After issuing multiple decisions over the past several years emphasizing the importance of strict compliance with the statutory requirements for foreclosing on real estate, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has held that the strict compliance standard does not...
Mortgages
A Brief Synopsis of Recent MA Mortgage-Related Decisions
Several mortgage-related decisions have recently issued from both the Massachusetts federal and state courts. In no particular order, here is a brief synopsis of some of the more interesting ones: In U.S. Bank National Assoc. v. Bolling, 15-P-1259 (Sept. 1, 2016),...
A New, Albeit Unsuccessful, Case Challenging Attorneys’ Authority to Foreclose on behalf of the Mortgagee
In a new decision, the Supreme Judicial Court has analyzed another provision of the mortgage foreclosure by power of sale statute, G.L. c. 244, § 14, in a challenge by a former homeowner to such a foreclosure sale. Specifically, the Court considered the difference...
Another Bankruptcy Notary Case, But This Time The Bank Prevails
In a recent decision which we hope indicates that the Bankruptcy Court is less open to the bankruptcy trustees’ ever-creative arguments for avoiding mortgages, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, Eastern Division, recently turned down...
To Surrender or To Vest: That is the Question
Can a homeowner who owes more on their mortgage than their property is worth force the mortgagee to take title to the property as part of a bankruptcy plan? Put more simply: can an underwater homeowner, by filing bankruptcy, force a bank to take their property off...
Third Time’s (Not) the Charm
The Appeals Court, in a recent decision, Zullo v. HMC Assets, LLC, No. 14-P-1696 (Dec. 30, 2015) (issued pursuant to its Rule 1:28), upholding a summary judgment decision by the Land Court, both reiterated the fundamentals of foreclosure law, and raised (but did not...
Foreclosure Bill Passes Senate, Moves to House
By a 31-7 vote, the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill last week that attempts solve a portion of the ongoing foreclosure crisis by giving assurances to those who purchase property after foreclosure. The proposed legislation would implement a three-year period of time...
Mortgage Notary Acknowledgments Continue to Present Problems for Creditors in Bankruptcy Proceedings
Mortgage notary acknowledgments are still causing issues in bankruptcy, as seen in two recent cases. In both, the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts addressed the sufficiency of two allegedly defective notary acknowledgments which were challenged...
MERS Chalks Up Another Win
Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., more commonly known as MERS, has yet again has it practice of declining to record assignments of notes among banking institutions in local registries of deeds upheld by a court. The Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,...
First Circuit Considering Certification of Defective Mortgage Notary Clause Issue to SJC
There is a First Circuit Court of Appeals case, Bank of America, N.A. v. Debora A. Casey, Chapter 7 Trustee for Alvaro M. Pereira (1st Cir. Case No. 14-2115), on appeal from the U.S. District Court (MA), which raises interesting issues concerning defective notary...