Foreclosure activity dips in July; lender repossessions climb
Real estate data company ATTOM has released its July 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows there were a total of 31,877 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — down 9% from a month ago but up 5% from a year ago. “The slight decline in foreclosure filings […]
Flood of evictions in the forecast as moratorium expires
South Carolina legal aid attorneys are expecting a “flood of evictions” in the coming months as the last line of protections for those who live federally subsidized homes expired Aug. 24. The moratorium on evictions proceedings that Congress’s CARES Act provided expired in July, but landlords of federally-backed properties had to wait 30 days […]
Home foreclosure over $250 debt struck down
It would not be much of a stretch, the family’s attorney said, to call it a Christmas miracle. Just before the holiday, a family whose home had been foreclosed upon over a mere $250 in unpaid homeowners’ association dues learned that they would finally be getting their house back after the South Carolina Supreme […]
Real Property – Foreclosure Price – Equity & Debt Methods – Homeowners’ Association Dues – Senior Encumbrance
In this case, which seeks to set aside a foreclosure sale arising from unpaid homeowners’ association dues, the court follows the equity method and adds the amount of the home’s mortgage to the price paid at the foreclosure sale to determine that the sale price does not shock the conscience. We affirm the master-in-equity’s denial […]
Real Property – Foreclosure – Judicial Sale – Right of Redemption – Sale & Bid Compliance – Notice – Homeowners’ Association
Wachesaw Plantation East Community Services Association, Inc. v. Alexander (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-042-17, 9 pp.) (John Geathers, J.) Appealed from Georgetown County (Joe Crosby, Master-in-Equity) S.C. App. Holding: Since the homeowners’ association sought no deficiency judgment in this foreclosure action, the bidding did not have to remain open for 30 days after the auction; therefore, [&hell[...]
Foreclosure jury demand trumps rule on referrals
The South Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that a Richland County clerk of court overstepped his authority when he approved a request to send a foreclosure case to a master, despite the defendant’s demand for a jury trial. In an April 26 opinion in South Carolina Community Bank v. Salon Proz, the appeals court determined […]
Real Property – Foreclosure Sale – Civil Practice – Service of Process – Personal Jurisdiction – Bona Fide Purchase – Full Payment
Belle Hall Plantation Homeowner’s Association, Inc. v. Murray (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-014-17, 14 pp.) (James Lockemy, C.J.) Appealed from Charleston County (Mkiell Scarborough, Master-in-Equity) S.C. App. Holding: Plaintiff attempted service on the wrong defendant; moreover, before appellants paid the balance of the purchase price, they learned that there could be a claim or defect that [&hellip[...]
Foreclosure firms are FDCPA ‘debt collectors’
Law firms retained to pursue foreclosure against homeowners are “debt collectors” subject to the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a federal appeals court ruled in a case involving law firm Samuel I. White PC from Virginia Beach, Virginia. In its published 3-0 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Rockville, Maryland, […]
Civil Practice – Federal Jurisdiction – Incomplete Diversity – Second Defendant – Real Property – Mortgage Foreclosure – Remand
Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Brader (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-17-16, 8 pp.) (R. Bryan Harwell, J.) 4:15-cv-00600; D.S.C. Holding: Although pro se defendant Brader has alleged that he is a citizen of South Carolina and that the plaintiff-bank is a citizen of New York, Brader has not alleged the citizenship of defendant Mortgage Electronic […]
Real Property – Breach of Contract – Mortgages – Foreclosure – Tort/Negligence – Beach Hotels
Hotel & Motel Holdings, LLC v. BJC Enterprises, LLC (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-108-15, 18 pp.) (Stephanie McDonald, J.) Appealed from Horry County Circuit Court (William Seals Jr., J.) S.C. App. Holding: Even though the respondent-bank worked to accommodate the defendant-appellants for several years, there was no language in their 2008 promissory note prohibiting the bank […]
COA: Testimony on loan balance is hearsay if loan documents not admitted into evidence
Finding guidance from out-of-state court decisions in considering a first-impression issue, the South Carolina Court of Appeals held on June 17 that without supporting documentation, a loan purchaser is barred by the hearsay rule from giving testimony regarding the loan’s balance. In Deep Keel LLC v. Atlantic Private Equity Group LLC, the appeals court determined […]
Real Property – Foreclosure Sale – Bona Fide Purchasers – Civil Practice – Service of Process – Sale Price
Bloody Point Property Owners Association, Inc. v. Ashton (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-098-14, 8 pp.) (James Lockemy, J.) Appealed from Beaufort County (Marvin Dukes III, Master-in-Equity) S.C. App. Holding: The respondent-purchasers had no notice of the Pennsylvania appellants’ claims that they were not properly served with notice of the foreclosure on their Beaufort County property; therefore, [&hel[...]
Business Law
- Economy forces attorneys to get down to business
- Business Court judges trawl for customers
- Va. company's Web site did not subject business to personal jurisdiction in S.C., appeals panel rules
- Former running back from S.C. wins courtroom victory in contract dispute
- Contract – Government Contract – Qui Tam – False Claims Act
- Licenses & Permits – Beer & Wine Permit – Restrictive Covenant – Suitable Location
- Consumer Protection – FCRA – Auto Loan – Bank Accounting Errors
- Licenses & Permits – Veterinarian – Vaccine Maintenance
- Tort – Business Tort – Va. Computer Crimes Act – Trade Secrets
- Textile firm, railroad settle Graniteville train wreck lawsuit
- State regulators look at car dealer accused of lying to customers
- Subprime mortgage meltdown hits securities law
Commentary
- Virginia Tech student got due process in hearing
- High court justices cross the line of propriety
- High court’s term was rough on big business
- The flip side of generative AI in law and how to address it
- The fight for equal educational opportunity continues
- Letter From The Editor – Working from Home
- NLRB joins FTC in taking aim at non-competes
- Supreme Court leaves key internet protection untouched
- US Supreme Court bites back at parody’s use of the First Amendment
- My goal: Provide the information that you need now
- Case study: North Carolina courts provide guidance on scope, limitations of attorney-client privilege
- A Different Ode to Pro Bono Work