Teri Royal, a disabled woman and former business owner, was locked out from her property in Cypress yesterday under court-ordered foreclosure proceedings.
Orange County Sheriff Department deputies stood downstairs of the two-story house as about a half-dozen volunteers, including three members of Occupy Orange County, helped Royal pack up her belongings on June 20, which also happened to be her birthday.
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Royal was given a seven-day notice of the lockout; however, authorities never showed up on the seventh day. Lawyers filed a temporary restraining order so Royal could have more time to find a place to go. Her pro bono lawyers were in the middle of getting her another extension in the meantime, but lost the order on June 19. Royal broke her right arm this week when packing her things up.
Royal's fertility/egg donation company went into bankruptcy in 2003. She fell ill about two years later as her body severely suffered from a gastric bypass surgery performed in 2001, leading her to go on permanent disability. Her husband is deceased and her son and daughter, in their 20s, live in the midwest.
After Royal had trouble keeping up with her payments follwing her disability, she was told by Wachovia to refinance with Pick-a-Pay, an adjustable rate loan where payments balloon over time. Wells Fargo has since taken over the loans made by Wachovia.
Jennifer Solamani from the offices of Lenore Albert said the bank refused to help their client protect her home, even though she is disabled on a fixed income with a decent amount of equity in the house.
In 2010, Wells Fargo made an agreement with California's attorney general to pay $2 billion back to nearly 15,000 homeowners who were conned into the predatory loans. A federal judge agreed to monitor the class action settlement agreement where Wells Fargo was supposed give foreclosure alternatives to homeowners like Royal.
In addition to booting her out of her home, Solamani says Wells Fargo and their attorneys had the unlawful detainer judge issue an order for Royal to pay up $3,000 for an anti-deficiency state.
With her Toyota Sienna minivan packed to the brim with her belongings, Royal tearfully left her humble abode behind as a caregiver drove her to stay with a friend for the night.
