In the case of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Skoda, 2014 WL 1320141 (N.D. April 3, 2014), the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a summary judgment of foreclosure. This case was discussed in an article posted here on Tuesday, April 8, 2014.
Now it might be interesting to take a second look at the same case but from a different angle. The mortgagor-borrower, Mr. Frederick Skoda, paid all his taxes.
He just did not pay the property taxes on his house out of escrow.
In his mortgage contract with JPMorgan Chase Bank, Mr. Skoda agreed to pay his property taxes, out of escrow.
So JPMorgan Chase foreclosed on Mr. Skoda's mortgage.
Because he paid his taxes, but not out of escrow.
And JPMorgan Chase Bank won its foreclosure case without a trial.
Think that the Bank did something unique when it filed its foreclosure lawsuit against Mr. Skoda? It did exactly what many banks, JPMorgan Chase among them, do. Their purpose is not to encourage people to pay their taxes.
The banks' purpose is to enforce their contracts.
It remains to be seen whether JPMorgan Chase Bank will file a motion for Mr. Skoda to pay its costs and fees, if it has not filed its motion already.
© 2014 by Dennis J. Wall. All rights reserved. No claim to original U.S. Government works.
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