Councilwoman Zapf dodges financial hardship

Eric Zapf, husband of councilwoman Lorie Zapf, has been discharged from a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy he filed in May of this year.

In 2014, the Fourth District Court of Appeal found that Eric Zapf was liable for negligence in a Carlsbad real estate deal. Zapf and his associates were told to pay more than $1 million for their role in a transaction. The sellers of the property, but not Eric Zapf, were found liable for fraud in the deal.

On May 12 of this year, Eric Zapf filed for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy. In the filing, Lorie Zapf was named as a co-debtor. On August 24, bankruptcy judge Laura Taylor lifted a lien against the Zapf home related to the 2014 judgment. The discharge of the Chapter 7 was dated August 15. The lien-holders did not show up in court.

On August 3 of this year, Eric Zapf filed a declaration with the bankruptcy court, stating that when he and Lorie bought a home at 4622 Lisann Street in the Palisades area, there was a 35-foot crack in the foundation that he discovered under a rug that he was removing. The sellers threatened to sue the Zapfs for working on the home before they had possession.

The sellers fixed the crack with epoxy resin, but the epoxy did not hold. Zapf told the court that he had sold five homes in the Palisades area and learned that homes there had been built on fill and cracks were common. As a result of the cracks in the home, the property would sell for $75,000 to $100,000 less than a broker price opinion. The judge took that into account in removing the lien.