BECKLEY – A father and daughter are suing Ditech Financial after they claim it was negligent and caused them damages.
In April 2007, Tanaya Harms completed her military service and purchased her first home in Greenbrier County, She financed the purchase of the loan from USAA Federal Savings Bank for $129,900, according to a complaint filed April 21 in Greenbrier Circuit Court and removed to federal court on Sept. 13.
Because she had not yet started working following her military service, her dad, Archie D. Edwards, agreed to co-sign the loan.
The plaintiffs claim in June 2016, the home was flooded by four feet of water during historic floods that swept through that area of the state.
Harms filed a claim under her flood insurance policy and received a payout totaling $61,058.48, which is the cost of repair or replacement. Her insurance company made an initial payment of $10,000, by check made payable to the plaintiffs and Ditech.
The plaintiffs claim they endorsed the check and sent it to Ditech, requesting that it be used to catch up the payments that they were behind.
Ditech refused to apply the check to the plaintiffs’ payments, nor endorse and return the check, according to the suit.
Despite being aware that the property was destroyed by flooding and that Harms was pursuing a deed in lieu of foreclosure, Ditech continually called Harms in an effort to collect on the debt, according to the suit.
The plaintiffs claim as a result of the defendant’s conduct, Harms has seen her credit score fall from 700 to 500 and she suffered annoyance, inconvenience and stress.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages. They are being represented by Sarah K. Brown, Bren J. Pomponio and Daniel F. Hedges of Mountain State Justice.
The defendant is represented by Jason E. Manning and Jonathan M. Kenney of Troutman Sanders.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 5:17-cv-03981