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Rochester homeowner Catherine Lennon prevailed this week against Fannie Mae, Countrywide/Bank of America, and Steven J. Baum’s foreclosure mill when she received a stay of an eviction order pending review of the underlying foreclosure and sale of her home. It is alleged that Lennon’s home was illegally foreclosed upon by Countrywide/Bank of America and sold to Fannie Mae for $500. It is also alleged that, to date, Countrywide/Bank of America has not shown that the lender owned the mortgage. Countrywide/Bank of America has come under fire for robo-signed loans. Steven J. Baum, now representing Fannie Mae, is also under investigation by the NY Attorney General for RICO violations.

The Foreclosure of Lennon’s Home

Lennon lived at 9 Ravenwood Avenue in Rochester for seven years before Countrywide/Bank of America initiated foreclosure proceedings. The foreclosure proceedings were commenced shortly after Lennon’s husband died of cancer. Lennon’s husband, holding title to the property, died in intestate. Lennon continued to make mortgage payments on the property until financial and exigent circumstances prevented her from continuing to do so.

At the conclusion of the foreclosure proceedings, the property was sold to Fannie Mae, recipient of a $90+ billion taxpayer bailout, for $500. Fannie Mae has offered to sell the property back to Lennon for $50,000.

Although Lennon was forcibly evicted by Fannie Mae on March 31, 2011 from the home, Lennon moved back into the home in May 2011, with Take Back the Land’s support.

In June, Fannie Mae, undeterred, commenced a second eviction proceeding against Lennon. City Court Judge Melchor Castro issued a second eviction order that instructed her to be out of the home before August 17.

From Take Back the Land:

City Court Judge Castro refused Ms. Lennon’s request for an adjournment, which would have allowed the higher court the time hear the case. Instead Judge Castro sought to evict her in the shortest amount of time possible, 72 hours. Interestingly, Judge Castro seemed most interested and embarrassed by the fact that he was the judge who originally moved to evict Cathy’s family in March and seemed to take offense that she moved back into her house and was trying to save it. What the judge didn’t seem interested in was that Cathy had filed a order in a higher court to overturn the original foreclosure or that there seem to be many illegalities in original foreclosure process or that this family will be homeless again or that Rochester has thousands of vacant houses. Judge Castro is just one of many judges pushing foreclosure-based evictions through the system as quickly as possible without scrutinizing the criminal practices of the banks.

Lennon, who is without counsel, filed an Order to Show cause to vacate the foreclosure and sale. State Supreme Court Justice Ann Marie Taddeo signed a court order on August 16 that halted the eviction pending a review of the underlying foreclosure action. Judge Taddeo has requested that Countrywide/Bank of America defend their original foreclosure which was riddled with irregularities. Countrywide/Bank of America and Catherine Lennon are scheduled to appear in NY State Supreme Court on August 30, 2011. In the meantime, Lennon continues her search for a foreclosure defense attorney.

The Lennon Family and Take Back the Land Rochester are calling on the City of Rochester to impose a moratorium on foreclosure-related evictions as evidence of systemic foreclosure fraud deepens both locally and nationally.

The foreclosure crisis continues unabated, disproportionately impacting communities of color, black women in particular.

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