Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co. v. Fitchburg Capital, LLC

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At issue in this case was a 2006 amendment to the “obsolete mortgage” statute, under which a mortgage becomes unenforceable after a certain number of years. A mortgage in which the term or maturity date is stated becomes unenforceable five years after the expiration of the term, and a mortgage in which the term or maturity date is not stated becomes unenforceable thirty-five years after recording. Here, Defendant conducted a foreclosure auction purporting to sell certain property that secured two mortgages held by Defendant. At the time, both mortgages would be unenforceable under the amended obsolete mortgage statute if the five-year statute of limitations was applicable. Plaintiff sought a declaration that the mortgages were discharged under the obsolete mortgage statute and that the foreclosure auction was null and void. A land court judge granted partial summary judgment for Plaintiff, concluding that a reference in the mortgages to the term of the underlying debt was sufficient to state the “term or maturity date of the mortgage.” The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) the two mortgages were subject to the five-year period and thus were discharged under the obsolete mortgage statute; and (2) the application of the statute in this case did not violate due process and contracts clause protections. View "Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co. v. Fitchburg Capital, LLC" on Justia Law