Extra people listed on a foreclosure action
August 16, 2012 6:29 AM Subscribe
My mother in law was placed permanently in a nursing home last year. It took about 14 months, but her home has finally gone into foreclosure. This is fine with us. We were served with the papers on her behalf last night, and I noticed that there were additional defendants besides her listed on the form. Are these corporations/people responsible for having themselves removed from the suit if they are not actually involved?
One of the defendants is the homeowner's association, which makes sense. The other three are Amex, Midland Funding, and a private citizen. I looked through the papers and it seems that they did some kind of search on her (pretty common) name for judgments and listed the ones they found. The problem is, none of these "Mary A. Smith"s are her.
You are not my lawyer, you are not offering me legal advice. We're in NJ, no one is contesting the foreclosure. Is there any action I should take with respect to these people being named in the civil action? This is the first time I've been involved in something like this and I have no idea how it all works.
One of the defendants is the homeowner's association, which makes sense. The other three are Amex, Midland Funding, and a private citizen. I looked through the papers and it seems that they did some kind of search on her (pretty common) name for judgments and listed the ones they found. The problem is, none of these "Mary A. Smith"s are her.
You are not my lawyer, you are not offering me legal advice. We're in NJ, no one is contesting the foreclosure. Is there any action I should take with respect to these people being named in the civil action? This is the first time I've been involved in something like this and I have no idea how it all works.
Is there any action I should take with respect to these people being named in the civil action?
Unless you know have some kind of relationship with them, not really. I do civil defense work, and the cases in which I'm involved routinely involve multiple defendants. Each defendant is responsible for their own affairs, and it is the plaintiff's responsibility to serve each and every defendant.
Now, if the plaintiff is having trouble doing that, they may ask for help from the other defendants, i.e., a mailing address, etc. If the other defendants have relevant information, it has to be given up. But unless the bank specifically comes to you for help, you don't necessarily need to do anything.
That being said, you should hire a lawyer anyway. I understand that you're not "contesting" the foreclosure, but this may not necessarily be as simple as just walking away. First of all, you probably need to communicate to the bank that though the right party has received service, that isn't who has actually been sued. This is a job for your lawyer. Second, even simple foreclosure actions frequently involve at least some discovery, and that too is a job for your lawyer. Third, though the banks think they've sorted out their robo-signing paperwork problems, there are still the potential for significant irregularities. Even if you don't want the house anymore, it's still in your best interest to make sure that all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed. Lastly, and most importantly, New Jersey appears to be what's called a "recourse" state. This means that if the bank sells the house for less than the outstanding balance on the mortgage, they can come after your mother-in-law--or her estate--for the balance. You want to stay on top of that, especially if there's something funny going on with the mortgage.
Short version: there isn't anything that you need to do except hire a lawyer.
posted by valkyryn at 6:38 AM on August 16, 2012 [5 favorites]
Unless you know have some kind of relationship with them, not really. I do civil defense work, and the cases in which I'm involved routinely involve multiple defendants. Each defendant is responsible for their own affairs, and it is the plaintiff's responsibility to serve each and every defendant.
Now, if the plaintiff is having trouble doing that, they may ask for help from the other defendants, i.e., a mailing address, etc. If the other defendants have relevant information, it has to be given up. But unless the bank specifically comes to you for help, you don't necessarily need to do anything.
That being said, you should hire a lawyer anyway. I understand that you're not "contesting" the foreclosure, but this may not necessarily be as simple as just walking away. First of all, you probably need to communicate to the bank that though the right party has received service, that isn't who has actually been sued. This is a job for your lawyer. Second, even simple foreclosure actions frequently involve at least some discovery, and that too is a job for your lawyer. Third, though the banks think they've sorted out their robo-signing paperwork problems, there are still the potential for significant irregularities. Even if you don't want the house anymore, it's still in your best interest to make sure that all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed. Lastly, and most importantly, New Jersey appears to be what's called a "recourse" state. This means that if the bank sells the house for less than the outstanding balance on the mortgage, they can come after your mother-in-law--or her estate--for the balance. You want to stay on top of that, especially if there's something funny going on with the mortgage.
Short version: there isn't anything that you need to do except hire a lawyer.
posted by valkyryn at 6:38 AM on August 16, 2012 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: I would love to be able to hire a lawyer on behalf of my MIL, but she has no assets besides the (underwater) house, Medicaid is paying for her nursing home care and she has zero savings. My husband and I are not in a financial position to pay for one ourselves either. Is this something that the County Legal Services office might help with?
posted by crankylex at 6:52 AM on August 16, 2012
posted by crankylex at 6:52 AM on August 16, 2012
Best answer: You've got nothing to lose by calling County Legal Services or Legal Aid, or even the local Bar Association to see if someone can help pro bono.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:59 AM on August 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:59 AM on August 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Is this something that the County Legal Services office might help with?
Yeah, potentially. Foreclosure is now recognized by the legal aid community as being a definite area of need, and clinics around the country are doing more and more of that sort of thing. Check with Legal Services of New Jersey.
posted by valkyryn at 7:26 AM on August 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yeah, potentially. Foreclosure is now recognized by the legal aid community as being a definite area of need, and clinics around the country are doing more and more of that sort of thing. Check with Legal Services of New Jersey.
posted by valkyryn at 7:26 AM on August 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
I doubt they're defendants --- given that Amex is one, it is likely that these are other people to whom your mother in law owes money and which may have a right to foreclose on the home themselves --- in other words, the other leinholders. (is the private citizen a repairman/contractor possibly?) in general when the house is foreclosed the people to who your mother owes money get paid in a certain order --- the government (if there's back taxes), the first/main mortgage, second mortgage/Home equity loan, then everyone else, like the HOA. That's a rough guide; the order may vary depending on your state. But the thing is, generally with a foreclosure there's way less money available from the sale then is needed to go around; usually only the first leinholder gets anything. But whoever initiates the foreclosure is required to notify any potential other claimants.
posted by Diablevert at 7:54 AM on August 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Diablevert at 7:54 AM on August 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
In regards to the lien, the order of lien priority can varies by state. In Massachusetts, the condominium Super Lien grants the lien holder, in this case the HOA, priority over even the first mortgage holder. YMMV.
posted by jerseygirl at 11:24 AM on August 16, 2012
posted by jerseygirl at 11:24 AM on August 16, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by inturnaround at 6:37 AM on August 16, 2012 [1 favorite]