HONOLULU CIVIL BEAT: Ian Lind: Wrongful Foreclosure Claims Rock The Condo World

By Ian Lind

August 31, 2016

A class action lawsuit recently filed in federal court accuses two prominent law firms, and more than 70 condominium associations they represent, of “the wrongful and unlawful sale” of condominium units through an improper foreclosure process.

Nonjudicial foreclosures allow real property to be sold to satisfy debts without going to court. Instead, the party initiating the foreclosure, typically a mortgage lender, is simply required to notify the property owner and, if the debt isn’t paid, proceed to auction off the property themselves, selling to the highest bidder.

In the majority of cases, the properties end up being sold to the lender or the condominium association, often with little or no money actually changing hands.  Read more: