Update: Judge orders GMAC to meet with Rosemary Williams
Update from comments: First, there is good news. The judge has ordered a representative of GMAC to meet with Rosemary tomorrow, June 17th, the goal being for them to arrange a deal in which Rosemary can stay in her home at an affordable rate. This does not mean that they will reach a deal, but it does mean that if a deal is not reached the eviction will not happen until - at the soonest - next Wedensday, June 24th.
If a resolution is reached on Wednesday, June 17th there will be a block party on Rosemary's block.
If GMAC wins a writ of eviction, a coalition of groups will follow up with a civil disobedience training on Tuesday, June 23rd at 6pm in the gym at Sabathani Community Center. The coalition will call for as many people as possible to sit in at Rosemary's house in resistance.
Rosemary Williams, who is resisting her foreclosure and continueing to live in her foreclosed home, lost her court battle today. The sheriff's department could proceed with the eviction as soon as Thursday. GMAC, Rosemary's lender, previously stated that it would ask the Sheriff to proceed with the eviction as soon as the court battle ends. Her case has garnered significant community support, especially since Rosemary has lived in her home for more than five decades. Rosemary has been organizing in the community with the Minnesota Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (MN PPEHRC) and vows not to leave her home.
Now that the court battle has ended, the struggle will move to the community. Rosemary and MN PPEHRC have stated they will not allow the home, on the 3100 block of Clinton Ave S, to be taken by the bank and left abandoned. More information will follow as news about the eviction and plans for civil disobedience become available.
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Important Updates
First, there is good news. The judge has ordered a representative of GMAC to meet with Rosemary tomorrow, June 17th, the goal being for them to arrange a deal in which Rosemary can stay in her home at an affordable rate. This does not mean that they will reach a deal, but it does mean that if a deal is not reached the eviction will not happen until - at the soonest - next Wedensday, June 24th.
If a resolution is reached on Wednesday, June 17th there will be a block party on Rosemary's block.
If GMAC wins a writ of eviction, a coalition of groups will follow up with a civil disobedience training on Tuesday, June 23rd at 6pm in the gym at Sabathani Community Center. The coalition will call for as many people as possible to sit in at Rosemary's house in resistance.
6/18 Update: Madeleine Baran article at MPR
Minneapolis woman fighting eviction ordered out within 7 days
St. Paul, Minn. — A Minneapolis woman who has resisted eviction from her foreclosed home for months needs to vacate it within seven days, a Hennepin County judge ruled Wednesday.
Rosemary Williams has attracted widespread attention in recent months, as she partnered with local activists to fight eviction from the south Minneapolis home where she has lived for 26 years.
Negotiations with lender GMAC Mortgage will continue, but if a settlement is not reached, Williams, 60, will likely have no further legal recourse.
A separate lawsuit filed by her neighbors against her mortgage company was dismissed on Wednesday. The suit alleged that allowing foreclosed homes to sit vacant creates a public nuisance.
When Williams' mother died six years ago, Williams refinanced twice into an adjustable rate mortgage. The monthly payments shot up from $1,200 to $2,200. Her home was sold at a sheriff's auction in September.
Since April, activists have packed Williams' court hearings and held several rallies to call attention to the effect of foreclosures on low-income homeowners.
"This case is not just about me," Williams said before an April hearing. "This is about our whole country. We're here today to say the evictions have to stop."
Williams could not be reached for comment today.
In a statement released yesterday, GMAC spokesperson Jeannine Bruin stressed that efforts to negotiate with Williams will continue. "Even with the favorable judgment, our legal counsel met with the judge and Ms. Williams today to try to reach agreeable arrangements in this matter, as we did with Ms. Williams prior to the foreclosure and which we continue to do throughout these court proceedings," Bruin said.
Williams' supporters vow to engage in non-violent civil disobedience to prevent her eviction if a settlement is not reached. Activists say they are also prepared to conduct an emergency fundraising effort to help Williams pay any settlement costs.
"Right now, we're just crossing our fingers and praying," Cheri Honkala, an activist for the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, said.
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