In an opinion written in under 1,000 words, Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal put foreclosure cases across Florida in jeopardy in Desbrunes v. U.S. Bank National Association in February. Originally published in...more
M & M Realty Partners at Hagen Ranch, LLC v. Mazzoni, Case No. 18-13536 (11th Cir. 2020). A “binding financial commitment” from a third party, including a wholly owned business entity, is required in order to satisfy the...more
In a deed in lieu of foreclosure, a defaulting borrower agrees to convey the mortgaged property to the mortgage lender. But handing over the keys can raise a number of potential pitfalls. Below, we discuss some of these...more
Real Property Update - Condo Termination / Mandatory Arbitration: Unit owner could not pursue claims relating to condo termination for failure to comply with Florida Statutes section 718.117(16), which required unit...more
On February 11, 2020, the United States Circuit Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit issued its opinion in Anderman v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., Case No. 19-13734 regarding the applicability of the federal Fair Debt...more
In Futuri Real Estate, Inc. v. Atlantic Trustee Servs., LLC, borrowers Milton and Armida Cortez (the “Borrowers”) obtained three loans secured by separate deeds of trust on their residence: (A) a $415,000 deed of trust in...more
In the fifth opinion involving the repo liquidation saga of HomeBanc, the Third Circuit addressed several crucial issues involving the liquidation and valuation of repo collateral in bankruptcy. In re HomeBanc Mortg....more
On September 19, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s conclusion that a purchaser at a private foreclosure sale has no successor liability to a debtor’s unpaid creditors. ...more
Real Property Update - Foreclosure Sale: borrowers failed to allege adequate equitable factors and make proper showing to justify setting aside foreclosure sale, but instead re-litigate issues determined in underlying...more
In Godoy v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., a bank sued a guarantor to recover on a deficiency following a foreclosure sale. No. 18-0071, 2019 Tex. LEXIS 443 (Tex. May 10, 2019)....more
Real Property Update - Public Official Standing Doctrine: county school district that benefited from ad valorem taxes charged by county could not challenge constitutionality of statutory tax exemption claimed by homeowners...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Breach of Contract/Damages: court erred by precluding setoff when calculating damages because purpose of award is to restore the injured party to the position it would have realized no for the other...more
The United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina recently issued a decision that demonstrates the power of attorneys’ fees provisions in promissory notes and guaranty agreements. In TD Bank v. Jay...more
Civil suits to collect property taxes as an in personam debt are now limited to the person who owned the property when the tax became due, but the Michigan act does not completely prevent collection of property taxes as an in...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE FINANCIAL SERVICES UPDATE - Ad Valorem Taxes: land lease holders are considered equitable owners of land for tax purposes if land lease renews automatically and is perpetual; owners of condominium...more
In Idaho, it has long been understood that a secured creditor that has foreclosed a mortgage may be able to also get a judgment against the debtor for the remainder of the debt, if the proceeds of the foreclosure sale are not...more
Winning a deficiency judgment following foreclosure may become less costly for lenders following a May 5 ruling by the North Carolina Supreme Court in United Community Bank v. Wolfe. Reversing a previous ruling by the Court...more
On Friday, May 5, 2017, in a major victory for lenders, the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed the North Carolina Court of Appeals’s decision in United Community Bank v. Wolfe. In July 2015, the Court of Appeals decided in...more
On April 17, 2017, the Supreme Court of Georgia made yet another critical decision in a line of cases which together, create the framework for a guarantor’s liability for a deficiency after a foreclosure has been conducted....more
Readers of my case alerts may remember a July 2015 alert about the troubling North Carolina Court of Appeals decision in United Community Bank v. Wolfe, which made it a lot harder for lenders to obtain a post-foreclosure...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Foreclosure: final summary judgment in borrower’s favor inappropriate where borrower merely asserted that lender mistakenly filed copy of original note with court, instead of original, and where...more
What law governs a deficiency action if the choice-of-law provisions in the note and deed of trust conflict? The Arizona Court of Appeals answered that very question in ZB, N.A. v. Hoeller, No. 1 CA-CV 16-0071 (Ct. App. April...more
A foreclosure judgment, followed by sale of the mortgaged property, doesn’t necessarily end a foreclosure case. If the sale proceeds don’t fully pay the debt, the next step is a money judgment against the borrower for the...more
A mortgage judgment in Florida does two things – it sets the amount owed to the lender, and it orders the sale of the mortgaged property and applies the proceeds to pay down the debt. Where the sale proceeds are insufficient...more
Real Property Update: - Lis Pendens/Subsequent Liens: lis pendens statute only serves to discharge liens that exist or arise prior to entry of foreclosure judgment but does not affect liens that arise after entry of...more