The longest persistent squatter in the United States has once again beaten eviction by hiring a new lawyer days before a court was to rule on his eviction from the site he has inhabited for over 20 years.
Guramrit Hanspal, aged 52, has lived in the home in East Meadow since it was foreclosed in the year 2000. Hanspal has used a number of legal loopholes, and some allege, underhand tactics, to avoid being removed from the house by force.
Hanspal bought the property for $290,000 in 1998 but has refused to pay a single mortgage payment since that year. In 2018, he was even offered $20,000 to leave the home, an offer he refused. Since then, the real estate company has run up $150,000 in legal fees and $50,000 in property taxes.
Real estate firm Diamond Ridge was behind this most recent attempt to remove Hanspal.
Diamond Ridge lawyer Jordan Katz stated in court:
"This is very typical of the defendant — he recycles lawyers to buy himself more time. This guy is basically mocking the courts."
Most of Hanspal's legal actions have taken the form of referring to U.S. Bankruptcy Code's 'automatic stay' rules, which gives those in mortgage debt a chance to get their finances in order. Hanspal has filed for bankruptcy in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Photographs from inside the home show it in a state of disrepair and strewn with garbage, another cost the real estate company will have to cover if Hanspal is eventually removed.
It is unclear if future litigation will see Hanspal removed anytime soon.
[h/t: Daily Mail]
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