Bank asks court to toss homeless veteran’s lawsuit
Marietta Daily Journal
by Leo Hohmann
January 26, 2014
MARIETTA — A mega-bank being sued for wrongful foreclosure by homeless Vietnam veteran John Chambers has asked the court to toss out Chambers’ lawsuit but his supporters continue to raise money in an effort to buy back his house.
Wells Fargo Bank filed a motion to dismiss in Cobb Superior Court on Jan. 15, claiming it acted entirely within the laws of Georgia when it foreclosed on Chambers’ Marietta house and sold it to an investor on the courthouse steps at a Sept. 1, 2009, foreclosure auction. Chambers was evicted on Jan. 9, 2013, by the investor.
Chambers lived for the next 12 months out of his Toyota minivan, parked at the Wal-Mart on Cobb Parkway off Roswell Street. His only companion was his dog, a 7-year-old male border collie named Scout, who helped keep him warm on cold winter nights, including one night earlier this month when temperatures dipped to 5 degrees.
Through it all, Chambers’ mantra was “I just want my house back” and he paid out thousands of dollars in legal fees to lawyers who found themselves overmatched by attorneys working for the big banks.
Chambers’ mortgage had been sold from one lender to another, but Wells Fargo continued to service the loan and had the right to foreclose when Chambers fell into default, according to the bank’s recent court filings.
Help on the way?
Meanwhile, a nonprofit formed by local Realtors Melody Unger and Rose Hochman has raised just over $16,000 over the past two weeks to help Chambers get his house back. That’s still well short of their goal of raising $50,000, the minimum it will likely take to buy back the veteran’s former home and deed it over to Chambers.
Nationwide media attention came Chambers’ way after MDJ first reported his story more than two weeks ago. While much support has been gained, including a helping hand from Marietta’s American Legion Post 29, which paid for Chambers to be put up in a local hotel for about 10 days, the goal of getting him back in his house will take legal aid and at least $30,000 more in donations, Hochman said.
The outpouring of help “has been great, but I think is misleading in that we still have a really long way to go” in raising the $50,000, Hochman said. “Also, we really do need some legal help at a very reduced rate.”
Unger and Hochman are with Keller Williams Cityside in Smyrna. They reported Friday they have collected 107 checks along with some cash donations. Another 11 people have donated using PayPal transactions on the website they have set up, jrchomefund.org.
A woman from Minnesota read about Chambers’ plight and offered to set up the website for free, Unger said.
Donations have ranged from $10 sent in by an elderly World War II veteran to a $2,000 check sent from a family trust in Naples, Fla.
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