RIVERSIDE — ‘O.C. Housewife’ Lynne Curtin and husband Frank may file for bankruptcy, the pair told reporters today.
They were in court so a real estate investor who won a $1.26 million judgment against them could check out their assets.
“Everyone thinks because of the show we’re gazillionaires,” Lynne Curtin said after coming out of the closed-door session.
“When the economy turned we lost all of our money in real estate investments. We’ve been trying to get back on our feet ever since then,” Frank Curtin said.
The couple appeared in court under threat of arrest. When they didn’t attend a hearing in the case last month, Superior Court Judge Bernard J. Schwartz issued a bench warrant, but set it aside to give them a chance to show up today.
The judgment was obtained by real estate investor Mercury Manzano, who said he wasn’t paid after lending the Curtins money for projects that didn’t pan out.
The Curtins and their attorney Franklin Casco Jr., said they would try to resolve the case “informally,” but the filing for bankruptcy is an option they are considering.
Lynne and Frank Curtin outside court in Riverside County
As previously reported by the Riverside Press Enterprise:
“A default judgment issued in July 2008 says the Curtins, plus Frank’s brother Christopher, owe a real estate investor more than $1.26 million …
“Manzano said between 2005 and 2006 he loaned the brothers a total of $1.3 million: $645,000 based on two promissory notes worth $700,000 and another $685,000 based on notes secured by deeds of trust on two Laguna Beach properties. The deeds were worth more than $1.1 million …”
Manzano wound up foreclosing on the properties, he said.
Lynne and Frank Curtin’s money woes have included their rental arrangements.
As we previously reported, the couple avoided eviction earlier this month, paying their rent on a house in Aliso Viejo after receiving an eviction notice in October 2009. It was their third eviction notice that year and their fourth since 2007. Manzano filed the 2007 notice.
The couple was evicted from homes in Laguna Beach and Capistrano Beach last year.
But the lawyer who filed the latest eviction notice against them in connection with the 3-bedroom Aliso Viejo house shown below told this blog Jan. 15 that the Curtins could stay.
“They paid last month and they staved off the wolf,” said attorney Steven D. Silverstein. “My client got her money so we stopped the eviction. Right now, there is no (court) action.”
As noted in our TV blog:
“Much of this season has documented Lynne’s adventures in getting plastic surgery around her neck and face, as well as her efforts in selling handmade cuffs. Her daughter Raquel also got a nose job as a 19th birthday present.
“In the intro to ‘Real Housewives,’ Lynne states, ‘It’s not how much money you have, it’s how good you look spending it.’ ”
Read more ‘Housewives’ real estate woes HERE!.
Also by Marilyn Kalfus:
A foreclosure auction has been postponed as expected for the Ladera home belonging to the family of Tamra Barney, one of cable TV’s “Real Housewives of Orange County.”
