Triumph over an Unscrupulous Squatter

Mary borrowed to make the down payment on a nice home in a now up-and-coming neighborhood in Southern California. She had found the home through a friends acquaintance, ABC Company, who specialized in purchasing properties at foreclosure auctions. Apparently, ABC Company was the highest bidder at a foreclosure auction conducted for a bail bond company that held a deed of trust posted by the Owner.

After Mary closed on her purchase that was handled by North American, her pride of ownership was evidenced by the hours she spent making improvements and fixing the many things that her new home needed so that she could call it her own. As Mary prepared to move in to her new home, she gave her landlord a thirty day notice of her intent to leave. However, before she could move in, and unbeknownst to her, the former Owner forged Marys name on a grant deed, whereby she purported to convey the property back to the Owner, changed the locks to the house, and moved back in.

In a panic, Mary contacted her title company, who had issued her an ALTA Homeowners policy. The title company immediately hired legal counsel to bring a lawsuit against the Owner to challenge the forged deed, and at the same time, sued to evict the Owner from the property. While the lawsuits were pending, as Mary had to move out of her current apartment since she had given notice and the landlord had re-rented it, the title company also paid for Marys rental at another apartment. The legal action brought by the title company succeeded in getting the former Owner evicted from Marys house. Then, the title company paid for the cost to change the locks and all of Marys moving expenses, and Mary moved into her new home. Soon thereafter, the title company finished the job by clearing Marys title from the forged grant deed.