The class action lawsuit alleges that Amtrust Bank suspended customers' Home Equity lines of credit without warning or any assesment of individual property values. The suit says the homeowners had been paying fees to the bank for access to the credit should they need to tap it and the bank didn't offer to refund those fees.
The case was filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on behalf of a Moreland Hills man, but attorney Jack Landskroner - managing partner of the firm bringing the suit - says the potential number of victims could be in the thousands.
JACK LANDSKRONER: "Amtrust has inapproriately suspended lines of crredit for their homewoners, and that they've breached the contract they have with their homeowners, and they've been unjustly enriched, basically received money that they're not entitled to."
The suit contends AmTrust suspended the lines of credit because of declining housing values, but that some clients were not immediately informed, discovering their credit was revoked only after attempting to use the accounts to pay for home repairs or other purchases.
LANDSKRONER: "If they were relying on this safety net and suddenly it's ripped out from under them, it can create havoc in their lives."
The suit seeks to recover annual fees the bank charged customers, plus costs incurred resulting from the suspensions.
A spokeswoman for the bank said that AMTRUST would have to consult its' attorneys before making any further comment.
