Yuppies Steal Home Of Soldier In Iraq

Thirty years ago when I lived near the city of Frisco, it was a small farming town about 30 miles north of Dallas, Texas. It is far from that today. Today it is a booming city filled with Yuppies trying to escape the big city and has thousands of high-dollar middle class homes. It also has that bane of modern existence -- home owner's associations.

Frisco was also the home of Capt. Michael Clauer, who was in the U.S. Army Reserve -- a fact that was known to his neighbors. The $300,000 home that Capt. Clauer and his wife, Mae, lived in was completely paid for -- a gift from Mae's parents. Capt. Clauer was not worried when he was called up by the Army and sent to Iraq, because he had a family to come back to and a home that he owned free and clear.

But after Capt. Clauer went to Iraq, things began to go wrong. His wife fell into a deep depression, and it was all she could do to take care of their children. She began to ignore the mail, including bills, and spent much of the time with her parents. Among the ignored bills were those from their home owner's association, and after several months the HOA sent her another letter saying the Clauers owed $800 in fees to the HOA and they were planning to foreclose on the home (believe it or not, Texas law allows them to do that).

The HOA made good on their threat. They took the home and sold it for $3500 (about 1/10 of its true worth). When Capt. Clauer returned from Iraq, the new owner was already living in the home. And much to Capt. Clauer's consternation, the foreclosure had been legal and Texas law did not allow any way for him to reclaim his home (or be paid for it).

Frankly, I consider this to be nothing more than felony theft. The neighbors (and fellow members of the HOA) all knew Capt. Clauer was a United States soldier serving his country in Iraq. Evidently, they didn't care about that and were unwilling to wait until he got back from Iraq to take care of the fees. Their piddly fees were obviously more important than acting to help a soldier serving in Iraq.

But even though they followed Texas law (which should be changed as soon as possible), they overlooked a federal law. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is supposed to protect soldiers serving in a war zone from financial problems back home, although law experts say it is routinely ignored (like the HOA did in Frisco).

Navy Lt. Janelle Kuroda, an attorney and expert on SCRA, said there are at least 100 pending cases where a service member's rights had been violated by someone ignoring the SCRA. But the law is on the books, and has a serious purpose. Kuroda said a service member's "number one focus needs to be on the mission, and if their focus is elsewhere at home with ongoing court proceedings, with family issues, or mortgage issues or other issues, then it's going to take away from their readiness and their ability to put everything they have toward the mission."

Capt. Clauer is currently suing the HOA for ignoring the SCRA. He says the neighbors knew he was in Iraq, and should have waited until he returned before taking any action to foreclose. I hope he wins this case and that the HOA is forced to reimburse him for the full value of his home -- which they stole from him. In addition, I believe he should be awarded punitive damages for the HOA breaking federal law.

The HOA believes they had the legal right to take Capt. Clauer's home (although that is doubtful in light of the federal law), but there is no doubt that they did NOT have the moral right. There action was not just wrong, it was inexcusably immoral and unethical. How do they sleep at night?