FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: press@occupyeugenemedia.org
occupyeugenemedia.org, @OccupyEugene

Occupy Eugene Press Conference on Stopping Foreclosure SaleOn Monday morning, March 5, Occupy Eugene is holding a press conference at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza outside the Lane County Courthouse, shortly following the 10 a.m. foreclosure auction. Lauren Schickling of Walton, Oregon, will tell her story to the media, and Occupy Eugene will highlight the need for passage of proposed legislation designed to help thousands of Oregonians who are facing foreclosure actions.

Occupy Eugene is helping to stop an alleged act of legalized theft — the fraudulent sale of Mrs. Schickling’s home and property. A flurry of activity will occur in the early morning hours as members of Occupy Eugene work with Mrs. Schickling at both the Federal and County Courthouses in an attempt to stop the foreclosure sale.

Our efforts will begin at the Federal Courthouse where Mrs. Shickling and Occupy Eugene will seek to have a federal judge approve an emergency injunction to stop the scheduled foreclosure auction to be held at 10 a.m. at the Lane County Courthouse. If that fails, Mrs. Schickling is prepared to tell the auctioneer at the Lane County Courthouse that she is paying off the mortgage in full. It is our understanding that if the auctioneer does not honor this statement of new information and immediately cancel the auction, under Oregon law a crime will have been committed.

The Schicklings have been fighting the banks to save their home for several years. They are victims of a common practice called dual-tracking, which is when lenders negotiate loan modification terms with the borrower while simultaneously moving forward with foreclosure, without the borrower’s knowledge. On February 16th the Oregon senate voted 20-10 to approve S.B. 1564 which will ban dual-tracking in Oregon, though efforts are now underway by Representatives Gene Whisnant and Bruce Hanna to give the banks immunity from legal liability for all previous and current dual-tracking actions taken against Oregon homeowners.

Occupy Eugene invites media and supporters to join us at 9:50 a.m. at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza. At 10 a.m., just inside the Lane County Courthouse, the auction will begin and will end in a matter of minutes. Afterward, Mrs. Schickling and members of Occupy Eugene will speak to the media to recap what happened.

This press release is from the Communications Committee of Occupy Eugene which is empowered to speak on behalf of the larger Occupy Eugene body.

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