Sometimes, a bank or mortgage company may pursue foreclosure against a borrower despite knowing or consciously disregarding that it lacks a legal basis to foreclose. Can you sue a mortgage company for emotional distress caused by a wrongful foreclosure? When a mortgage company intentionally or recklessly pursues a foreclosure, including by engaging in fraud upon a borrower or the court, the property owner may be able to obtain compensation for any resulting financial and personal losses through a wrongful foreclosure lawsuit.
Steps to Prove Wrongful Foreclosure
Proving that a lender engaged in a wrongful foreclosure can involve a complex, challenging legal process. The following are steps you can take to improve your chances of success in a wrongful foreclosure claim or lawsuit:
- Review all relevant documents, including your loan or mortgage agreements, monthly statements, notices of intent to foreclose, loan modification agreements, and correspondence with your lender or mortgage servicer.
- Collect other evidence related to your mortgage and foreclosure, including records of your mortgage payments, notices of default, and court filings in any foreclosure actions.
- Contact an experienced wrongful foreclosure attorney who can review the facts of your case to determine whether the foreclosure action violated the terms of your mortgage or applicable state or federal laws.
How to Calculate Punitive Damages
When a lender or servicer knowingly or recklessly pursues foreclosure while lacking a legal basis, you may have a claim to seek punitive damages in addition to compensation for your financial and personal losses. Unlike other forms of compensation, punitive damages do not compensate for your losses. Instead, they punish the lender or servicer for their conduct if your property was wrongfully foreclosed upon.
Juries may award punitive damages in wrongful foreclosure cases when:
- A lender or servicer commences foreclosure proceedings while consciously disregarding facts that would inform a reasonable party that it lacks a legal basis for foreclosure
- A lender or servicer engages in misleading tactics designed to culminate in the foreclosure of your home rather than allowing you to avoid foreclosure through loan modification or other alternatives
- A lender or servicer engages in fraud upon the court during a foreclosure proceeding, such as submitting false or forged documents to support its foreclosure claim
You may have a claim for punitive damages when you experience emotional distress from facing and resolving wrongful foreclosures on your property.
How We Can Help People Facing Wrongful Foreclosure
When you face wrongful foreclosure, the legal team at Loan Lawyers can help you protect your home, rights, and interests by thoroughly investigating the circumstances surrounding the foreclosure proceeding. We’ll determine whether the lender or servicer had initiated foreclosure without the right to do so. Our foreclosure defense attorneys in Fort Lauderdale can also examine the facts of your case to see if the lender or servicer intentionally or recklessly engaged in conduct designed to wrongfully foreclose on your property. If so, their conduct may entitle you to an award that punishes them for their conduct.
Contact Our Wrongful Foreclosure Attorneys for a Free Consultation
Experiencing a foreclosure can cause untold financial loss, grief, and anxiety, especially when your lender or servicer initiated the proceedings without any sufficient legal basis. If you went through unfair foreclosure practices and proceedings, contact Loan Lawyers today for a free, confidential consultation to discuss your options for pursuing accountability and justice as you navigate the foreclosure process.
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Loan Lawyers is made up of experienced consumer rights attorneys who use every available resource to develop comprehensive debt solution strategies. Our goal is to take on those burdens, resolve those problems, and allow our clients to sleep soundly knowing they are on the path to a better future.
