Reported By Stephanie Coueignoux
POINCIANA -- An Osceola County family was locked out of their home by the Bank of America due to a foreclosure. But the family took them to court and won.
"I feel like crying. I was crying. I didn't know what to do," said Ana Chavez.
Chavez said she came home one day to find she couldn't even get in her own front door as all the locks had been changed.
It turns out Bank of America, who has a pending foreclosure on the property, decided to go ahead and change the locks.
It’s an act that's against the law.
"You're Bank of America. If you don't know you can't go change locks before you have a judgment and have title of that property, then you need to get out of the banking business," said Adam Sudbury, the defendant’s attorney.
Chavez, her daughter and granddaughter moved in with her brother.
Chavez said she's one of the lucky ones. She had someone to turn to.
"Thank God I have an attorney, but a lot of people don't have an attorney," Chavez said.
Chavez's attorney said in more than half of his foreclosure cases, banks have no paperwork to prove they own the loan, and therefore can foreclose.
Sudbury said it's a classic case of big business versus the little guy.
"These companies -- banks. Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the United States, they steamroll over people," Sudbury said.
At an emergency hearing Wednesday, Judge James Stoker ruled what Bank of America did was illegal.
He told News 13 whether or not this was an intentional act, it was wrong.
Stoker has ordered Bank of America to give Chavez a new set of keys.
As for Ana, when she heard the ruling, she again shed tears. This time, they were tears of joy.
"When I was in court, I felt like crying, so much happiness because I can go back inside," Chavez said.
News 13 did contact the attorneys for Bank of America. They said they had no comment on this case.
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