Claims Bank Had No Right to Evict Him
Two weeks ago, the King County Sheriff evicted Jeremy Griffin from his South Park residence. Today, he's moving back in.
During his July 31 eviction, 50 members of SAFE (Standing Against Foreclosure & Eviction) occupied Mr. Griffin's front yard and nonviolently blockaded the entrance to his home. A dozen sheriff deputies confronted the occupiers. Four SAFE members were arrested.
Late this afternoon, SAFE members moved Mr. Griffin's furniture back into his home.
"The banks have no moral right to take my home," says Mr. Griffin. "I am ready and willing to pay to stay in my home, but they won't even talk with me. They'd rather blight South Park with another empty home than take my money!"
Mr. Griffin and SAFE are making no secret about the reoccupation of his home. At 5:30 PM today, they held a press conference in front of his home demanding Wells Fargo take his money.
According to SAFE volunteer Stephen Price, "In the past six years the banks have evicted ten million people across the US. This nearly equates to the combined populations of Washington and Oregon States. The banks' only solution is to throw families onto the street. Our solution is different: if homeowners can pay to stay in their homes, let them do so. For SAFE, housing is a human right."
Asked whether he's concerned the police will again evict him, Mr. Griffin said, "I'm embroiled in a civil land dispute with Wells Fargo, which has a well-documented history of fraud. City and county taxpayer money should not be used to pay police to do the bank's dirty work. If the local politicians want to side with the big Wall Street banks over the residents of Seattle and King County, they'll have to answer to the people in November's election."
Jeremy Griffin's Story:
Mr. Griffin, an ironworker, lost his job during the 2008 Great Recession when construction ground to a halt. Doing everything he could to pay his mortgage, including borrowing money from his family, Mr. Griffin finally fell behind on his payments. Wells Fargo initiated foreclosure proceedings.
In 2012, construction started to pick up, and Mr. Griffin found steady work. He tried negotiating with Wells to pay his mortgage, but Wells refused to talk with him. In Nov. 2012, the bank bought Mr. Griffin's home at auction.
After exhausting every legal means to hold onto his home, Mr. Griffin and SAFE repeatedly picketed Wells Fargo. After his first eviction notice SAFE held a ten-day, round-the-clock eviction blockade at Mr. Griffin's home. On July 3, five SAFE members were arrested during a sit-in on behalf of Mr. Griffin at a downtown Wells Fargo.
"I am ready and willing to pay to stay in my home," Mr. Griffin says, "but when I asked Wells Fargo's lawyer why the bank won't talk with me, she said, 'My client has no legal obligation to do so.' Why? Why is there no legal obligation for the banks to negotiate with homeowners who can pay?
SAFE:
SAFE is a grassroots, non-profit organization made up of volunteers and homeowners dedicated to building a mass movement to stop bank evictions, achieve principal reductions, and put people before profit.
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