Bobo and Joy Dickson bought a house had been headed for foreclosure, but JPMorgan Chase apparently didn’t get the message that the former owners had moved out and the new owners were in residence. So, naturally, they hired a firm to drill the Dickson’s locks and take everything they owned, including their food. Now JPMorgan Chase is “taking it seriously.”
“We take this very seriously, and we are working with EMC [a mortgage company JPMorgan Chase owns] and the family’s attorney to make this right,” said Tom Kelly, a JPMorgan spokesman.
After the Dickson’s bought the house back in May, the foreclosure proceedings were supposed to have been stopped. They weren’t. That’s when the former owner’s mortgage company (owned by JPMorgan Chase) hired “Field Asset Services Inc.” to drill the locks and “empty the house,” according to the Austin American-Statesmen. Field Asset Services claims that the Dickson’s possessions were given to area thrift stores, but they have been unable to locate them.
Ordinarily, when personal possessions are left in a foreclosed home a court order is needed to remove the items and the owners are given the opportunity to reclaim them within 24 hours. JPMorgan Chase says its not sure if there was a court order in this case.
Elizabeth Bradburn, the Dicksons’ real estate agent, is organizing an effort to collect donations for the family. She said gift cards to furniture and household goods stores are preferred and may be sent to the Dicksons’ business address: 9800 N. Lamar Blvd.,
No. 315, Austin TX 78753.
“It’s been awesome to see people mobilize and want to help out,” Hance [Dicksons' attorney] said. “The Dicksons are, of course, very grateful and touched by the outpouring of support from the community.”
Cedar Park couple sues Austin company in foreclosure mix-up [American-Statesmen](Thanks, Ron!)
More From Consumerist
-
Worst Company In America Round 2: Bank Of America Vs. Chase
-
California Sues JPMorgan Over How It Collected Credit Card Debt
-
JPMorgan Chase Site Hit By Cyber Attack That Kept Some Users From Accessing Accounts
-
New Chase Devices In Stores Will Accept Payments From Mobile Phones
-
Chase Ordered To Pay $100M To Credit Card Customers For Boosting Minimum Payments
@sonneillon: if you read the article, you’ll see ‘giving back their stuff’ IS the hard part!
@Eliamias: there’s got to be some kind of malpractice or negligence thing that covers this?!?!
The whole “criminal intent” argument is fucking weak. Most people that wind up in jail over mistakes did not have criminal intent, that’s probably why they’re called MISTAKES. Wouldn’t involuntary manslaughter be that? Well, that’s why there’s something called CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE, which is exactly what these two companies are all about apparently.
@Eliamias:
Exactly. This shit is completely outrageous.
@Pylon83: Wrong. Citizens can file criminal complaints, and hire private prosecutors.
@sonneillon: Right, because everyone is so quick to sign a NDA. And JPM&C offing would be seen as admittance of fault.
Burglary doesn’t have to be “at night”. Somebody is apparently still in law school and isn’t past the difference between common law and modern law.
Because JP Morgan is dicking them around and in the meantime, they need food and furniture.
@donkeyjote, in the United States there is NO SUCH THING as a ‘private prosecutor’. You seem to be mixing up hiring a private attorney for a civil lawsuit with what a prosecutor does in a criminal case. That’s why in a criminal case, it’s called “People v. Defendant” – because the People of the United States, or the People of the State of Ohio (or whatever state) are prosecuting the case. In a civil case, it’s Plaintiff v. Defendant, because the plaintiff is asking the civil justice system for a remedy against the other side.
Y’all who are talking about speeding tickets and manslaughter need to realize that crimes are not fungible. “Well I don’t need intent for statutory rape!” Yeah, that’s because each and every crime has different and specific requirements. If the criminal law IN THEIR STATE does not make what the company did illegal, it’s not a crime. Even if it is, the prosecutor may be saying that it is very very hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, in a crime where ‘intent’ is part of the package, to prove that the company acted with intent. (Here, I’d bet the repo company is saying “but we thought it was legal! JP Morgan said so!” which will make it a bit tough to prove that they meant to be thieves.)
What the hell! If I were in their position I would be too livid for a lawyer and courts. JP Morgan’s employees homes would be burning to the ground.
The last time something similar happening to me was a repo guy on my property “accidentally”. He screwed up and had the wrong address, but instead of leaving he actually tried to attack me with a bat when I went out to see what this mystery guy was doing. Needless to say, I shot him.
@Wormfather is Wormfather: How would they check out? Do you have a sign-in/sign-out sheet by your door?
@AlexPDL: Even if the law in Texas required intent, couldn’t the DA argue that as a company who specializes in this sort of thing, it is their responsibility to know the laws governing the job they do, thus the act of entering the premises and removing property without a court order shows willful intent to break the law?
@AlexPDL: Er “at night”? Is that why most burglaries happen during the day?
So according to what people are saying, it isn’t a crime if I break into your house and steal everything, just as long as I will myself not to believe it is a crime.
So I can break into a house and rob them blind just as long as I’m thinking about how cute puppies are and not about how I’ll sell all the stolen goods.
