Oregon jury awards couple over $8 million in foreclosure case
Wallace and Barbara Owen won the damages after companies wrongly claimed they had moved out of their Salem home.
A jury in Marion County, Oregon, has awarded Wallace Owen and Barbara Owen more than $8 million following a dispute over the foreclosure of their home. According to the Times of India, the couple, who are in their 70s, were wrongly identified as having moved out of their property on Skyline Road South in Salem.
The dispute began in 2021 when American Advisors Group (AAG), which serviced the couple's reverse mortgage, claimed they had relocated. This claim led to foreclosure proceedings by Reverse Mortgage Funding, the company holding the mortgage deed. The house was subsequently sold at an auction in September 2022, even though the couple remained in residence.
The jury found Clear Recon Corp and Aldridge Pite LLP liable for various claims. Clear Recon Corp was found to have conducted the sale while Wallace Owen was not in default and for making misleading statements regarding surplus funds from the sale. Aldridge Pite LLP was also found liable for providing misleading information about those funds.
The court previously found AAG liable by default for the financial abuse of a vulnerable person. The jury awarded Clear Recon Corp $4.4 million in punitive damages, alongside various economic and non-economic damages for the couple. Aldridge Pite LLP was ordered to pay $2.5 million in punitive damages.
The companies involved denied wrongdoing. Clear Recon Corp and Aldridge Pite LLP maintained they followed standard procedures, while the buyer, Lantern Gate Properties, argued it held legal title to the house after the auction. The couple stated they required the surplus funds to cover living costs and legal fees.