Greetings, Being in the lawsuit protection business we know that anyone can sue anyone at any time. In 2006 I volunteered as an unpaid director for a Swedish credit union, with the intent of being paid down the road when the credit union was profitable. The Credit Union was established properly, following Swedish law. I consulted with regulators at the National Credit Union in Alexandria, Virginia and, at their suggestion, hired attorneys in both the US and Sweden to oversee every move. As the name implies, credit unions offer credit. It made what we and our attorneys thought were very safe, conservative loans at the time. However, real estate values declined more than they had in several generations and it was too much for the young institution to handle. People walked away from their houses and half-done construction projects leaving the credit union holding the bag. For example, two high-end homes in Eastern Washington being built near a ski resort appraised for $1.2 million each. They had loans on them of $950,000 each, as I recall. The builders walked away and left the property incomplete. We had to foreclose, keep paying property taxes, finish the construction projects and try to sell the properties. The houses just sat and sat on the market in the weakest economy in our lifetimes. We could only sell for in the $500,000 range as I recall. On top of that, in several of the houses, people kept breaking in and stealing appliances and we had to replace them. In one house in Gig Harbor, WA people broke in and stole the furnace out of the attic, took all the internal and external light fixtures and even stole the carpets off of the floor. It was a bloodbath. We were stuck with half-built houses we had to foreclose on, fix up and sell in a market that houses were not selling. Finally, we had to have our attorney speak with depositors to tell them our dilemma. Our hearts break for the credit union members and we were truly shocked and saddened at the unforeseen events that led to the financial peril. As I recall nine people, whereas they were not happy, settled for lesser amounts than they had deposited. Three people filed lawsuits. The people who filed lawsuits did not say, Okay we understand, you are good people who were unpaid volunteers during a bad market. No, instead they invented made-up stories of fraud and deception we were called everything but the devil. In addition, a business competitor, a very disreputable asset protection attorney in California (search his name yourself), wrote a falsely scandalous article about the events in the online version of Forbes Magazine. During the drastic fall in real estate values, in 2008-2012 a whopping 465 US banks failed as a result. This is not because of some theoretical scam, but mathematical reality of the market. During his deposition, one customer who I had never spoken with in my life said that he didnt know who he spoke with in the company or who said what. But at trial he lied to the judge and said that the first time he called in that our receptionist, Eva, transferred the call to me and that that I told him a tall tale. As you know, this did not occur in our company as I dont take incoming sales calls. One of the cases ended in a settlement. One case, where the man lied is being appealed. THiS WEEK I got my vindication. On Monday, March 24, 2014 the judge ruled in our favor. I give credit to my insightful attorney, G. Marshall Hann. In other words - WE WON THE LAWSUIT. Not only did we win but - THE OPPONENT HAS TO REIMBURSE US FOR OUR LEGAL FEES. Victory is sweet and the naysayers and fair-weather friends can take the back seat to my loyal friends and associates who stuck by me during this challenging episode. Please see the attached ruling in our favor. Sincerely, Kevin Wessell AKA GQ
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 02:17:21 +0000
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