A foreclosure lawsuit is initiated by the financial institution’s attorneys serving the homeowner with the summons and complaint. Both the homeowner and financial institution can engage in the discovery process where they ask for the documents, records and other information related to the mortgage and foreclosure lawsuit to be provided to them.
Motion Practice
Attorneys for financial institutions are under pressure from the banks to move their cases through the courts as quickly as possible. For this reason if a homeowner submits an answer to the summons and complaint the financial institution will usually make a motion for summary judgment.
The Summary Judgment Motion
A motion for summary judgment alleges there are no questions of fact, all the issues in the case can be presented on paper and there are no real triable issues of fact. Based on this motion, bank’s attorney will allege the court should grant the financial institution a judgment of foreclosure dismissing the defendant’s answer and affirmative defenses. The attorneys will be putting a lot of time and effort in presenting a well documented and well set up motion for summary judgment which shows that the defenses and affirmative defenses by the homeowner are without merit. The plaintiff’s motion papers are at times 7 or 8 inches thick with regard the summary judgment motion.
The making of a summary judgment motion by the plaintiff’s attorneys causes the defendant to fight this motion by submitting opposing papers and if appropriate submitting a cross-motion seeking the case be dismissed.
Motion for Foreclosure and Sale
If the financial institution’s attorneys are successful with regard to having the court grant their motion for summary judgment, they will thereafter bring a second motion for foreclosure and sale. In the motion for foreclosure and sale the court will usually recognize the accounting of the referee as being valid and and correct. This is the last court application necessary before the referee can schedule the sale of the house.
Elliot S. Schlisel is the managing partner of Schlissel DeCorpo LLP. He has been representing homeowners in foreclosure lawsuits, helping them obtain mortgage modifications and dealing with numerous other problems related to improper conduct of financial institutions for more than 45 years. He can be reached for a free consultation at 800-344-6431 or e-mailed at Elliot@sdnylaw.com.
The financial institution’s attorneys represent what is referred to in a lawsuit as the plaintiff. The attorneys for the homeowner in a foreclosure case represent the defendant. The plaintiff is usually the party that is pushing the case through the courts as quickly as possible to obtain the relief their client wants which is in 
During the past 12 months the prime interest rate has increased from 3.75% to 5.15%. This has created a significant decrease in the buying power of new homeowners. As mortgage rates go up, the cost of borrowing increases. This tends to have a negative impact on the real estate market regarding the sale of residential real estate.
In the State of New York there is a requirement that all foreclosures involving residential property are subject to mandatory 
In a recent case the Attorney Generals for all 50 States in the United States and the District of Columbia reached a settlement with Wells Fargo Bank. The settlement involves a variety of consumer protection claims and unfair trade practices utilized by Wells Fargo Bank. The settlement was in the amount of $575,000,000.
The statute of limitations is set by statute in various types of cases. The statute of limitations to bring a foreclosure case on a defaulted mortgage is 6 years from the date of default or from the date of the acceleration of a mortgage. For a variety of reasons, foreclosure cases sometimes are initiated and then withdrawn, dismissed or discontinued. If a 
Have you fallen behind on your mortgage? Have you missed more than one mortgage payment? Could it be you’ve missed 2 or 3 or even more mortgage payments? If any of these problems have happened to you, the bank that holds your mortgage may take legal action to come after your home. The legal action taken by the financial institution to take the home back is called a foreclosure lawsuit.
The plaintiff had brought a foreclosure lawsuit on a mortgage. All of the defendants other than Bank of America defaulted. They did not submit an answer to the summons and complaint. The plaintiff moved under court rules for an expedited proceeding. In some foreclosure actions to be eligible for an expedited procedure the plaintiff is required to waive a deficiency judgment.
In the case before Justice Peter Mayer who sits in Supreme Court in Suffolk County, Rokoetz had executed a note and mortgage. This note and mortgage secured a lien against his home. Rokoetz defaulted in making payments on this mortgage. CS First Boston brought a 
HSBC Mortgage Corporation had obtained a judgment in 2009 in a foreclosure case. They also had an order to sell the homeowner’s home. In 2013 the 2009 judgment was vacated and the lawsuit discontinued for “administrative reasons.” However, the homeowner continued to receive statements that her loan was referred to foreclosure or accelerated. The new servicer, Fay Servicing LLC became involved in 2016. A lawsuit by the homeowner had been brought to quiet title in this case.
