The national health emergency order and subsequent state emergency and “stay at home” orders have forced businesses to implement remote work strategies. In response, federal and state governments have implemented laws to allow for various electronic processes, including remote notarizations.

Before the COVID19 pandemic, only 23 states allowed remote notarizations. Since the Pandemic emerged, most states have adopted emergency laws or issued executive orders allowing or expanding existing laws to allow remote notarizations. This article provides an overview of the legal framework related to remote online notarization and highlights several business and risk considerations when using remotely notarized documents.

​11 U.S.C. § 362(c)(3)(A) of the bankruptcy code states that when a debtor had a bankruptcy case pending within the preceding year, and it was dismissed, the automatic stay "shall terminate with respect to the debtor or property securing such debt ... on the 30th day after the filing of [a second] case". There is a split among the bankruptcy courts as to whether this section of the code lifts (i) the automatic stay as to the debtor and the bankruptcy estate, or (ii) just the automatic stay as to the debtor. In the past, the position of the Minnesota bankruptcy courts had been that § 362(c)(3)(A) lifts the automatic stay as to both the debtor and the property of the estate.

The courts have issued numerous judicial interpretations related the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA) since its enactment and many directly contradict each other. The 7th Circuit recently issued its opinion in Preston v. Midland Credit Mgmt., No. 18-3119, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 1775 (7th Cir. Jan. 21, 2020) finding printing "TIME SENSITIVE DOCUMENT" on a mailing envelope constitutes a violation of § 1692f(8) of the FDCPA which directly contradicts 5th and 8th circuits’ decisions allowing a "benign language" exception to that provision.

In December 2016, when Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1 was enacted, the mortgage industry worried about the increase in administrative work and the cost of noticing and keeping track of fees and expenses while a borrower was in bankruptcy.  The rule appeared to be quite simple: the fees and costs the debtor incurred were to be noticed with the court within 180 days of their incurrence.  There were already in place industry standards of what the usual fees would be, so no one truly believed that this would cause concerns or that many of the Post-Petition Fee Notices would be objected to.  Additionally, the Note and/or Security Deed usually contain a provision that allows for the collection of bankruptcy post-petition fees.  Only a few years later are we learning that this is not the case.

LOGS Network is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Carey to the position of Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") effective January 27, 2020.

​Mark has over twenty-five years of accounting, auditing, and financial operations experience and most recently served as Executive Vice President of Finance and Accounting for a360inc.  Before his role with a360inc, he served as Controller for Financial Compliance with The LOGS Group, LLC. 
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Mark is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.A. in accounting and a Masters of Tax degree.  

2019 was a busy year for the default servicing legal community in New York State that culminated with an eventful month of December.  As the year came to a close, state laws were enacted relating to marketing, origination, and management of reverse mortgage products that fall under HUD’s home equity conversion program for seniors; the right of the city, village, or town in which the property is located to commence a court proceeding to compel any mortgagees with completing foreclosure actions on abandoned or vacant properties; and standing defense in foreclosure actions. 

The Janeway-LOGS partnership now consists of Janeway Law Firm, P.C., a certified woman-owned law firm serving Colorado since 2004 and affiliated with the LOGS Network since 2013; and Janeway Law Firm, LLC, serving Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington.

“As a woman-owned law firm, we are excited about this expansion and our growing opportunity to serve our clients across multiple states,” said Lynn Janeway, Esq., Managing Shareholder of Janeway Law Firm, P.C. (Colorado) and Managing Member of Janeway Law Firm, LLC (Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington).

“With this merger, Lynn’s firm becomes one of the largest woman-owned law firms in the industry and her long career, both as an attorney and businesswoman, is a key differentiator of LOGS’ western states strategy,” said LOGS founder Gerald M. Shapiro, Esq. Shapiro continued, “We are grateful for the foundation of our legacy firms in these states, and LOGS is especially excited about the opportunity to expand the footprint of a woman-owned firm in the region under Lynn’s leadership.”

2019 was a busy year in New Jersey, with nine new statutes enacted that impact mortgage foreclosure.  In addition to these statutes, the Legislature and the Courts are heavily promoting borrowers’ entry into the Court’s sponsored Mediation Program.  
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Further, the Courts and the Office of Foreclosure introduced a new wrinkle in the Mediation Program in that once a borrower accepts a trial loan modification, the Court will close the case. In a measured effort to remove matters from the Docket, the Court takes the position the case will be considered “settled” upon the borrower’s acceptance of an offer of a trial loan modification.