Housing Law Task Force

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/business/hospital-billing-varies-wildly-us-data-shows.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0

PJC recently published a guide to collecting on judgments in Maryland. It is helpful not only after you have a judgment, but may also help you decide to litigate a case where you might have thought suing someone would result in a mere paper judgment. The guide focuses on judgments for unpaid wages and related damages, but is also useful for judgments in other cases.

The three fundamental components of this manual are: (1) pre- and post-judgment defendant investigation and asset research; (2) prejudgment tools to proactively prevent employers and other potential judgment debtors from hiding or selling off assets; and (3) judgment enforcement, including enforcement for unpaid wages.

Check it out here:

http://www.publicjustice.org/uploads/file/pdf/MD_Wage_Collection_Judgment_Enforcement_Guide_PJC_FINAL.pdf

AWARD WINNING NON-PROFIT LAW FIRM SEEKS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Civil Justice Inc., a Maryland non-profit legal services program, is seeking a full time Executive Director.

Civil Justice provides legal services, including in impact cases, to people throughout Maryland and supports a network of small firm and solo attorneys to help meet the legal needs of historically underserved Marylanders.

About Civil Justice

Civil Justice was established in 1998 to increase the delivery of legal services to clients of low- and moderate-income while promoting a statewide network of community based lawyers who share a common commitment to access to justice.

Since it was founded, Civil Justice has become a recognized leader nationally and in Maryland by: (i) helping solo and small firm lawyers integrate public interest and private practices; (ii) successfully pursuing impact ligation on consumer and housing issues affecting Marylanders; (iii) providing policy advocacy at all levels of government; and (iv) providing other essential services to homeowners in foreclosure, debtors in bankruptcy, and other vulnerable consumers who have been victims of predatory practices.

About The Position & Qualifications

The Civil Justice Board of Directors seeks applications from candidates who have the commitment and capacity to lead the organization, including in new ways. It will give preference to candidates who have five years of related professional experience (including a background in consumer, foreclosure and/or housing law and solo or small firm practice), and three years or more of active litigation practice (federal and/or state courts), and who are licensed or eligible to practice law in Maryland within one year of the hire date.

Candidates should have the ability to:

• Provide support and vision to the organization’s network of solo and small firm attorneys;
• Direct/manage the organization’s active litigation practice, create and implement a litigation plan, and coordinate with staff and outside counsel;
• Oversee the organization’s various projects;
• Lead the organization’s Development Program (which heavily relies on grant proposals);
• Direct the administration and financial management of the organization;
• Lead and implement strategic planning initiatives; and
• Exercise creativity and vision in leading the organization and developing new legal services delivery mechanisms.

To Apply:

Interested candidates should apply by sending a confidential resume and cover letter detailing (i) the candidate’s interest in this opportunity and (ii) salary requirements and expectations for a position to: Civil Justice Inc., Attention: Executive Director Search, 520 W. Fayette Street, Suite 410, Baltimore, MD 21201, or via E-mail at cj@civiljusticenetwork.org.

If you are a member of the Task Force, find the GoToMeeting information at:

http://www.mdjustice.org/HousingTaskForceGoToMeeting

Be sure to sign in to see the page. 

the locations for the 2013 meetings are:

Jan. 15 - Baltimore
Mar. 19 - Metro
May 21 - Baltimore
July 16 - Metro
Sept. 17 - Baltimore
Nov. 19 - Metro

for office addresses, see: http://www.mdlab.org/About%20Us

Finish your holiday shopping early and support Maryland Legal Aid at the same time. 

Shop at The  Dancing Bear Toy Store located at 12 North Market Street in historic downtown Frederick, Maryland, any time between November 14 and 21.  Present  this coupon  and 15% of your total purchase price will benefit your local Legal Aid office serving Frederick, Carroll and Washington counties.

Proceeds of sales donated to Legal Aid will support community outreach and direct legal services to low- income residents of the Midwestern Maryland region. Founded in 1911, Legal Aid is Maryland’s largest provider of free civil legal services.

I hope folks can make it to the dinner.  Ask your boss to pay.

--Matt

MCRC honors architect of landmark mortgage discrimination lawsuits

Prominent consumer rights and fair housing attorney John Relman will be named “Legal Champion of the Year” by the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition’s (MCRC) at its 12^th Annual Awards Celebration on Thurs. Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Ten Oaks Ballroom in Clarksville, MD. WTOP radio’s “Call For Action” consumer volunteer team, Del. Craig Zucker, and Maryland Deputy Commissioner of Financial Regulation Anne Balcer Norton will also win major awards from Maryland’s only statewide consumer advocacy group that evening.  

The award honors Mr. Relman’s innovative and brilliant legal work as the architect of the “reverse redlining” suits against Wells Fargo for pushing well-qualified minority borrowers into risky and expensive subprime loans during the years of the housing bubble.

“The lawsuits John Relman helped put together struck an important blow against mortgage discrimination and subprime lending” MCRC Executive Director Marceline White notes. “They will make a real difference in protecting the right to fair housing for all of our communities.”

Wells Fargo settled those suits with Baltimore and other state and local governments this summer. The city of Baltimore will realize at least $7.5 million from its settlement and communities around the country won more than $175 million.

MCRC will also honor three other leading consumer advocates:

Consumer Advocate of the Year -- Deputy Commissioner of Financial Regulation Anne Balcer Norton: Honored for her years of work in state government and at Baltimore’s St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center to protect consumers’ rights to fair housing and fair treatment.

