MIAMI VALLEY — News Center 7′s I-Team is working to figure out how a troubled real estate company’s bankruptcy petition impacts Ohio’s lawsuit against them.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: I-Team: Troubled real estate company ordered to halt business practices, Ohio AG says
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office sued MV Realty for their business practices, which involve records of their deals at county recorder offices.
News Center 7 first reported on MV Realty’s bankruptcy petition at the end of September.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost spoke to News Center 7′s John Bedell about what the federal bankruptcy case means for his state lawsuit.
One of the things a bankruptcy filing does is it can pause all lawsuits a company is facing.
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“Well, it depends what the judge decides. So we don’t know what the path forward is looks like. Fortunately, in Ohio, the legislature acted to basically outlaw their business model. So that avenue going forward is cut off. And we’re really just talking at this point about how do we try to make it right for those that were already harmed,” Yost said.
In a series of I-Team investigations over the last year, News Center 7 reported on MV Realty and its confusing contracts, which were costing homeowners the equity in their homes.
“If MV (Realty) calls you, reaches out to you in any way, shape, or form – hang up on ‘em, slam the door in their face, whatever,” MV Realty customer Debbie Chasteen said.
Since our I-Team Investigations, at least six state attorneys general, including Ohio’s Dave Yost, have sued MV Realty.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: I-TEAM: Real estate racket? Company offers homeowners quick cash in exchange for 40-year lien
At least 16 states, including Ohio, have enacted new laws targeting the company’s business practices.
State lawmakers in Ohio have credited the I-Team’s reporting with drawing attention to MV’s business model.
“So the elderly and the poor that are often signing these agreements without understanding them aren’t going to be taken advantage of,” State Representative Brett Hillyer (R) said.
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More than 700 Ohioans, nearly 150 of them right here in the Miami Valley, are bound by the decades-long deals they’ve already signed with MV Realty.
The company’s bankruptcy petition gives consumers across the country one place for them to remove those 40-year liens from their properties.
Ohio’s new law only impacts new MV Realty deals.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: I-TEAM: MV Realty files for bankruptcy amid controversy regarding 40-year listing agreements
For Ohioans who have existing contracts with the company, aside from this bankruptcy filing, the I-Team has also talked to Yost about Quiet Title Action.
That’s a legal option available to people to seek a court order to remove those 40-year liens from their property.
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