ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – While many families over the last several years fought for their homes and lost, a Julington Creek family gets to stay in their home after a foreclosure fight with Wells Fargo.
In late 2009, Jason and Jennifer Westbrook had fallen behind on their mortgage.
"We were struggling with mortgage payments," Jennifer Westbrook said. "We knew the amount we were paying at the time was a little too high."
After unsuccessfully trying to get the bank to bank to modify the loan and facing foreclosure, they were able to make $7,000 payment to come current.
"Two months later (the bank) foreclosed on her, anyway and that's when I got involved," said the Westbrooks' attorney, Tom Pycraft.
Pycraft filed suit against the Wells Fargo claiming the bank broke the terms of the mortgage by foreclosing. Because the couple was no longer in default, the judge ruled in favor of the Westbrooks.
"The determination was, they should have never been foreclosed on in the first place," Pycraft said.
"I just wanted someone to hear my story," Jennifer Westbrook said. "They believed in me. They said, 'You guys were wronged. They shouldn't have done that to you.' We fought and we won."
The judge ruled the bank couldn't charge the Westbrooks, interest, penalties, fees or any other charges during the two-year period it was in litigation. The couple had to resume making normal mortgage payments on Nov. 1.