The mortgage attorneys at Consumer Action Law Group filed a writ of mandate to overturn a trial court's ruling against an elderly nurse following mortgage fraud and wrongful foreclosure by her lender.
LOS ANGELES – May 15, 2017 – Poonsook Brainangkul is a 69-year-old woman who spent her life helping other people. She works as a nurse at a convalescent home, raised two children, and she is caring for her 80-year-old husband as well. After being egregiously wronged by her lender, Select Portfolio Servicing Inc., Mrs. Brainangkul now faces eviction from her home of twenty years.
Mrs. Brainangkul is asking that the court declare a case of mortgage fraud to reverse the illegal foreclosure and sale of her home. Her mortgage lawyers have appeared before the court more than 13 times in the span of 6 months, battling Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. and Volantis Glopbal Inc. to stop her eviction.
According to her mortgage fraud lawyer, "She (Mrs. Brainangkul) was in the process of receiving, accepting, and paying for a permanent loan modification from her lender when they illegally foreclosed and sold her property." Moreover, "Since then, she (Mrs. Brainangkul) has been made to jump through every hoop possible just to stay in her home," said attorney Gurevich.
In California, foreclosure laws are in place to stop lenders from illegally foreclosing and selling a person's home when they are actively working to modify their loan and repay the lender in times of hardship.
On October of 2016, Mrs. Brainangkul hired Consumer Action Law Group to file a lawsuit after her home was illegally sold by Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. Her foreclosure lawyers took immediate steps to stop the purchasing investor, Volantis Global Inc., from recording the trustee's deed upon the sale on October 12, 2016. Her lawyers also filed supplemental briefings on October 17 and 19 of 2016 to stop the eviction.
On November 18, 2016, the Los Angeles Superior Court Judge in the Glendale Courthouse granted Mrs. Brainangkul's preliminary injunction against Volantis, ruling that she was likely to prevail on the merits and would suffer irreparable harm if the eviction was pursued. The trial court agreed to enjoin any further eviction proceedings, but only on the condition that she pay a $40,000 bond within 10 days. Unfortunately, this was an impossible sum for Mrs. Brainangkul. She was simply unable to pay it.
"This is where the case got rough", said attorney Gurevich. The trial court "probably felt it had given her a chance. But Mrs. Brainangkul had been modifying her loan due to financial hardship in the first place" The foreclosure attorneys at Consumer Action Law Group filed a series of motions to consolidate Mrs. Brainangkul's wrongful foreclosure case and the unlawful detainer case against her, without subjecting Mrs. Brainangkul to such an impossible bond amount.
Since then, the Mrs. Brainangkul's mortgage fraud case and Volantis' case to have her evicted have preceded separately, both under Judge Hofer of department D of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Glendale Courthouse. Mrs. Brainangkul continues to battle for justice against her lender but could face court-ordered eviction before litigating her quiet title case.
Attorney Gurevich thinks that at this point, fighting the case is a matter of human decency.
Consumer Action Law Group is a law firm dedicated to fighting for consumer rights. Mrs. Brainangkul's eviction case is scheduled to go to trial on June 5, 2017, in the Los Angeles Superior Court, Glendale Courthouse. The mortgage lawyers at Consumer Action Law Group are fighting to prevent eviction resulting from a wrongful foreclosure.