Case Study

Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. Successfully Defends Lender’s Right to Hold Foreclosure Sale

In one recent case, the attorneys of Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. worked diligently to procure for the client a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale (JFS) of a three-unit building occupying a 48- acre lot in the Hudson Valley.

Two days before the scheduled foreclosure sale, however, the borrower appeared for the first time in the action, filing an Order to Show Cause (OSC) in state Supreme Court in an attempt to stay the sale. The borrower not only failed to properly serve the OSC but as a seemingly desperate strategy, appealed to the court’s sympathies, referencing in the OSC a medical procedure and medications that caused the borrower “loss of memory and confusion”. The borrower claimed he was never served and thus, was unaware of the foreclosure action.

Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. would not let the borrower’s story, though worthy of sympathy, overshadow the facts. With less than 24 hours to draft opposition papers, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. attorneys diligently combed through case filings and communications to set forth before the court the facts of the matter. The borrower was personally served in the action yet failed to timely appear.  Moreover, the borrower authorized three different individuals to contact Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. to engage in settlement negotiations, indicating the borrower had been aware of the foreclosure action well before the court awarded JFS.

The Court sided with Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., declining to sign the borrower’s OSC, which allowed the client to proceed to sale. The borrower, however, then sought relief in Bankruptcy Court, filing a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Petition less than 30 minutes before the scheduled sale. Once again, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. attorneys sprang into action.

They appeared in the Bankruptcy proceeding, and filed a Motion to Dismiss or for Relief from the Automatic Stay, referencing the victory in state Supreme Court to persuade the Bankruptcy Court that the borrower was improperly seeking Bankruptcy relief solely to avoid foreclosure.

The Bankruptcy Court ruled in favor of Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. and dismissed the borrower’s Bankruptcy case. With the Bankruptcy stay no longer in effect, the client is able to proceed to foreclosure sale.

Though this case required quick thinking and relentless advocacy, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. was able to seamlessly defend the client’s interests, acquiring favorable decisions in both State Court and Bankruptcy Court.

The attorneys who worked on this case are Jackie Halpern Weinstein and Marianne Sanchez.