Recent Michigan Appeals Court Foreclosure Ruling Expected To Affect Similar Suits Impacting On Lenders' Failure To Record Mortgage Assignments

In Shelby Township, Michigan, The Oakland Press reports:

• A Shelby Township couple won a state Court of Appeals precedent-setting ruling that stops a foreclosure and allows them for now to keep their home that was once worth $650,000.



• Husband-and-wife Eui H. and In Sook Kim gained a reversal of a Macomb County judge’s dismissal of their lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase Bank. The couple won because the bank failed to publicly record its interest in the mortgage after buying it from another bank, and before the sheriff’s sale.



• The Kims’ attorney, Flint-based Bernhardt “Chris” Christenson, said the “for publication” decision likely will affect the outcome of other similar lawsuits and force banks to reveal it owns a mortgage before it can foreclose on a property. “Somebody will know who’s foreclosing on their house,” Christenson said. “Things (mortgages) change hands so frequently nowadays. You could be talking to one bank and they aren’t even the ones that have the mortgage.”



• JP Morgan’s acquiring and interest in the property should have been recorded with the Macomb County Register of the Deeds, Christenson said. He said the bank likely avoided recording its interest to save filing costs, which could add up to a large sum of money if done on thousands of foreclosures.

For more, see Precedent-setting ruling that stops foreclosure could help other homeowners.

For the court ruling, see Kim v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, No. 302528 (Mich. Ct. of App., January 12, 2012).