I-TEAM: Troubled real estate company withdraws bankruptcy petition

The company whose controversial contracts caught the eye of the News Center 7 I-Team two years ago has pulled out of the bankruptcy process.

In September, News Center 7 reported the troubled real estate company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: I-TEAM: MV Realty files for bankruptcy amid controversy regarding 40-year listing agreements

As a part of the years-long investigation into MV Realty, the News Center 7 I-Team has been following Debbie Chasteen’s story.

As of June, her home’s been under contract with MV for two years — she’s bound by the listing agreement for another 38 years.

“They basically ripped people off, lied to people basically, and trapped them,” Chasteen said.

Now that MV has withdrawn its bankruptcy petition, Chasteen has some questions.

“What’s that mean for me and all the other hundreds of people that got contracts?” she asked.

The I-Team took that same question to Sarah Mancini — a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center.

She explained why MV Realty would do this.

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“It came as a surprise to me and I think to many, but I believe they may have seen the writing on the wall that there were significant reasons to dismiss the case,” Mancini said.

She said a multi-day evidentiary hearing set for the end of the month would have cost MV a lot of money and it’s likely MV’s lawyers realized that hearing would not have gone their way.

She said the case dismissal means the lawsuits against MV Realty from at least nine state attorney generals can move forward, unimpeded by the federal bankruptcy court.

“Now that there’s no bankruptcy case, there is nothing to prevent the attorneys general from trying to obtain any relief that’s justified under the law and any damages that might or financial relief that might be available,” Mancini said.

News Center 7 has reached out to MV Realty and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office but has not heard back at the time of reporting.

We will update this story if we receive a response.

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