Omari Menka Wilson

Omari Wilson

You did engage me for the purpose of claiming an interest in surplus funds resulting from foreclosure sale. The fee was less than $1,950.00. There was an existing mortgage on the property with a loan balance, but I had no information regarding that balance. I explained to you numerous times that this information is important because it would let us know if the mortgage lender has any claim to the surplus funds. Despite my requests, you did not provide any information regarding the mortgage aside from your loan application. After explaining the importance of this missing loan balance information to you numerous times, you agreed to sign a written authorization allowing me to contact the lender to request information regarding the servicing of the loan. However, you refused to completely fill out the authorization form, leading to further delay in contacting the lender. After repeatedly explaining the importance of submitting a complete written authorization, you finally completed the form, and I was able to send your authorization and a request for loan documentation to the lender via certified mail on July 8. I sent you a copy of the authorization form and the request for information. I verified that the lender had received our request and your authorization on July 13, but I have yet to receive response from the lender containing the requested loan information, specifically your current loan balance. You requested that we ask that the Clerk of Court schedule a hearing on our petition and have the court sign an order granting release of the surplus funds to you. In response, I agreed that it has been a considerable amount of time since the lender received our request for loan documentation and your written authorization, and I stated that I would give the lender until September 30 to respond which is a reasonable period of time. If I did not receive a response by that date, I would prepare to file a request for a hearing on our petition if I determine that we are able to move forward without a response from the lender. I again explained to you that the information that we need, specifically the loan balance, is very important because it would let us know if the lender has any claim on the surplus funds. I told you that I was not willing to request a hearing without first trying to secure all the information necessary for us to be successful at the hearing. You responded by demanding that I schedule the hearing anyway, without the information that we need from the lender to verify whether the lender may have a claim on the surplus funds, and if so, what the amount of the lender’s claim would be. I explained that if we took the course of action that you demanded, the lender will have the opportunity to appear at the hearing to present evidence showing the current balance of the mortgage which may very well exceed the amount of surplus funds. If that were to happen, you would very likely receive absolutely nothing. I advised that it is better to be prepared with that information before the hearing instead of refusing to wait for the lender's response and charging forward only to be blindsided with evidence of a loan balance that exceeds the surplus funds amount and receive nothing at the hearing. You have refused to accept my legal advice, and you have been argumentative throughout the entirety of our engagement. I strive for utmost client satisfaction in every case, and my goal was to secure as much of the surplus funds for you as possible, but that was not possible here because you refused to listen to my legal assessment of your case. However, I wish you well as you move forward with this matter.