The Maryland Court of Appeals has agreed to hear arguments in the foreclosure case of Kwaku Atta Poku, the Columbia cab owner who lost his home after refinancing, despite making every mortgage payment.
The decision by the state's highest court to review the case pleased Atta Poku and his lawyers, and the outcome also could affect how Maryland courts handle similar cases as foreclosures become more common in the slumping Maryland housing market.
Gerald M. Richman of Ellicott City, one of Atta Poku's lawyers, said the court will "determine whether or not you have a right to appeal a foreclosure action."
Another issue is whether a home can be foreclosed on when the lender has exclusive control of the funds to pay off the mortgage. Atta Poku never had possession of the settlement check involved in the 2001 refinancing that later resulted in foreclosure. He could not prove the mortgage was paid, however, because a bank lost the original check.
The Court of Appeals said a hearing will be scheduled in December after submission of legal briefs, according to an order received Friday by another of Atta Poku's lawyers, Scott C. Borison of Frederick, a foreclosure specialist.
Depending on what the court decides, homeowners could gain a better chance to defend themselves.
"It may alter the [foreclosure] process," Richman said.
Maryland law allows mortgage holders to foreclose in a few weeks, without having to prove the homeowner was notified.
"It's predictable there will be other people like Mr. Atta Poku," said Phillip Robinson, executive director of Civil Justice Inc., a nonprofit public advocacy law firm that has been allowed by the court to join in the Atta Poku case. "We're also seeing a substantial increase in the number of title companies using escrow funds to pay operating expenses."
With some members of the General Assembly planning to revise Maryland's laws next year to give homeowners more time and notice to fight mortgage company foreclosures, Robinson said the Court of Appeals could help by clarifying the legal issues.
For Atta Poku, the news stirred an emotional response.
"Oh ... oh ... I don't know what to say," he said, after hearing Monday of the court's action. "I didn't have a chance [in court]. All that I tried was in vain."
