Maine Supreme Court Revisits Reverses its Controversial 2017 One-and-Done Foreclosure Decision

A highly contested and controversial legal defense to residential foreclosures in Maine resurfaced earlier this month with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Finch v. U.S. Bank, N.A.

Finch renewed the legal question of whether a mortgage lender is barred from pursuing a second judicial foreclosure action after a trial court dismissed the first action on the grounds that the lender's pre-foreclosure notice of right to cure failed to comply with Maine statutory law, specifically Section 6111. More ›

New York Courts Lift Suspension of Foreclosure Proceedings, Add Additional Conference Requirement

On July 24, 2020, the New York State Courts issued Administrative Order 157/20 (AO/157/20). Effective July 27, 2020, AO/157/20 removes the formal suspension of all residential foreclosures, but keeps a limited suspension of commercial foreclosures in place until August 19, 2020. Under this new directive, foreclosure actions can be resumed by courts first scheduling at least one conference. Those conferences are expected to be the same as the mandatory CPLR 3408 settlement conferences—even if settlement conferences were previously held—because the courts were directed to consider all aspects of the case, including "the effects, if any, that the COVID-19 pandemic has had upon the parties." More ›