A Washington County jury on Thursday ruled in favor of a couple who claimed JPMorgan Chase foreclosed on their home after making broken promises.
As the Oregonian reports, the case is likely the first wrongful foreclosure suit to go before a jury in Oregon since the housing crash hit. That the jury found sympathy in the case of Bela and Eva Lengyel -- who, the jury determined, had been denied a loan modification that they qualified for and Chase had initially agreed to provide -- could be a harbinger of things to come for foreclosure cases in Oregon.
As the O's Elliot Njus reports, the case "offers a glimpse into how juries may deal with fallout from the mortgage crisis and the way the nation's leading banks reacted. "
"If I were a transnational bank, I would be very concerned about facing juries in this state," Terry Scannell, the attorney who represented the couple, told the newspaper.