A bank cannot evict you from your home unless it can prove in court that it legally owns your property – this recent ruling by the state’s highest court says you have the right to make them prove it. When Bank of New York tried to evict KC Bailey, a member of City Life/Vida Urbana, he chose to fight his eviction in housing court. His struggle reached the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which found in his favor, ruling that every tenant and homeowner should have the right to challenge the bank that is trying to take their home away.

KC Bailey’s home in Mattapan had been owned by his family since 1979, and after nearly three decades it was taken from him by a predatory lender. Bailey wasn’t told about the foreclosure of his home until he learned the Bank of New York was trying to evict him, and this raised serious questions about whether the bank had appropriately completed the legal process required for an eviction.

Since banks aren’t required to get court approval for a foreclosure in Massachusetts, housing court was Bailey’s first opportunity to challenge the property seizure. Guided by City Life’s legal defense strategy to shield tenants and homeowners from eviction, Bailey and his lawyers successfully argued that former homeowners should be able to fight foreclosure, even after the foreclosure has been made. Banks can now be required to prove that they hold the title to a foreclosed home before proceeding with an eviction.

This ruling is a win not only for KC Bailey, but for all tenants and homeowners fighting foreclosure. It strengthens City Life’s legal defense shield strategy, and, by challenging them with a long and costly court battle, provides incentive for lenders to renegotiate their loans to manageable levels.