The Rocky McElhaney Law Firm helped an elderly client avoid foreclosure and keep her family home
Davidson County, TN (PRWEB) January 05, 2013
In early 2010, Rocky McElhaney stood up in the Davidson County Chancery Court and offered to represent Helen Bailey, a 76 year old woman about to have a default judgment granted against her in a partition action filed by her own daughter in the case Meriel Bailey v. Helen Bailey and Kimberly Bailey, Docket No. 08-975-III. Ms. Bailey's prior counsel withdrew from representation (due to a conflict of interest that developed), leaving no one to stand with her. Rocky immediately agreed to represent Ms. Bailey pro bono. Shortly after taking the case, Rocky hired Steven Fifield as an associate at his law firm and quickly brought him in on Ms. Bailey's case. The case was moved to Circuit Court.
According to court documents, in April, 2011, Nashville personal injury attorneys Rocky and Steven worked out a judicial settlement with Ms. Bailey's daughter that would keep the 77 year old widow in her home of almost 20 years. Settling the partition action was only the beginning, however. Ms. Bailey is a disabled widow, with social security as her only source of income. When her daughter moved out of the home and stopped helping with the mortgage, Ms. Bailey did not have enough money to keep up with her mortgage and monthly bills. Shortly after the partition action settled, Ms. Bailey's home was put into foreclosure. Rocky and Steven set out to help Ms. Bailey keep her home.
"We decided Ms. Bailey's best chance to stay in her home was a reverse mortgage," said Mr. McElhaney.
Rocky and Steven initially faced resistance from JP Morgan Chase in finding a solution that would allow Ms. Bailey to solve the problem of thousands of dollars in delinquent mortgage payments. According to financial documents, Ms. Bailey was not “under-water” on her loan in the sense that she owed more than the house was worth, but she was considerably past due on payments, and had no way to catch up with the payments.
Facing a foreclosure sale, Steven and Rocky worked to have the sale pushed back multiple times while looking for solutions. Unfortunately, they kept reaching roadblocks and were having trouble reaching anyone at the Chase mortgage company that had authority to really help Ms. Bailey. Eventually, Steven reached out to Occupy Nashville to use local and national media attention to get the right people at Chase to respond to Ms. Bailey's plight.
Articles appeared from The Tennessean, Huffington Post, ThinkProgress.org and on Nashville news websites. Roland Martin of CNN discussed Ms. Bailey's situation. Fox, NBC, and ABC all aired news stories following a press conference the lawyers held at Ms. Bailey's home. With the help of Occupy, a Change.org petition was created and gained traction, eventually resulting in over 100,000 signatures in support of Ms. Bailey.
With the media frenzy picking up steam, and an article about to be published in The Guardian, in February, 2012, Rocky and Steven were able to get an agreement in place to keep Ms. Bailey in her home. While the details of the agreement are confidential, an agreement was reached to keep Ms. Bailey in her home for the rest of her life without worry of foreclosure.
Steven and Rocky spent the spring and summer of 2012 working out the details of the agreement and combating more roadblocks that threatened Ms. Bailey's ability to finalize a reverse mortgage. Working with United Capital Lending, a lender willing to complete the reverse mortgage, Rocky and Steven held the closing on Ms. Bailey's reverse mortgage on November 19, 2012, according to financial documents.
Since 2010, Rocky and Steven have spent hundreds of hours to help Ms. Bailey, and are committed to being her attorneys as long as she needs them and wants them. Rocky and Steven never once billed Ms. Bailey or expected to be reimbursed for the expenses the firm has paid.
“Now 79 years old, Ms. Bailey will live the rest of her days knowing that no one will put her out of her home," said Nashville personal injury attorney Rocky McElhaney. “She does not have to worry herself sick each month about bill collectors and foreclosure notices.”
About the Rocky McElhaney Law Firm
The Tennessee auto accidents lawyers at the Rocky McElhaney Law Firm work diligently to seek justice on their clients' behalf. The attorneys primarily represent clients in the areas of:
- Personal injury
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Premises liability
- Workers' compensation
- Nursing home abuse
For more information about the firm, visit their website or contact them at 615-425-2500.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/1/prweb10288540.htm
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