Halting a Sale

A last-minute reprieve

Eugene Coon has been a sheriff for twelve years, but for the first time in his career, he has refused to uphold the law. When 43 owner-occupied homes were to be auctioned last week in Alleghe ny County, Pa., because of delinquent mortgage and tax payments, Coon, who runs the monthly auction, stopped the sale. Said the four-term sheriff: “These are good people who have paid into their homes for years and years. I feel I’m on good legal ground in trying to help those who can’t help themselves.”

As far as Court of Common Pleas Judge Nicholas Papadakos was concerned, Coon was indeed on good legal ground. The judge temporarily halted all mortgage foreclosures in the county. Said Papadakos of the sheriff: “He jumped in, and I’m glad he did. It gave me an opportunity to review the problem as a legal issue. The situation was becoming so critical that I felt I had to do something.”

About half the 43 homeowners on Coon’s foreclosure list were unemployed. Many were Pittsburgh-area steelworkers who are unable to meet monthly payments on their $30,000 to $40,000 homes. Their arrears range from $5,000 to $8,000. The group represents just a small fraction of the area’s estimated 50,000 jobless steelworkers, more of whom may soon be facing the same problem. Said Andrew Palm, director of District 15 of the United Steelworkers of America, about Coon and Papadakos: “It’s tremendous what they did. We’re elated.”

Others were not so happy. Coon’s office was besieged with complaints from angry lawyers and lien holders. “They said some very nasty things about me,” the sheriff said, “but I expected it.” However, some bankers and lawyers, perhaps aware of how popular Coon had suddenly become, were only mildly critical. Pittsburgh Attorney Bernard Markovitz, who handles foreclosures, said, “If Coon’s intent is only to help them straighten out payment plans, I’m willing to let this slide.” But he added, “Somebody has to pay. Nothing’s for free these days. Other people have rights in this and they have to be protected.”

As county officials went to work to develop strategies for halting future foreclosures, Papadakos said he intended to medi ate every such case that comes before him. One plan he is considering would temporarily allow delinquent homeowners to pay only the interest on their monthly payments. “We’re not going to help deadbeats. I want that made perfectly clear,” says Papadakos. “But we will help those who need five, six or seven months.”