Atlanta woman fights for her home and wins

Rita James, 76, found herself in court fighting for her home...

Jul 2, 2012

Rita James, 76, found herself in court fighting for her home. James found out that a company was charging her with back rent for the home that she purchased in 1964. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the problem started with a billing error by the tax commissioner’s office 18 years ago. The county issued a tax lien on her house and sold it to a private company who then auctioned off the home to Intown Ventures who pursued their rent even after the mistake was uncovered.

Rita James, dragged into court in her 70s and forced to fight for the northwest Atlanta home she had lived in for nearly half a century, has finally prevailed.

James, 76 and a grandmother, said this week that she knew the case would go her way.

“I wasn’t really surprised because they really didn’t have any reason to take my house,” she said of the company that tried to acquire her home. “They knew in their heart they didn’t own that land.”

Her opponent, Intown Ventures of Atlanta, didn’t know any such thing, the company’s lawyer said. He said Intown simply decided it was time to get out of a long and contentious case.

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