Option One, Wells Fargo named as defendants
By LISA D. BURDEN
5/6/2004

In a case of 'he said, she said', a Boston man has filed suit against Option One Mortgage and a Wells Fargo unit in an attempt to keep his home. The dispute centers around the plaintiff's claim that he didn't know where to send payments for a six month period because he had never been notified the loan had been transferred.

Donnie Myers alleges that Option One operated in bad faith and used unfair and deceptive practices in the assignment of his refinanced homeowners' loan. Myers said in court documents that he got written notice of the assignment of his mortgage six months after it happened. He has also filed suit against Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, National Association, to stop the company from foreclosing on his house for nonpayment.

Laurence Starr, the Boston-based general practice attorney representing the homeowner, said Myers' problems began when the $270,000 loan he obtained in June 2001 was transferred. Starr said the payments on Myers' loan were $2100. New Century Mortgage Company, the original lender, assigned the loan to Option One. Unaware that the loan had been transferred, Myers continued to make payments to the original lender even after Option One, in October, started returning Myers' checks. Starr said Myers received notice of the transfer in December -- when he received a letter notifying him of the assignment.

Starr said the lender has maintained in court documents that it did not receive payment.

According to the attorney, Wells Fargo appeared out of nowhere and began foreclosure proceedings.

While Wells Fargo, Option One and the outside counsel representing the companies could not be reached by press time, it appears that the loan was sold to Wells Fargo.

Proper notification seems to be at the heart of the plaintiff's case. Starr said Wells Fargo even filed in court a copy of the notice of assignment attached to its own pleadings that was blank as to whom it was assigned. He said the Wells Fargo court filing was part of a request by the company to dismiss the case and challenging Starr's filing of a motion to keep the lender from foreclosing. The attorney said a court order staying the foreclosure has been in place since June 2002.

Starr said the assignment form was filled out and then filed in the Suffolk County registry of deeds, but, he said that happened in August 2003, two years after the litigation started. Starr said that meant that the document assigning the loan was blank for two years.

The case against Option One is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in May, no court date has yet been set. The case against Wells Fargo is scheduled for trial in October.

Starr said he is confident that his client will prevail at trial.

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