Joliet House Sold By Man Who Does Not Even Own It: Lawsuit Reveals

JOLIET, IL — Leonardo Rosas and Ramon Rosas have retained the law firm of Hamilton & Antonsen to file a Will County civil lawsuit against David Laster and Agape Management Solutions in connection with the sale of a house in the 700 block of Joliet's East Washington Street.

According to the lawsuit filing, Laster lives in Will County and the plaintiffs entered into a contract with Laster to buy the house at 723 East Washington. As part of the contract, the plaintiffs agreed to pay Laster $55,000 and the plaintiffs paid $25,000 to Laster.

The plaintiffs also made repairs and improvements to the house in excess of $70,000, the lawsuit noted.

As for the reason for the lawsuit? "The plaintiffs recently discovered that David Laster was not the owner of the Joliet property ... the plaintiffs have demanded a return of the money from David Laster and Mr. Laster has refused to return any calls," court documents noted.

The lawsuit seeks a judge's ruling awarding the plaintiffs $100,000 plus attorneys fees and costs.

The lawsuit accuses Laster and Agape Management Solutions of breach of contract and fraud stating, "the defendant held himself out to be the owner of the aforesaid property and fraudulently deceived the plaintiffs into believing that he was rightful owner," the lawsuit noted. "The plaintiffs have demanded a return of the money from David Laster and Mr. Laster has refused to return any calls."

Documents at the Will County Courthouse reveal that the lawsuit was actually filed in 2024 but the case remained on standstill until last week. That's because Laster had not been formally served with a copy of the lawsuit. According to the court filings, the lawsuit summons was accepted by Miguel Orteta on May 16 at a house in the 600 block of Joliet's Cayuga Street.

"I asked about the defendant's car in the driveway and he said, 'Oh, caught me,'" the affidavit of service stated. "Within three business days, a copy of the summons, complaint at law, was mailed in a sealed envelope with postage fully prepaid, addressed to David Laster at his/her usual place of abode."