Bay State High Court: Uncontroverted 'Affidavit Of Sale' OK In Moving Forward With Carrying Out Post-Foreclosure Boot; 100-Year Old Process Still Viable In Mass.

In Boston, Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reports:

• The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court [] affirmed a lower court decision in favor of mortgage giant Fannie Mae that removes a legal challenge for borrowers fighting foreclosure.
  
  The state’s top court ruled that a so-called “affidavit of sale [under Power of Sale in Mortgage]” is enough for a lender to prove it has the right to seize a home. The affidavit is used by a lender during the auction process to prove it has complied with foreclosure laws.
  
  Christopher Pitt, president of the Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts, said the process has been in place since 1912. A decision against the affidavits could have put the validity of tens of thousands of foreclosures into question, he said.

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• The case was first heard in housing court where a judge ruled in favor of Fannie Mae, which was trying to evict tenant Oliver Hendricks of Roslindale who challenged the seizure claiming the affidavit was “outdated.” The top court said Hendricks’s challenge “offered nothing to show the existence of a genuine issue of material fact.”

For the story, see State’s highest court rules for lender in foreclosure affidavit case.

For the ruling, see Fed. Nat'l Mortgage Ass'n v. Hendricks, SJC-11234 (Mass. October 26, 2012).