Local News
Loan
Veterans Day Parade
tory relief, injunctive relief, attorney fees
and costs brought by Mr. McEldery against
Nationstar.”
The McEldery’s case was remarkable for
the series of events that led to the couple
almost losing their home. But on the other
hand, their basic struggle just to get an
agent on the phone to modify their loan is
all too common.
The trouble started – as often happens –
with a building that was fully paid off but
which needed repairs.
The McEldery home was owned by
Judith’s mother, Louise Moore, who had
developed Alzheimer’s disease and needed
a caretaker. The McElderys relocated from
their home in Alaska to take care of her and
then started a small day care in the 106-
year-old house.
But it needed repairs, so the couple took
out a loan with a company called World
Savings and then watched as the debt was
repeatedly sold – and raised.
“They said the mortgage would go up
once a year,” Judith McEldery told The
Skanner News this past summer. “Our mort-
gage was going up every ninety days.”
The couple’s financial situation melted
down in the summer of 2012, when Judith’s
mother died. By then the debt was owned
by Nationstar Mortgage Inc.
The McElderys tried to petition Nation-
star for a loan modification but by
September of that year the couple was near
bankruptcy and stopped making mortgage
payments.
Finally in January of 2013, the company
made the McElderys an offer.
“Nationstar promised Mr. McEldery over
the phone and in writing that he could avoid
foreclosure, stay in his home, and modify
his mortgage if he provided documentation
and made three payments in the amount of
$1,394.76,” court documents say.
“Nationstar also promised Mr. McEldery
that he had been assigned a single point of
contact (Daniel Nettles) within the compa-
ny to assist him and answer his questions.”
The McElderys sent checks for $1,394.76
in February, March, April, May, and June of
2013.
That’s where the allegations of fraud
come in; after the March payment was sent,
documents show Nationstar claimed they
didn’t receive it. So the couple – which used
cashier’s checks specifically to make these
payments – sent proof that the check was
purchased and sent.
However Nationstar – after cashing their
April check – told the McElderys it was
cancelling their loan modification because
they had not paid for March. The couple
then sent more proof that checks had been
mailed to Nationstar for February, March
and April as well.
Meanwhile, court documents say the
McElderys called “Daniel Nettles” more
than a dozen times but his voicemail was
always full; he never responded to any com-
munication. Then the McElderys started
trying to call the main switchboard but
never connected with anyone who could
help them.
“Nationstar intentionally ignored the
PHOTO BY VALERIE CHAMBERLAIN
continued from page 1
Buffalo Soldiers rode with the 27th annual Veterans Parade at Fort
Vancouver on Saturday, Nov. 9. Hundreds turned out with flags to see
marching bands, Gold Star families and the Clark County Junior ROTC as
well as many retired U.S. military personnel.
McEldery Family’s desperate calls for
help,” legal documents say. “Nationstar was
secretly planning to sue the McEldery Fam-
ily behind their back.”
On Oct. 20, the McElderys filed suit
against Nationstar for “mortgage fraud &
elder abuse,” according to court documents,
and the company moved to settle Nov. 8.
Read more about the case and about fore-
closure
law
on
Fuller’s
blog,
www.underdoglawblog.com.
said.
The OLCC says it does not track liquor
licenses by race.
The Skanner News has been able to iden-
tify just three other Black-owned bars or
nightclubs currently operating in the city:
Quartet, owned by Frank Taylor; Clyde’s
Prime Rib Restaurant and Bar in the Holly-
wood District; and Olive or Twist, owned
by Sam Fowler.
(Do you know of other African or African
American-owned bars or nightclubs in Port-
land or anywhere in Oregon? Please send
the names of the establishments to
lisa@theskanner.com.)
Amy Archer, livability program manager
for the Portland Office of Neighborhood
Involvement, said her office, alongside
police and OLCC officials, has been meet-
ing with DeWalt since April but that he
would not agree to take responsibility for
incidents outside his doors; DeWalt’s sup-
porters say he should not be required to do
so.
“Our goal is not to put anybody out
of business,” Archer said. “What we
try to do is give people the tools to
improve their business.”
