Mass. High Court To Hear Ibanez? Court Ruling Shined Light On Foreclosure Screw-Ups That Left Title To Thousands Of Bay State Homes In Legal Limbo

Massachusetts attorney Richard D. Vetstein writes in The Boston Globe's Boston Real Estate Now blog:

• For those of you following the controversial U.S. Bank v. Ibanez case,(1) which invalidated potentially thousands of foreclosures across the state, both sides last week asked the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to take the case — as I originally predicted. The SJC’s acceptance of the case would cut months to years off the normal appellate process. This would be great news for everyone eagerly awaiting a final decision.

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• The SJC should decide whether to take the case within 30 days or so, and I predict they will take it on. However, I still think the SJC will ultimately affirm Judge Long’s ruling against foreclosing lenders, a bad decision from a title and conveyancing standpoint in my view. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of Ibanez, some lenders are re-doing foreclosures and some are just waiting it out.

• Most title insurance companies are unwilling to touch an Ibanez afflicted property with a ten foot pole. Many folks find themselves in a tough predicament. I recently assisted a buyer of a foreclosed property who was initially rejected by two title insurers. We fortunately convinced one title company to insure over an Ibanez issue, so the client could close. But I have another client who is stuck, and we’re trying to track down the original owner of the property to obtain a deed. It’s a tough situation all around.

Source: Ibanez foreclosure case possibly heading to Massachusetts high court.

For Justice Keith C. Long's pair of rulings in this case, see:

• U.S. Bank v. Ibanez #1,
• U.S. Bank v. Ibanez #2.

For earlier post on this story, see Lenders' Problem "Entirely Of Their Own Making" Says Judge In Affirming Earlier Ruling That Puts Title To Foreclosed Massachusetts Homes Into Question.