If I was anyone in any kind of power at JPMorganChase, I would be throttling my way through the folks at Field Assets until I found someone who could cough up a name of the, “thrift store,” where this family’s stuff is, starting from the top down.
why is JP Morgan Chase making public statements instead of reimbursing them immediately?–with massive quantities of interest to prevent the obvious lawsuit that is going to occur?
and you know even if they pay the family, it’s not even a fraction of the profits the ceo’s have been swimming in, they won’t feel a thing.
@ludwigk: I didn’t write the law. Look at the Texas statute. It no longer requires “night” to be one of the elements. Traditional “burglary” always required night. But that’s just common law, each state modifies and builds upon that. The origianl purpose was to examine “intent” as it relates to the crime.
@mythago: I was 100% clear. Our starting point was common law. Wally East got us the Texas statute and we were then able to look at it more precisely. Jeez!
I think it would be a travesty if this family didn’t make out REALLY well on a lawsuit!
For all of you who act like the victims of this crime aren’t completely justified in shanking this company, imagine for one second that you head home after a long day at work…you arrive home to find your locks changed and EVERYTHING YOU OWN gone…everything…
Why would they need donations? hmmmm….think for one second about replacing everything in your home-food, toiletries, clothing, etc…think about how many of those things you would need over the course of months (because we all know this suit isn’t going to be wrapped up anytime soon)-do you think you could purchase all the things you need, that you owned before these idiots abused their power and stole them? and not even considering sentimental things, and luxury items-just the essentials…
this story is awful, and I am disgusted that commenters think these people should be able to deal with this without any help
until the company replaces the items they STOLE.
@ThyGuy:
No, you can’t, because there’s no scenario in which you didn’t intend to steal those goods (unless you’re sleepwalking) at some point (otherwise you wouldn’t have been in the house. If you accidentally pick up the wrong identical green backpack from the bench, mistaking someone else’s for yours, that’s very unlikely to be deemed a crime, since, while you did take someone else’s property, there’s strong evidence that you weren’t intending to do so. Now, if you open the backpack, discover that it’s filled with cash, and decide to KEEP it, rather than trying to contact the owner, that’s just become theft.
This happened in Texas?
Fascinating.
Imagine if they had done it to this guy:
[www.chron.com]
Texas is absolutely the WRONG place to pull something this badly.
All the talk about hiding behind closet doors while you call 911-well, Texas doesn’t cotton to that.
Those repo guys should be buying lotto tickets right now, because they are the luckiest sumbitches in the world.
“These reasons alone are enough to support a $5 mil case. Remember that your common lawyer will smack 33% of that out of their hands (sorry AlexPDL, it’s true). Take out of that the court costs and such in addition and you end up with $1.5 mil to the family. Take taxes out of that and the family receives a WHOPPING $750,000.”
No taxes are collected on court judgments. They would keep everything that was left over after expenses.
@Crymson_77: Austin != Williamson County. I felt the need to draw the distinction because I live here (Austin).
@Riddler: IF they knew they didn’t have a court order and went in to take the stuff without the court order isn’t that a felony? There wasn’t the intent of “theft”, but they would be knowingly performing the “conversion” of property, since they knew they were without proper legal authority. So if criminal conversion is a potential charge, doesn’t that bring in the burglary charge as well? Or is conversion usually a misdemeanor?
I am glad people are helping, God knows they need it. However, this wouldn’t have happened if Chase would have just given them their shit back.
Why are they collecting giftcards? Why aren’t the police treating it like it was stolen and then their insurance would replace the things they lost? Or at least until EVERYONE and their dog could sue?
I so don’t understand how these things happen. If you can get people to steal a bitche’s furniture, electronics and clothing, why can’t you get the same people to bring the shit back and set it up just like they left it?
Also? Where the hell were they that they didn’t notice that they were being robbed?
And now, my impression of all the worst commenters on Consumerist:
OMG people, Bank of America didn’t screw up that bad!!!!1111Eleventy!!!! Why don’t these ideots just go get their stuff back.
Also, arbitration is completely fair.
I don’t know about treble damages (or enough about the difference between treble and punitive damages) but this sounds like a case that could see large-ass punitive damages like the kind that makes Phillip Morris launch anti-tobacco ad campaigns.
Unfortunately, these people are not going to get a big settlement.
Unless everything was brand new in the house, they are only going to get actual cash value, meaning that they only give you what they consider the item to be worth, after depreciation. They will not get replacement value, which is the amount it would take to replacethe items with those of similar kind and quality, without deducting for depreciation. This goes for everything except items of a special value, such as antiques or collector items, but they would have to prove the authenticity of the item, which would be difficult since they no longer own anything.
So they will be paid about 40 cents on the dollar, and will end up paying the difference out of their pocket to replace the items.
Also, the “we’re taking it seriously” comment means that they are buying time so that their lawyers can determine what legal liabilty they have. Then they can low ball the number and make a settlement to the family, who will probably take it just so they can start replacing items.
I feel bad for this family.
@JustThatGuy3: Not when they ditched the items without following their 24 hours rule. This means hey had no intent to allow the person the opportunity to reclaim the items. And thus this is absolutely theft.
