Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Hemanth Gundavaram
Foreclosure was only a week away for Mr. and Mrs. C., when attorney Scott Moskol got the call for help. Mrs. C., 60, had lost her job in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. She and her husband, who is 70, were unable to make payments on their mortgage, so the mortgage company instituted foreclosure proceedings. Jesse Lawson-McCreedy, Mintz Levin's Equal Justice Works fellow at Mississippi Center for Legal Services, asked Scott to help the Mr. & Mrs. C. keep their home.
Efforts to negotiate with the mortgage company were unavailing -- until Scott saw that the company's foreclosure letter did not contain the language required by the Fair Debt Collection Act. He quickly drafted a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, which stayed the foreclosure. The mortgage company attempted to remove the case to federal court, but Noah Shaw drafted a brief arguing for remand to state court. Eventually, the mortgage company retreated. "Having the TRO in effect is such a weight off our shoulders. You have no idea," Mrs. C. wrote Scott. "Maybe we can get a good night's sleep tonight for a change!"
The clients’ case is typical of the foreclosure matters that Scott, Noah and many others at Mintz Levin have worked on with our Mississippi partners. During 2006, 48 attorneys from a variety of practice groups and 12 paraprofessionals committed themselves to numerous cases and projects aimed at helping to alleviate the continuing post-Hurricane Katrina legal crisis. We dedicated nearly 2,500 attorney hours to these projects, which ranged from representing individuals to advocating large-scale systemic changes.
Mintz Levin's attorneys have heard and seen for themselves the tragedies of individuals who were victimized by the storm, and in response they lined up to put their varied expertise and resources to work.