bank had someone come and break my lock on my door and change it

[PDJames]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

I want to know if it possible if I can sue and if so, the name of a reputable lawyer in new york that handles these type of cases.

I am going through a landlord tenant case with the bank that owns my house, and have been for the better part of a year near.
In fact I have a court appointment tommorow for this house.
I just rent here, apparently according to the bank, the house is foreclosed on and I am supposed to move out the house.
The case keeps getting dismissed because of them and we get served again and again, to go to the court.
The bank has sent people over here numerous times for different reasons, all stating that they were told nobody lives here by the bank and such.
Today this morning, around 9am I woke up to a pounding sound, I thought it might have been the cars outside, or the rain or something as I was still pretty tired. (i live on the second floor of a two family home)
I went down to check as I thought I heard a drill going off. As I go down the stairs, it sounds like someone is trying to break into my home.
I opened the first floor apartment window to see whats going on, and see a man with drill attempting to drill my lock and he had already broke the bottom lock on my door.
I confronted him about this from the window and he said "The bank told me nobody lived here and if i could'nt gain access to the home to break the lock and change it"

My door is damaged severely now as well.
He gave me the number of the place he works as well. I called them and
after a lengthy series of calls/callbacks. I was told a workorder was placed yesterday, dec 8 2009, for this to happen, by the bank.
He gave me the broken lock and a notice they usually place on the door sometimes (to proove he was there).

can i sue, and if so, who is at fault the bank or the company that sent that man out to break my locks?

 

[FarmerJ]

Get a police report filed NOW ,go in person , do not wait, you want a copy of the police report to offer to the court if you are trying to prove they are not following the new foreclosure eviction laws OR following your states laws take pics of the damage done to the door and ask the court to require them to explain/defend the action they took. And if your state has specific penalties for illegal eviction acts ask the court to decide if they apply and if so to award you them.

 

[BL]

If the door is damaged to the point of security issues , bring that up as well .

It appears to be an attempted illegal lock out .

You haven't actually been locked out .

The court will not like this however.

 

[PDJames]

should i contact the media and let them know about this as well?

 

[DeenaCA]

Is the legal action you mentioned related to the foreclosure, or were there legal issues (such as an eviction action) prior to the foreclosure?

I am going through a landlord tenant case with the bank that owns my house, and have been for the better part of a year near.
In fact I have a court appointment tommorow for this house.

If the bank is attempting to take possession of the property due to foreclosure, you may be protected under the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (Title VII, PL 111-22). See the Renters at Foreclosure Toolkit at NLIHC: Renters in Foreclosure Toolkit. You might want to print the "Sample Letter to Send to Judges who handle Landlord Tenant Cases" for your court date tomorrow.

Note that under the federal law, you must continue to pay rent or you can be evicted for nonpayment. Issues which are not the result of foreclosure would be determined under applicable state or local law.

 

[nextwife]

You said you Keep getting served"? How long ago were you served with a notice to vacate?

 

[PDJames]

as far as my understanding of the house goes, it was supposedly foreclosed or sold 2-3 years ago and they claim possession of it, although the documents they provided to me regarding our eviction are very hard for me to understand and i may be wrong, also there are dates crossed out and written on top of them by them.

they have been trying to evict us for about a while now.


Also the cops just left and they refused to file a report.
saying that since they are taking me to court to evict, its their door and all they did was damage their own property.

 

[PDJames]

You said you Keep getting served"? How long ago were you served with a notice to vacate?

well it started last year, the way things usually go, we get served, then go to court and nobody represents the bank and it gets dismissed, then a month or two passes, and we get served again, go to court, and nobody represents them, or if someone does represent them we get it adjourned to seek legal representation and then when we go back to court, nobody represents them.
we have gone to court more than 6 times already.

 

[DeenaCA]

as far as my understanding of the house goes, it was supposedly foreclosed or sold 2-3 years ago

The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act applies to foreclosures on or after May 20, 2009. You would not be protected under this law if the foreclosure happened prior to May 20, or if the transaction was a sale rather than a foreclosure.

 

[BL]

well it started last year, the way things usually go, we get served, then go to court and nobody represents the bank and it gets dismissed, then a month or two passes, and we get served again, go to court, and nobody represents them, or if someone does represent them we get it adjourned to seek legal representation and then when we go back to court, nobody represents them.
we have gone to court more than 6 times already.

Gee , you know sooner or later your going to have to move .

Negotiate with the bank and move .

They can not just change locks on you , nor damage a door .

There are code enforcement laws , and laws for evictions .

 

[PDJames]

i have tried to negotiate with them. Because i can not find any contact number for whoever is handling this matter at their bank or even which branch or get any info from their representation, I have explained to their lawyer we would be more than happy to vacant the premises, remove our stuff, and give them the keys, if they can give us enough money to move in to another place (figure around 4.5 to 5k), but according to the lawyer nobody has gotten back to her about that.

I would move if I had the money myself but my wife was laid off months ago, and I watch our kids while she works normally.
so unfortunately we have very little right now.
According to my tax program once we file our taxes for 2009 we should have enough to move but until then we are trying to save all we can while looking for work.

 

[FlyingRon]

can i sue, and if so, who is at fault the bank or the company that sent that man out to break my locks?

They're not your locks. They belong to the property owner. You most likely can not sue anybody, YOU have no damages.

 

[atomizer]

When was the last time you paid rent?

 

[xylene]

I have explained to their lawyer we would be more than happy to vacant the premises, remove our stuff, and give them the keys, if they can give us enough money to move in to another place (figure around 4.5 to 5k), but according to the lawyer nobody has gotten back to her about that.

You could skip spending money on a lawyer and move...

And who are you paying rent to, if you don't know who to reach...

At best, you can stall the bank. You have few rights beyond that.

 

[nextwife]

When was the last time you paid rent?

Yeah. I was wondering the same thing.