Facing foreclosure on their Santa Rosa house, nationally renowned artist and his wife win first small victory in court against bank that they say has been unhelpful

Michael Hayden is an artist, not an attorney. But Wednesday he was in a Sonoma County courtroom doing his best impression of one.

Hayden and his wife, Kristina Lucas, said they can't afford professional legal counsel, so they're scrambling to do what they can to fight the bank that is foreclosing on their home of 19 years.

Score an early round for the amateurs. The Haydens received a temporary restraining order that should delay auction of their home until Sept. 23.

It had been scheduled for sale today.

"It was a small step but a firm one," Hayden said. "Now we're going to do the next steps and they're going to be equally as firm."

It's a longshot. The Haydens haven't paid their mortgage in more than a year after a bruising 2008 depleted their finances, and efforts to modify their loans went nowhere.

Who is at fault depends on who you listen to.

"We offered Mr. Hayden a modification in September 2009, which he declined," said Jason Menke, communications consultant for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. "Unfortunately, we were not able to find a workable alternative."

Such woes would have been hard to predict two years ago. Hayden was riding high on a four-decade career that had seen his electric sculptures placed all over the world.

If you've flown through Chicago's O'Hare Airport, you've likely walked through "Sky's the Limit," a light sculpture that envelops passengers. Hayden created it more than 20 years ago, one of many public pieces to his name.

In 2008, he installed major works closer to home. His 150-foot-long "Lumetric River" crowns the U.S. Bank Tower in Sacramento, emitting light projected from a second art installation in the lobby called "Rapids."

But "River" and "Rapids" proved a high-water mark for Hayden. He had more than $1 million in projects waiting on the books, but one by one they evaporated with the onset of the economic crisis.

Around the same time, the couple said they tried to modify the loan on their Santa Rosa home. They had bought their Hall Road residence for nearly $290,000 in 1991, and refinanced it for $610,000 in June 2007. They used the money to put on a new roof, insulate the house and buy new appliances

But as they ran into financial problems, Hayden said their mortgage company kept changing. First it was World Savings Bank, which was bought by Wachovia Corp., which itself was bought by Wells Fargo on Dec. 31. 2008.

Hayden said the changes added to the confusion. Sometimes he'd get letters from one entity, sometimes from another.

"Frankly, I don't know who I am dealing with," he said.

After the couple stopped paying in April 2009, Hayden said they did receive a modification offer from Wells Fargo. The proposal, he said, would have dropped their interest rate from 7.1 percent to 4.2 percent and forgiven late fees and interest.

But then Wells Fargo sent another, less attractive offer that was "usurious," Hayden said. He turned it down and sought to accept the first offer.

Bank spokesman Menke said Wells Fargo continued to work with the Haydens for months to find a solution, but to no avail.

Hayden, in response, said he can only reach people at the bank who sound like they're reading from scripts and know nothing about his situation.

Things turned dire for the Haydens on Aug. 6, when they received notice their home was going up for auction unless they paid $690,000 to make their debt good, Hayden said.

He is suing the bank for fraud. Wednesday's restraining order was granted so that the case can be heard before the house is put up for sale at auction. Again, the couple will represent themselves in court.

Hayden does not want to file for bankruptcy protection because he fears losing his possessions, including American Indian art and more than 5,000 record albums he plans to donate to Sonoma State University.

Hayden and Lucas said they want to find a way to stay in the house. With their kids paying rent, a lodger living in Hayden's backyard studio and new projects starting up, including one in Edmonton, Canada, things are looking good, Hayden said.

"We'll do just about anything to keep the house we lived in for 19 years," said Lucas, a fellow artist, who is Volunteer Director at the Charles M. Schulz Museum. "We just want to be able to stay in the house."

You can reach Staff Writer Sam Scott at 521-5431 or at sam.scott@pressdemocrat.com