Couple sue lawyer over home raffle
 

BY MELANIE D. SCOTT

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

January 31, 2009
 

A Waterford couple filed a lawsuit against their former attorney, claiming they were ill-advised when they tried to raffle off their house in October.
 

Joseph and Penelope VanDevelder's house on Wanamaker Road had been on the market for 18 months, but they contacted attorney Phillip Strehle to find out if they legally could raffle off the property.
 

In a suit filed in Oakland County Circuit Court earlier this month, the VanDevelders said they hired Strehle, created a Web site and began printing and distributing raffle tickets the attorney approved.
 

After much public attention, the VanDevelders sold 235 raffle tickets that cost $100 apiece. The couple says Strehle advised them to decline their snow removal contracts for 2008-09, because they would be out of the home before it snowed, and that Penelope VanDevelder quit her job and gave up medical benefits.
 

The suit says Strehle called the couple a few weeks later and told them to stop the raffle because it was illegal. It also states that Strehle attempted to change the house raffle to an essay contest.
 

The VanDevelders are seeking more than $25,000 in damages.
 

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