After four years of fighting for his home in civil court, Mario Lemons can celebrate being a homeowner—again.
The Detroit school principal agreed last month to settle with an out-of-town investment company, Detroit Renaissance Fund, which also claimed to own the residential property on West Outer Drive.
“The words that come to mind are relieved and grateful,” Lemons said. “I’ve been sort of sharing that with my family and friends who have been praying for me and making sure that I’m not getting discouraged through the process. All of that build up really has allowed me to just feel relieved.”
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The investment firm and Lemons were entangled in litigation since Lemons purchased the home in 2021. Legal filings over the years included dueling lawsuits including DRF’s pursuit of thousands in back-rent from Lemons for living in the home. In the end, he became the rightful owner of the property.
Lemons’ success in maintaining homeownership in a multi-owner situation is rare.
For years, the Wayne County Register of Deeds reported that bad actors filed fraudulent property documents which made it difficult to determine true ownership. The use of e-filing services increased the issue as fraudsters filed quit claim deeds, or single documents claiming ownership without due process.
In November, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed two bills into law to deter these false filings by creating punishments for bad actors. The law will take effect on March 19.
Wayne County Register of Deeds Bernard Youngblood said that under the new law, his office will be able to review deed-related property complaints and send information to the prosecutor’s office if there is fraudulent activity. He suggests that anyone in the process of purchasing property works with a lawyer or realtor, use the Register of Deed’s database to register and look up the property, and purchase title insurance while closing.
Youngblood spent years pushing for the added legislation and has traveled nationwide to lead conversations on deed fraud.
“It’s very gratifying that legislators took action on it,” he said.
Youngblood said local governments in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and New York are considering similar legislation to prevent fraud. Youngblood sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Feb. 14, asking the president to follow Michigan’s actions in decreasing property fraud by enacting an executive order to “create property protection” nationwide.
After one phone call and the 2021 note on his door from the investment company, stating that it too owned the property, Lemons said the only contact each side had was through attorneys.
As a result, Lemons said he’d spent the last four years “tiptoeing” around his home, unsure of whether to make improvements to the property that he may not live in long-term.
“I’m just really excited that I can really, really enjoy my house,” said Lemons.
Rhonda Stowers, Lemons’ attorney, said under the settlement Mario will remain the sole homeowner. It’s a favorable conclusion, Stowers said, especially since the school principal lost the initial quiet title action.
“Mario was pretty devastated,” she said.
Stowers declined to share further details of the private settlement.
The title company paid for Lemons’ legal services throughout the litigation process. Stowers said they filed an appeal last summer and worked continuously to regain Lemons’ ownership.
“That was the happiest phone call I made,” Stowers told BridgeDetroit. “Being able to make this call and say ‘Hey, you get to keep the house,’ it was all worth it.”
Lawyers for Detroit Renaissance Fund did not respond to requests for comment.
Stowers said Mario’s case was unusually long, since there was a backlog of civil court cases prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic which delayed their appearance before a judge, and, at one point, the plaintiff’s attorney was deployed and replaced with other counsel.
Stowers said it’s still unclear if a potential previous homeowner filed false documentation. Several claimed to own the home between the year the out-of-town investor purchased the home and when Lemons’ purchased the property. Stowers said that Horace Shah, whose name appears on a quit claim deed, appears to be deceased. Another previous owner, Todd Chun, participated in the litigation.
“Assuming there was a bad actor, it would have been several deeds before Mario,” Stowers said. “I’m not accusing anyone of anything, and I’m not pointing any fingers at anybody. I’m just glad that we were able to get the house back for Mario.”