Law Commons^™

Theft Of The American Dream: New York City's Third-Party Transfer Program, Joseph Mottola

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

On September 5, 2018, Paul Saunders discovered a notice on the front door of his mother’s home: it stated that the property, a Brooklyn brownstone owned by the family for over forty years, now belonged to a company called Bridge Street. His mother, seventy-four-year-old retired nurse Marlene Saunders, had been notified several months earlier that her home, valued at two million dollars, was in danger of being foreclosed because she owed New York City (the “City”) $3,792 in unpaid water charges. Her son had already paid the water bill, but when he contacted the water department, he discovered that …

Bankruptcy & The Underwater Home: A Case For Real Property Redemption, David Sheinfeld

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code exists to satisfy the claims of creditors and preserve an economic “fresh start” for the debtor after bankruptcy. In exchange for surrendering her property to the trustee to have it monetized (i.e., sold), the debtor receives a discharge of her debts and an injunction against future creditor in personam actions to recover them. However, the in personam injunction is insufficient to protect consumer debtors who are in default on mortgages encumbering underwater homes because the creditor’s in rem rights remain; after the conclusion of the case, the creditor can continue foreclosure proceedings, which …

Yesterday I Was Lying: Creeping Preclusion Of Reciprocal Fee Awards In Residential Foreclosure Litigation, Eric A. Zacks, Dustin A. Zacks

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt

As a result of the high volume of foreclosure litigation in the wake of the Great Recession, scholars have explored several outgrowths of the foreclosure crisis, developing a burgeoning body of research. Scholars and commentators have authored studies about a wide variety of foreclosure-related topics, ranging from the disparate racial effects of the housing crisis to the many legislative and court-instituted policies enacted to ameliorate the harsh reality faced by financially distressed homeowners, all the way through books examining the aftermath of the crisis and lessons learned from the entire experience.

Our previous contributions to this evolving body of …

Screened Out Of Housing: The Impact Of Misleading Tenant Screening Reports And The Potential For Criminal Expungement As A Model For Effectively Sealing Evictions, Katelyn Polk

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Having an eviction record “blacklists” tenants from finding future housing. Even renters with mere eviction filings—not eviction orders—on their records face the harsh collateral consequences of eviction. This Note argues that eviction records should be sealed at filing and only released into the public record if a landlord prevails in court. Juvenile record expungement mechanisms in Illinois serve as a model for one way to protect people with eviction records. Recent updates to the Illinois juvenile expungement process provided for the automatic expungement of certain records and strengthened the confidentiality protections of juvenile records. Illinois protects juvenile records because it …

Still Standing, Barely: Bank Of America Corp. V. City Of Miami And The Impact On Fair Lending Litigation, Trevor C, Hoffberger

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Path To Destruction: Cook County's Property Tax System Is A Cause For Concern As It Mimics The Defunct Taxing Procedures That Led To The Detroit Foreclosure Crisis, Robert Romano

Chicago-Kent Law Review

For decades, Cook County, Illinois, has had one of the highest property tax rates in the country, and as a result the County has begun to experience unprecedented foreclosure rates which has contributed, in part, to the State’s significant population decline. Residents are forced to endure a property tax system that disproportionately burdens low-income homeowners, while providing tax breaks to higher-income individuals and commercial owners. The primary causes and characteristics of Cook County’s defunct property tax system are strikingly similar to those that sent the City of Detroit spiraling into bankruptcy in 2013.

This note provides a comparative analysis of …

Unconscionable: Tax Delinquency Sales As A Form Of Dignity Taking, Andrew W. Kahrl

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Leverage: State Enforcement Actions In The Wake Of The Robo-Sign Scandal, Raymond H. Brescia

Maine Law Review

In the fall of 2010, the revelations that tens of thousands of foreclosure filings across the nation were likely fraudulent—if not outright criminal—sparked a nation-wide investigation by all fifty state attorneys general to assess the extent of the scandal and its potential impacts, but also to consider likely legal and policy responses to such behavior. One of the tools at the state attorneys general’s disposal that might rein in this behavior includes each state’s Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices (UDAP) laws. Such laws typically prohibit “unfair” and “deceptive” practices, which are described loosely in these laws, and often give …

Foreclosure Diversion And Mediation In The States, Alan M. White

Georgia State University Law Review

The recent mortgage foreclosure crisis, whose economic effects are well known, transformed state legal structures governing the mortgage foreclosure process. What had been a relatively routine system of default judgments and auction sales has evolved into a negotiation and workout practice in which homeowners contest foreclosures, demand loan modifications and short sales, and propose other alternatives to foreclosures.

A profusion of state laws and court orders were adopted between 2008 and 2014 with the aim of promoting negotiated foreclosure alternatives. These laws have produced a variety of experiments in the “laboratories of democracy.” The defaults—whether home loans are renegotiated, defaults …

Banks, Break-Ins, And Bad Actors In Mortgage Foreclosure, Christopher K. Odinet

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Non-Uniform Commercial Code: The Creeping, Problematic Application Of Article 9 To Determine Outcomes In Foreclosure Cases, Morgan L. Weinstein

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “This article will discuss the operation of two portions of the Uniform Commercial Code (“U.C.C.”) on mortgage foreclosure law. Article 3 of the U.C.C. governs negotiable instruments, whereas Article 9 governs secured transactions. For decades, courts have utilized Article 3 to determine the rights of lenders and their assigns to enforce mortgage promissory notes and to foreclose mortgages thereon. However, certain jurisdictions do not utilize the U.C.C. in foreclosure cases, whereas other jurisdictions have recently begun to look to Article 9 instead. This article argues that the Uniform Commercial Code should receive more uniform application, with Article 3 as …

