Thinking of ignoring that parking ticket? Maybe you’d better go pay up- it looks like it could cost you your home:
Peter Tubic ignored a $50 parking fine in 2004, and on Monday, it cost him his $245,000 house.
In what city officials believe is the first case of its kind, the city foreclosed on Tubic’s house on W. Verona Court after repeated attempts to collect the fine – which over the years had escalated to $2,600 – had failed.
"Our goal isn’t to acquire parcels," said Jim Klajbor, special deputy city treasurer. "Our goal is to just collect taxes. . . . It is only as a last resort that we would pursue . . . foreclosure."
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Richard Sankovitz technically stayed the judgment to give Tubic one last chance to explain why he hasn’t paid or even responded, but Sankovitz ruled in favor of the city’s foreclosure.
"The city was entitled to a judgment," Sankovitz told Public Investigator on Thursday. "There hadn’t been an answer to the complaint."
Tubic takes the blame for disregarding the 15 or more notices he received seeking payment and warning of the pending foreclosure on the house, which was fully paid off, but says he had good reason.
He was physically and psychologically unable to handle the situation, he says.
According to the Social Security Administration, Tubic, 62, has been disabled since 2001. He has been diagnosed with psychological disorders that limit his "ability to understand, remember and carry out detailed instructions," according to documents from the administration.
In addition he suffers from chronic pain caused by degenerative diseases of the knees and spine, as well as chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and obesity, among other ailments.
What a travesty of justice. The city might have been entitled to their judgement- but it looks like they got a pound of flesh instead.
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“He was physically and psychologically unable to handle the situation, he says.”
…It’s a parking ticket. If he can’t manage to pay that, then I’d like to know what makes him think he’s capable of driving!
You’d think the city wouldn’t want the house.. there has to be a way to claim the money straight from his income or something, without foreclosing…
No, there isn’t a way for a city to collect via the garnishment of wages, that’s a state and federal function.
If he can’t get it together to pay a $50 ticket, then yes, he shouldn’t be driving. Nor, really , should he be trusted to live alone in that house.
You can’t argue one without getting the other.
Sounds like both parties a mis-behaving just a little. The city has gone a little bit overboard.
On the other hand, how did this guy keep his utilities on? Someone had to be paying the bills. If not him, then who? I’m calling BS. He could have taken care of this.
Sometimes the hard stuff is easy, while the easy stuff is hard. E.g. Paul Erdős could never figure out how to do his income taxes.
Occasionally the helping-each-other-out thingie breaks down.
Whatever the particulars, taking a house over a $50 parking ticket seems excessive.
I was on an HOA board years ago, and small unpaid bills like that resulted in a lien on the property- not a foreclosure.
Igor says “excess”, and I quite agree
Aren’t liens more appropriate in this type of case? Now he is on the street and potentially a ward of the state if he is that out of it.
A lien only works if the property is sold. If the guy never sells – the city never gets paid. Additionally, he didn’t lose 245k. He lost his house, but in a foreclosure – if the process completes and the home is sold, the HO gets the excess funds after the secured interests are satisfied. If the city did a credit bid for $2400 and got the house, a court would likely overturn.
People who live in Wisconsin don’t even blink an eye when we read stuff like this, the guy is clearly an idiot. People who work for or understand how stupid government is don’t blink either.
Metro-
Sorry to keep you in the dungeon so long. Igor’s been behaving better here recently, so I hadn’t bothered to check on him today.
Easy Igor, you impetuous young boy!
Hey Toys! You are talking about me (not a Wisconsonian), and I blink fine.
Just another example how idiotic our buerocrats have become. Too bad these losers suck on to these jobs like a parasite and then get their friends to join. These are the people that during their social time can only talk about who they got. These people belong on an island with no way to get off. Wow what losers. And the judge. Bet he’s a great family man.
Wow, this character never would have made it in the City of the Angels. I received just a couple parking tickets from my years in LA, but zero in my driving years before or since. My favorite was when they erected an alternate side of the street parking sign and ticketed my car the same day for violating the new requirement. I paid it promptly because it was just the cost of doing business in a corrupt metropolis.
I guess that this guy does have some issues. Getting the vehicle out of sight would have prevented the initial fines anyway.
Did you hear about some more Phoenix rental fraud?
“… A backyard pool was one of the many reasons Matt Reeves and his family thought a Peoria home was ideal.
It was listed for rent on Craigslist and Reeves said he corresponded via e-mail with the alleged owners… ”
http://www.kpho.com/news/17092247/detail.html
UPDATE: Milwaukee Mayor to step in..
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WI_PARKING_TICKET_FORECLOSURE_WIOL-?SITE=WIMAD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Everyone wants a PR stunt, it says the mayor will help and that’s it.
The dude is not responsible enough to own a home, you can pay a parking ticket over the internet or go to the court house and mull it over that way. If he’s that stupid he’s going to lose the house eventually anyways.