Archer said last weekend’s incident
is the first time the local authorities
have been able to get the OLCC to
issue an immediate license suspen-
sion, and that the ONI has been
working with liquor control officials
on making the process more effective.
“We have almost 3,000 licenses in Port-
land and most never have a problem,” she
that there was a full public process.
“We will pay $26 million over the next
five years and the people out of the gate
spending that money are not the people we
want to be in charge.”
The Fairness hearing will be held in 2014
to discuss the settlement agreement
between the Department of Justice and Port-
land Police Bureau. Judge Simon, who has
been supervising the case in federal court
will name a date for the Fairness Hearing,
Nov. 18.
3. Kasia Rutledge, a public defender in
Portland’s START court, which deals with
property offences committed by people with
alcohol and drug problems. Rutledge also
handles expungments.
“You mean besides economic opportunity,
healthcare, housing and alcohol and drug
and treatment?” Rutledge said when asked
what she would prioritize. Then she nar-
rowed it down:
Educate ourselves: The legal system
has no flexibility.
“The system works perfectly. It does
exactly what it was set up to do, which is
incarcerate certain people. We don’t need
system reform. We need a new system.
“I can’t tell you the number of times we
have trials and after the sentencing a juror
finds out the sentence that was handed
down and they are devastated at what the
defendant got. So turn up for jury duty and
actually stay there.”
4. Emanuel Price, founder of Second
Chances are for Everyone, which helps peo-
ple with felony convictions rise above the
stigma and discrimination that prevents for-
mer felons from getting jobs and living
normal lives. Price shared his story with the
audience. After making a bad choice in the
summer before his final year of college, he
spent five years in prison.
A class for kids that teaches them how
to act in public, how to know their rights
and educates them from 5th grade up
about the prison system.
“When I went to prison I saw a lot of peo-
ple I knew and that’s when I realized ‘They
are locking us up like crazy.’ A lot of people
I knew in high school: that’s where they
were. A lot of people I played sports and
soccer with: This is where they were.”
“And once I got out no matter how much
education I got, no matter how many good
references I had, it all came back to that one
question, that one bad thing on my record.”
5. Rep. Lew Frederick added his own take
on the issues. The laws are made in Salem
in the Legislature, he said, so make sure
your legislators know this is an important
issue for you.
Bar
continued from page 1
Osborn says DeWalt spoke with both the
victim and a man who was arguing with him
before deciding to close down the club for
the night; the shooting erupted as patrons
were leaving.
In a telephone interview Tuesday
evening before being advised by his
lawyer not to speak with the media,
DeWalt told The Skanner News that
Harris “seemed like a nice young man”
who had bought many rounds of drinks
at the bar that night, and that he and the
other man appeared to be arguing about
money before he asked them to leave
and decided to close the bar early.
Osborn said videos of the club’s inte-
rior that night have been released to
authorities, and that DeWalt has cooperated
with all city and state officials’ requests
since it opened.
“When a Black man opens a bar or a
nightclub in Northeast Portland, you know
it’s going to get shut down,” Osborn says.
“Every one has been.”
The Skanner News has been
able to identify just three
other Black-owned bars or
nightclubs currently operating
in the city
Read the rest of this story online at
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Justice
continued from page 1
discretion. Under Measure 11, only prose-
cutors have any power to reduce charges
and sentences.
2. JoAnn Hardesty, longtime police
accountability advocate and member of the
Albina Ministerial Alliance for Justice and
Police Reform.
Prepare to speak out at a Fairness
Hearing to discuss the City of Portland
settlement with the Department of Jus-
tice over findings that Portland Police
Bureau violated the rights of people with
mental illness.
“I think the most important thing that we
can do is to prepare to participate fully in
the Fairness Hearing that Judge Simon will
schedule.
“The public has never had an opportunity
to make their views heard. When the settle-
ment agreement was announced, the public
had not seen it. It is really important that we
do not allow the City of Portland to pretend
Read the rest of this story online at
www.theskanner.com
November 13, 2013
The Portland Skanner Page 3