A group of Oregon banks and banking organizations have come together to challenge the legality of that state's emergency COVD-19 banking regulations. Enacted on June 30, 2020 and in effect until it expired on December 31, Oregon's House Bill (HB) 4204 placed...
Foreclosure
Face-to-Face Meeting Requirement Before Foreclosure Satisfied by Letter and Visit to Arrange Later Meeting
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has held that, where a foreclosing mortgagee is required by HUD regulations incorporated into the mortgage, to make reasonable efforts to hold a face-to-face meeting with a borrower before foreclosure, there is...
Party Who Successfully Disputed Being Party to Mortgage Cannot Claim Rights Under Disavowed Mortgage to Challenge Foreclosure
The Massachusetts Appeals Court ("Appeals Court"), in an unpublished opinion, has held that where an alleged mortgagor has successfully argued that she is not party to a mortgage, she cannot later challenge a foreclosure of that mortgage on the grounds that the...
Eviction & Foreclosure Moratorium Expires Amid Rising COVID Infections
On April 20, 2020, Massachusetts Governor Baker signed into law An Act Providing for a Moratorium on Evictions and Foreclosures During the COVID-19 Emergency. The moratorium was originally set to expire on August 18, 2020, but Governor Baker had previously extended...
Massachusetts Appeals Court Rejects Plaintiff-Borrowers’ Claim that Obsolete Mortgage Statute Limits Mortgagee’s Ability to Foreclose on Properties in Default
The Massachusetts obsolete mortgage statute, G.L. c. 260, § 33, provides, in relevant part, that "power of sale in any mortgage of real estate shall not be exercised . . . nor proceeding begun for foreclosure of any such mortgage after the expiration of . . . 5 years...
Issuance of 1099-C Does Not Void Equitable Lien on Foreclosure Surplus
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, in a matter of first impression in the First Circuit, has joined the majority of courts to find that a junior lienholder's issuance of a 1099-C to a mortgagor following foreclosure does not extinguish...
Massachusetts Superior Court Concludes Lender Properly Foreclosed and Seized Borrower’s Personal Property Following Loan Default
A recent Massachusetts Superior Court case, Germinara v. Bakis, et al. (decided May 13, 2019), involved a plaintiff borrower who obtained a commercial loan in order to fund the purchase and operation of a gas station/convenience store, which was owned by an LLC formed...
First Circuit Finds That A Notice Of Default Is Potentially Deceptive, Rendering The Foreclosure Invalid
In Thompson v. JPMorgan Chase Bank (1st Cir. 2019), the First Circuit reversed the District Court's dismissal of the borrowers' claims against the mortgagee, finding that the notice of default did not strictly comply with the terms of the mortgage and Massachusetts...
To Be or Not to Be . . . a Debt Collector
In Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus L.L.P., the Supreme Court examined whether an entity engaged in the limited purpose of enforcing a security interest in a nonjudicial foreclosure proceeding fit the definition a "debt collector," thereby subjecting it to all of...
Failure to Record Complaint Requires Dismissal Under Statute of Repose
The Massachusetts Land Court has held that a plaintiff's failure to timely file a copy of a complaint challenging a foreclosure with the registry of deeds, as required by Mass. Gen. Laws c. 244, § 15, requires dismissal of a complaint challenging the subject...
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