HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2037 FILED ON: 1/14/2009
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4083
[LOCAL APPROVAL RECEIVED.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
William Lantigua
_______________
To the Honorable Senate
and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the passage of the accompanying bill:
An Act establishing judicial review of foreclosures
in the city of Lawrence.
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PETITION OF:
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Name:
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District/Address:
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William Lantigua
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16th Essex
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the Year Two Thousand and Nine
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An Act establishing judicial review of
foreclosures in the city of Lawrence.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
WHEREAS,
The City of Lawrence has taken a strong stance in combating the mortgage
foreclosure crisis and in this year alone the City has presented three laws aimed at combating the negative effects of the emergency; and
WHEREAS,
The state legislature has enacted laws aimed at preventing future predatory mortgage schemes and Congress i
s considering several initiatives, but none of these initiatives address the issue that there is no judicial review of all mortgage foreclosures; and
WHEREAS,
The
need for judicial involvement in reviewing the merits of a foreclosure is clear. Even the
Secretary of the Commonwealth, William F. Galvin, supported the idea of judicial review of foreclosures at a recent State Senate Judicial Committee; and
WHEREAS,
The Commonwealth’s Attorney General initiated suits against mortgage companies for violations
of the Home Loan Practices Act, M.G.L. chapter 183C, section 2 and individual brokers for forgery, making false statements, and larceny of credit by false pretenses. Despite these efforts, the Attorney General does not have the time or resources to prose
cute all lending violations. Mandatory judicial review of residential foreclosures would subject each loan to these standards; and
WHEREAS,
The
wide-scale issuance of presumptively unfair loans and ever-increasing rate of foreclosures in the City mandate
s that our foreclosure system be amended to keep up with the crisis; and
WHEREAS,
Many
other states require judicial foreclosure, such as Connectic
ut, Delaware, and Maine,
THEREFORE
The City of Lawrence petitions the General Court for a special law rel
ating to the City of Lawrence that legislation be adopted precisely as follows, except for clerical or editorial changes of form only:
PETITION FOR A SPECIAL LAW RE:
JUDICIAL REVIEW OF FORECLOSURES IN THE CITY OF LAWRENCE
Section 1.
Whereas all foreclosures of residential mortgages on 1-4 family owner-occupied property, located in the City of
Lawrence
, can only be initiated by the filing of a foreclosure complaint in the Essex County Superior Court or
Northeast Housing Court
. Whereas
a residential mortgagor may raise any and all available defenses to the foreclosure and to the contract for the underlying mortgage loan, in law, and in equity. The Court shall have the authority to modify the mortgage or grant any other appropriate reli
ef.
Section 2.
The provisions of this Act shall be effective 90 days
after passage.