@Concerned_Citizen:
Again, depends on the circumstances. If they had had a court order, and followed the 24 hour rule, but then disposed of the stuff in a blue dumpster, when their rules said use a red dumpster, would that make it theft? Whether they followed an internal rule or not has very little to do with whether this is theft or not. The key issue would be whether they knew, or reasonably should have known, that the property wasn’t theirs.
@laddibugg: What their names are is irrelevant.
Question for Texans: Don’t you have a clear title search as part of the home-buying process? I don’t know if that varies state-to-state, but in Indiana the seller has to prove to you that it’s a clear title (i.e. no one in an official capacity waits for you to leave and then takes your stuff).
That would have cleared up any problems with who owns the house without the hassle of losing everything you own. It isn’t just JP that needs a suin’, I’d be after the listing agent and title company as well. You know, put the grandkids through life too.
@JustThatGuy3: Read the statutes. The people who actually went into the home committed burglary AND theft. They did not have the consent of the homeowner to enter the house. They should’ve been arrested and prosecuted.
This is a crime. I would pursue criminal charges.
JP Morgan Chase is one of the worst companies in the U.S. They just do a better job of covering up. They should have been in the final four based on their loan shark tactics.
@purplegrog: Wife and her family is from Austin. I never said it was Williamson county
@Wally East: I agree with you so completely it should mystify the f-ing prosecutor in Austin…
@Wally East:
If they reasonably believed that they DID have the consent of the homeowner (i.e. believed that JP Morgan Chase was the homeowner), then, no, they didn’t have the intent to enter without the consent of the homeowner. If someone hires a moving company to move them out of their house, the moving company shows up, the person opens the door, shows them around, and they pack up the person’s stuff, how would it be the moving company’s fault if the person was impersonating the actual homeowner, and had broken in earlier? Unless there’s some reason that a reasonable person would have been suspicious, they wouldn’t be guilty of theft.
@Wally East:
As to “reading the statute,” I did. The relevant issue is whether they had the consent of the owner, and in this case, it’s at least very debatable about whether they did.
@Wally East:
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a colossal screwup – it’s not at all clear, however, that it’s a crime.
@JustThatGuy3: Couldn’t you have put all of that into one response?
Unfortunately, your owner theory (from the article) doesn’t hold up. They sent the FAS f’ers in on a house that was being forclosed on…when the mortgage company had already received the payoff on the house. There are several layers of criminality involved here…
That’s what they get for moving in on N. Lamar. They should be glad it was the bank that took all their stuff and not some hoodlum gangster wannabes. At least they *should* be able to get it back from the bank.
I still love Austin though! Best. City. Ever.
@JessicaJessica: Ah, but since there’s apparently no record of what the lucky-to-still-be-alive repo guys took, it’s the homeowner’s word against the people who broke in and took all his stuff. “They took my brand new plasma, my Sub-Zero, my new commercial range, my Tempur-pedic king bed and solid gold frame!”
Receipts? They took those, too!
@NumberFiveIsAlive: read the whole article- their stuff was all donated to various thrift stores and they’ve been unable to locate it.
@Gokuhouse: read the whole article- their stuff was all donated to various thrift stores and they’ve been unable to locate it. READ.
@Jim: Any mortgage company doing business in TX would require you to have a title insurance policy before they loan you the money to buy the house. The issue here is that the family bought the house legally, and I assume they have clear title to the real property (the article is not specific on this point but doesn’t suggest they’re in danger of losing the real property as well as all the personal property that was stolen from them.)
The issue is that JPMC, EMC and/or First Asset failed to process the fact that the house was in fact sold before foreclosure took place, therefore the house was not legally owned by any of those entities and they had no legal authority to enter the premises for any reason, much less to clean out the innocent family that had fairly bought the house.
@audemars: Read more carefully. Their BUSINESS address is on N. Lamar. Their house is in WilCo somewhere.
@GearheadGeek: Thanks! I was ducking, but that was an informative response. My faith in comments is slightly restored.
@Gokuhouse: There is no intent in the speeding laws. Most felonies have an intent requirement. Speeding is not a felony, you need to read the laws before you make sweeping statements.
There may not have been intent to commit a felony, but there is such a thing as reckless disregard. That is more difficult to prove, but it seems that not only was there a tremendously dumb error in incorrectly deciding to enter the house and remove the items, but more importantly in not getting the required court order to do so. And failing to provide notice. These failures are not just errors of fact, but show total disrespect for the law.
Maybe guess Texas is different. But any other state that I have heard of, people whose goods are removed from a location because of dispossession or eviction get 30-60 days of storage before their goods can be auctioned or otherwise disposed of.
Congratulations Dickson family, on your soon-to-arrive mortgage-free life.
I’ve given JPMorgan hundreds of dollars in bank fees on my commercial account, and I’m happy to see that they will finally be used for something good: giving the Dickson family an enormous sum of money.
One sad thing, this reminds me of a theft that happened to me a decade or two ago, in which the crooks impersonated a moving company while we were at work. They simply emptied the entire place into a truck, and our neighbors didn’t stop them because they just assumed that we had actually moved.
Such a theft would be even easier to pull off today, by simply claiming that the house was being foreclosed upon.