Recent Illinois Case: Mortgage Foreclosure

Here, the trial court granted summary judgment against a foreclosing bank on the finding that it did not have standing because of the timing of an assignment of the mortgage to the bank and when the foreclosure action was filed. Thereafter, when the borrowers defaulted on the loan, the bank filed a second foreclosure action and, in response, the borrowers filed a motion to dismiss on grounds that the previous summary judgment barred the second action. However, the court surmised that the second action did not arise from the same operative facts as the first action because the borrowers defaulted on the loan after the summary judgment. Therefore, the borrowers’ defaults on the loan barred the application of res judicata and the bank could proceed with foreclosure.

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Coghlan, 2021 IL App (3d) 190701