2015/10/29

Chase Sued As Man Has Heart Attack After Foreclosure

By Cornelius Nunev


JPMorgan Chase is being sued for a foreclosure, but not in the way many would anticipate. A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the bank after a male had cardiac arrest after foreclosure. The lawsuit contends Chase brought on the death of Harry Engel by heart attack in 2010.

Foreclosure leads to heart attack

Seventy-nine year old Harry Engel's family told the news that they had lived in the same house for 22 years. Then, JPMorgan Chase forced them out in foreclosure proceedings. Shortly thereafter, in July 2010, he experienced a heart attack, according to KHOU. His family blames the bank for his condition.

The Engel family wanted to refinance through the Making House Affordable Program with the Department of Treasury because they lived on a fixed income and wanted a lower rate. The local Chase branch told them that they had to miss a payment in order to qualify for the program, and they did so.

The bank then supposedly started the program, but canceled their enrollment. Late charges 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 lawyer advising that eviction was pending.

Getting sued by a 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 submitted 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.

The Senate Banking committee hearings in 2010 talked about this, called "servicer-led foreclosure," according to the Washington post. It was part of the large suit the government did against the five largest mortgage lenders in the country for "robosigning" and other practices that were not allowed. The mortgage lenders settled for $25 billion earlier this year, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Engel family is not the only family to experience a servicer-led foreclosure that went awry this year. According to the Huffington Post, Bank of America similarly told Pamela Flores of Georgia the same, only for the modification to fall apart and for Flores to be foreclosed on.

Causes emotional stress

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



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