Baltimore developer Edwin F. Hale Sr. is seeking to stop the sale of his 1st Mariner Tower and his eviction from the Canton Crossing building where he lives.
Hale's attorney has asked the Circuit Court for Baltimore City to delay Wednesday's foreclosure auction and dismiss the case altogether, arguing that the lender did not follow several notification guidelines under a new state law that provides more protection for homeowners facing foreclosure. Although the commercial building houses tenants such as 1st Mariner Bank, CareFirst and Comcast, Hale also lives in the penthouse as the tower's only resident.
Last month, Paris-based bank Natixis S.A. began foreclosure proceedings on the 17-story tower and adjoining land after it said Hale defaulted on an $84 million loan. The auction is scheduled for noon Wednesday in front of the Circuit Court courthouse on Calvert Street.
In the motion filed Friday, Hale's lawyer, Michael G. Gallerizzo, said the bank failed to provide Hale adequate time and notification as required under the 2008 legislation that lengthens the foreclosure process. Hale's residential unit "triggers heightened service and notice requirements under Maryland's newly revamped foreclosure laws," Gallerizzo said in court papers.
The law requires lenders to provide homeowners with a written notice of intent to foreclose at least 45 days before filing the action. The lender also may not foreclose until 90 days after a default.
Natixis followed neither requirement nor other notification provisions, including when the alleged default occurred, Gallerizzo said. Hale first became aware of the foreclosure proceedings on Sept. 21, according to court documents.
Hale also was not given a separate foreclosure and possible eviction notice 10 days before the sale, which must be provided to all residential occupants as required under law, according to court papers.
"Simply put, this proceeding is flawed in several material respects and should be dismissed as a matter of law," Gallerizzo said.
Hale did not return a phone call Monday.
The 2008 legislation was among a series of foreclosure-related bills Gov. Martin O'Malley pushed through to address the mortgage crisis.
O'Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese declined to comment on Hale's foreclosure but said the governor "introduced the legislation to slow down the foreclosure process to keep Maryland homeowners in their homes and in an effort to combat the mortgage foreclosure crisis throughout the country."
In a previous interview, Hale said Natixis decided not to renew the loan that matured in August. A phone call to Natixis' commercial real estate lending arm in New York was not returned Monday.
Hale said he has been looking to refinance the tower's loan without any success as the commercial real estate lending market dried up during the recession.
A refinancing deal with investment bank JPMorgan fell through early last year, Hale said.
Besides the French bank, Columbia-based office developer Corporate Office Properties Trust has a secondary loan of roughly $25 million on the Canton Crossing tower.
Besides troubles at his development business, Hale's 1st Mariner Bank is operating under a federal regulatory edict to raise capital and deal with problem real estate loans.
Last week, the bank sold 95 percent of its consumer finance unit to a private equity firm for $10.5 million.
