that Chase was accountable.

Heart attack comes from foreclosure supposedly

According to KHOU, 79 year old Harry Engel from Texas had a heart attack in July 2010. His family said they lived in a home for 22 years and were forced out by JPMorgan Chase in foreclosure proceedings, which they believe caused the heart attack.

The Engel family lived on a fixed income and had heard about a refinancing program that would lower their rate. They spoke with a banker at their local Chase branch, who told them in order to qualify for the refinancing program through the Department of the Treasury, ostensibly the Making House Affordable Program, they had to first miss a payment, which they did.

The bank then allegedly started the program, but canceled their enrollment. Late fees and updates began arriving, followed by a notice that foreclosure was pending. He had his heart attack after foreclosure warnings arrived, along with a Chase attorney advising that eviction was pending.

Listening to from the widow

Wando Jo Engel is his wife who is suing Chase for wrongful death, according to the Huffington Post. Chase was in the early phases of filing for foreclosure though it had not really filed the paperwork yet. The Engel family was not the only family that was told to miss a payment to be able to get in the refinancing program just for the bank to change its mind and not follow through.

Earlier this year, five of the biggest mortgage lenders in the country settled with the government for $25 billion because of "robosigning" and other inappropriate practices, according to the LA Times. Part of it was "servicer-led foreclosure," which was what this is called and was talked about in 2010 in a Senate Banking Committee, according to the Washington Post.

There are other families in the Engel family' positions. In fact, Pamela Flores of Georgia got kicked out of her house earlier this year after a comparable situation occurred in which the bank promised a modification that did not work out and she ended up in foreclosure.

Causes emotional stress

In 2008, the first instances of "foreclosures suicides" were noticed, according to USA Today. Homeowners who were having issues with their loans started calling suicide hotlines regularly, and they led to suicides. The mental stress is too much for some people to take. This year, there was a murder-suicide in Ohio and March as a result of foreclosure and there have been two suicides recorded this year.



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