NJ To Take Statewide Approach To Mandatory Mediation Program In Owner-Occupied Home Foreclosure Actions, State Chief Justice Says

The New Jersey Judiciary announced:

• [New Jersey Supreme Court] Chief Justice Stuart Rabner [last week] announced the roll-out of a statewide Judiciary program to assist homeowners in foreclosure actions. The program will provide mediators to help homeowners and lenders negotiate with one another and try to work out agreements to avoid foreclosures.

• Chief Justice Rabner said, “While the courts must remain neutral in all foreclosure matters, it is in everyone’s best interest to have a forum where homeowners facing foreclosure have the opportunity to negotiate to save their homes. Our goal is to get lenders and borrowers to meet at the table and work out a mutually beneficial arrangement. I encourage continued cooperation among the courts, lenders, borrowers, and the bar as we address the increasing number of foreclosure actions in New Jersey in today’s difficult economic times.”

• Under the program, the courts will require mediation in all cases in which homeowners contest owner-occupied foreclosure actions. Volunteer mediators will meet with eligible homeowners and their lenders in an effort to resolve the foreclosure action and renegotiate the terms of mortgage agreements.

For more, see Judiciary Announces Foreclosure Mediation Program to Assist Homeowners at Risk of Losing Their Homes.