In a case of first impression in Massachusetts, Thomas M. Looney of Hackett Feinberg, obtained a judgment award of interest for a client against a lender that conducted an improper foreclosure. (Wilion v. Emigrant Mortgage Co., Middlesex Superior Court Docket No. 1581CV06127).
The foreclosure took place in 2012 and the lender sold the property to a third-party. After a challenge to the validity of the lender’s actions, three years after the foreclosure sale, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the foreclosure was void. On behalf of the third-party buyer, Hackett Feinberg demanded a return of the purchase price, plus interest. The lender repaid the principal amount but refused to pay any interest for the three years it held the buyer’s funds. HF filed an action against the lender seeking damages, including interest. In a recent decision on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment, the Middlesex Superior Court ruled in favor of HF’s client and ordered the lender to pay interest of nearly $100,000. Whether a frustrated buyer is entitled to recover interest after a failed foreclosure sale had never previously been decided in Massachusetts.
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