With All My Worldly Goods I Thee Endow: The Law And Statistics Of Dower And Curtesy In Arkansas, J. Cliff Mckinney

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Surviving The Borrower: Assumption, Modification, And Access To Mortgage Information After A Death Or Divorce, Sarah Bolling Mancini, Alys Cohen

Pepperdine Law Review

The death of a borrower too often brings the surviving spouse or other heirs to the brink of foreclosure. Transfer of the marital home to a non-borrower spouse through divorce may lead to the same problems. Mortgage servicers tell these successor homeowners that because they are not the borrower on the loan, they are not entitled to any information about the mortgage secured by their home and cannot apply for a loan modification, even if they are struggling with the payments. In fact, successors have a right to information, the right to assume liability for the loan, and the right …

Survey Of The Rights Of Receiverships To Sell Real Property, Baruch Kreiman

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

The focus of this article is on the abilities of the receiver and the restrictions put on him regarding his management of the property-- specifically, whether the receiver has the ability to sell the land free and clear of all liens, and, if so, under what circumstances and by what method. Part II gives an overview of the article, discusses the structures of receivership statutes in various jurisdictions, and further discusses receivership sales. Part III analyzes the statutory frameworks and caselaw from a selection of jurisdictions with regards to their treatment of receiverships and focuses on sales made by the …

Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings: Where We Have Been And Where We Need To Go, Bryan E. Meek

Akron Law Review

The primary purpose for this comment is to provide an overview of the foreclosure process while introducing the laws and regulations that would govern an “ideal” foreclosure system. First, it provides a general introduction to the mortgage/foreclosure process. This introduction is crucial; it will help many to understand the way financial institutions have complicated the foreclosure process. Next, it analyzes various states, labeling them as either having “strict” foreclosure laws and regulations or having “lenient” foreclosure laws and regulations. Lastly, this comment discusses the pros and cons of various foreclosure requirements. The ultimate goal of this comment is to establish …

Court Of Appeals Of New York, Harner V. County Of Tioga, Gerald C. Waters Jr.

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

"But My Lease Isn't Up Yet!": Finding Fault With "No- Fault" Evictions, Eloisa C. Rodriguez-Dod

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Maryland Foreclosure Mediation - Working Or Waning? A Critical Look At The State's Foreclosure Mediation Program, Chelsea Jones

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Re-Possessing "Home": A Re-Analysis Of Gender, Homeownership, And Debtor Default For Feminist Legal Theory, Lorna Fox

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

The current credit crisis has brought the subject of subprime and other problematic debt to the forefront of many agendas - both political and personal. This article explores some of the underlying legal, theoretical, economic, and phenomenological issues associated with default and foreclosure, particularly as they affect women homeowners. The analysis is embedded in feminist discourse on home, from traditional critiques of the association between women and home to evolving conceptions of the benefits and the burdens of home for contemporary feminist theory. This article traces the ideas of "home" and "homeownership" for American women and considers how it might …

The Tax Treatment Of Cancelled Interest And Penalties On Consumer Debt, Richard C.E. Beck

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Foreclosing On The American Dream: An Evaluation Of State And Federal Foreclosure Laws, Debra Pogrund Stark

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Residential Liens And Foreclosures (Oklahoma Focus), Monica Amis Wittrock

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

The New Federal Foreclosure Laws, Patrick A. Randolph Jr.

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bfp V. Resolution Trust Corporation: Supreme Court Shifts Focus Onto State Law In Ruling On Mortgage Foreclosure Sales, Audy M. Perry Jr.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mortgages Substitutes—The Law In Arkansas, Glenn E. Pasvogel Jr.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Special Declarant Rights And Obligations Following Mortgage Foreclosure On Condominium Developments, Carol Jane Brown

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Land Banking Tax Delinquent Property: Reform And Revitalization, Patricia A. Hemann

Cleveland State Law Review

This note will examine the role of land banking generally in the urban revitalization process, describe the changes made by House Bill 1327 in proceedings for foreclosure of tax liens, outline the mechanism of a land reutilization program, and discuss the viability of an LRP in Ohio as both a method of reducing tax delinquency rates and a tool for redevelopment of the inner city.

Land Banking Tax Delinquent Property: Reform And Revitalization, Patricia A. Hemann

Cleveland State Law Review

This note will examine the role of land banking generally in the urban revitalization process, describe the changes made by House Bill 1327 in proceedings for foreclosure of tax liens, outline the mechanism of a land reutilization program, and discuss the viability of an LRP in Ohio as both a method of reducing tax delinquency rates and a tool for redevelopment of the inner city.

Protecting The Rights Of Purchasers Of Condominium Units, Jeffry R. Dwyer

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The late 1960s and early 1970s have witnessed an unprecedented boom in both construction and conversion condominiums. The inflationary spiral of the 1970s caused many developers of partially completed rental projects to seek substantial loan increases to cover cost overruns. Such loan increases often could not be justified by rental income projections. Accordingly, many developers and lenders turned to condominium conversions as a panacea for project cost overruns. However, with a shortage of end loan money, developers and lenders were left with unsold "inventory," increasing in cost with each passing day. Indeed, many developers of condominium units found themselves in …

Foreclosure Without Disclosure - Cooper-Merriken Fertilizers, Inc. V. Smith, Berryl A. Speert

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.