• Legislative Achievement of the Year – Del. Craig Zucker: Honored for his leadership in sponsoring landmark legislation that will protect vulnerable Marylanders from identity theft (HB 555/SB 295) and in helping pass a law that will prevent families that lose their homes to foreclosures from being stuck with extra tax bills (HB 600/ SB 580).
• WTOP’s Call For Action Consumer Volunteer Team – Consumer Volunteers of the Year: Honored for more than 35 years of hard work to protect Washington-area consumers from abuse by businesses and public agencies and to give consumer a voice larger than their own. 

MCRC’s 2012 awards event will feature a special focus on the foreclosure crisis that continues to cost hundreds of families their homes each month and threatens tens of thousands of others with foreclosure.  

 “Anne Balcer Norton, Del. Zucker, and John Relman have all made critical contributions in helping families survive the foreclosure crisis,” Marceline White notes. “As thousands of families still struggle to save their homes and families across the state struggle to meet underwater mortgages, we think it’s a great time to honor these advocates and to gather to discuss what we can do next to help families save their homes.” 

Tickets for the event are $50 and they’re available through MCRC’s website here: http://www.marylandconsumers.org/Members/2012AnnualMeeting/tabid/159/Default.aspx 

MCRC thanks Fitzgerald Auto Malls, AARP Maryland, Gordon and Wolf Ltd., the St Ambrose Housing Aid Center, the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau, Tracfone Wireless, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, the Health Care for All Coalition, the Maryland CASH Campaign and Civil Justice Inc. for their generous sponsorship of the event. 

The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition (MCRC) is a statewide advocacy groups that protects and advances the interests of Maryland consumers through research, education, and advocacy. Find MCRC on the web at www.marylandconsumers.org, on Facebook at facebook.com/mdconsumers and on Twitter at twitter.com/mdconsumers.

Below please find a brief description of a recent Court of Appeals decision (attached) involving tenants in foreclosure.  Many thanks to Legal Aid (especially Cheryl, Greg and Lyndsay) for a great amicus brief!

Matt

--

 On August 20, 2012, in Curtis v. U.S. Bank National Association, No. 96, Sept. Term 2011, the Maryland Court of Appeals affirmed the rights of tenants to receive clear, accurate notice from foreclosure sale purchasers.   Ms. Judy Curtis, a teacher’s assistant in Anne Arundel County Schools, and her two young children had been renting their home in Pasadena, Maryland with the assistance of the local Housing Choice Voucher program since 2007.  Despite paying her portion of the rent each month and continuing her lease on a month-to-month basis after her most recent one-year lease expired, Ms. Curtis began receiving various notices about a possible foreclosure on her rental home.  Ms. Curtis is a bona fide tenant as defined by the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) and recent revisions to Maryland law.  Under the PTFA, any foreclosure sale purchaser of the property must step into the shoes of the former landlord, and, if the purchaser wants the tenant to vacate, the purchaser must provide the tenant a notice to vacate of at least 90 days.

 As the Court of Appeals noted, in late December 2010, Ms. Curtis received two notices simultaneously from U.S. Bank, the foreclosure sale purchaser, one of which advised her that she must “immediately vacate, quit, and surrender possession” although she might have other rights.  The other notice instructed her to vacate the property by March 23, 2011.  Finally, compounding the confusion, in early January 2011, U.S. Bank submitted a motion asking the Court to evict Ms. Curtis while asserting that it had the right to “immediate possession.” 

 Ms. Curtis retained the Public Justice Center to represent her in opposing U.S. Bank’s motion.  The Circuit Court decided in favor of U.S. Bank.  Ms. Curtis appealed and obtained review in the Maryland Court of Appeals.  The Court of Appeals found that U.S. Bank’s notices were “confusing and ineffective” to comply with the PTFA.   The Court reasoned as follows:

A tenant who chooses to stay in the face of such a notice and motion will be beset by uncertainty as to his or her immediate future in the residence.  This does not serve the PTFA’s goal of providing stability and adequate notice to tenants of defaulting landlord-borrowers…. In our view, under the circumstances of this case, it is not appropriate to find that a defective notice became effective through the simple passage of time.  The obligation to provide advance notice is a forward-looking requirement intended to allow the tenant to plan for the future.  Compliance should not be measured in hindsight, particularly when a misleading notice has never been corrected.

 This is a significant victory for tenants in enforcing the PTFA and effectuating tenants’ right to security of tenure, which is essential to fully realizing the human right to housing.  Ms. Curtis was supported by an amicus brief emphasizing the human rights’ aspect of the case submitted by the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau, National Housing Law Project, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Bay Area Legal Aid, Community Legal Services, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, Ohio Poverty Law Center, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, and Florence Wagman Roisman. Ms. Curtis and the Public Justice Center offer sincere thanks to these amici.

Here is my question:

We concluded a divorce hearing on July 6, 2012 in which client received an absolute divorce, rehabilitative alimony, child support and the court also ordered that  the husband continue to provide medical insurance for Client and Child through his employer provided group insurance plan.

On Friday, August 1, 2012 , my client found out from Husband's employer, a large hospital, that the Husband allowed his insurance to lapse as of June 30, 2012, just before our divorce hearing.  Husband, who is pro se, denies this and claims he he renewed  the insurance.  No notice was given to my client of the lapse.

To be brief, the employer reinstated the Child on the insurance policy, but refused to reinstate Client. The employer is claiming that she is no longer a beneficiary.  I know that under MD Code Insurance § 15-408, allows for a divorced spouse to continue to be covered on the other party's health insurance. 

What is there any way to compel the insurance company to reinstate her?