Login | April 19, 2024
New option available to Portage County residents facing foreclosure
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: December 13, 2019
For years, Portage County residents facing foreclosure have been able to use mediation to reach agreements that prevent the loss of their homes.
But on Nov. 18, the Portage County Common Pleas Court unveiled a brand new option, allowing parties in foreclosure cases to mediate their disputes online.
Developed under the guidance of Portage County Common Pleas Court Judge Laurie J. Pittman, the new online foreclosure mediation program is designed to make the process more accessible to the public by allowing the parties to work out potential settlement details remotely, without having to show up in court.
“The way things are done right now, the lender’s attorney and the borrower meet with me in a designated room at the courthouse,” said Portage County Common Pleas Court Mediator Benito Antognoli. “During the meeting, the lender’s attorney generally requests certain information from the borrower in order to ascertain when the borrower may be able to get caught up or if the person needs to modify the existing terms of the loan.
“The lender’s attorney usually has a list of forms the borrower must fill out and asks for income statements and other information,” he said. “More often than not the borrower does not have the required documents and needs time to gather the information. As a result, we cannot proceed at that time and must schedule another session.”
Although the session itself may last 20 or 30 minutes, he said many times counsel for the lender travel for over an hour to get to court and inconvenience for the borrower is often more substantial.
“The borrower may have to take time off from work or arrange for childcare, adding to their existing financial problems,” he said. “If they have to come back, it adds to their burden and delays the process, making it more likely they could lose their home.”
Under the new system, borrowers who opt to handle their foreclosure proceedings through mediation will be asked if they have internet access, and if so, whether they would like to resolve the dispute using the online foreclosure mediation platform.
“If they do choose to be part of the new program, I send them an email inviting them to join the system,” he said. “From that point on, the process is very similar to what goes on in person. The lender’s attorney requests certain documents and conveys them to the borrower. The borrower can send in the information online at any point during the day or night since the system is operational 24 hours a day.
“I am in constant contact with both parties via the system and, much like an in-person mediation, either party can communicate with me without the other party being privy to the information.”
Antognoli said the foreclosure mediation program utilizes Court Innovations Inc.’s Matterhorn online dispute resolution platform.
In a press release, Court Innovations Chief Executive Officer M.J. Cartwright praised the court for “Being the first to bring online dispute resolution to the foreclosure mediation sphere,” adding “Portage County will be a driving force of change to how foreclosures will be handled in the future.
“Court staff can now process these types of cases more quickly, giving the public more access and potentially a greater chance of keeping their homes,” stated Cartwright.
Antognoli first became familiar with Court Innovations Inc.’s online dispute resolution platform about a year ago at a mediation conference. With Judge Pittman’s encouragement, Antognoli pursued the possibility of utilizing the system for foreclosure mediations.
“I saw it as a means to extend access to our court to people who, being already in financial trouble, cannot attend because of work, school obligations or family-oriented obligations.”
In the future, Judge Pittman hopes to expand online mediation to parties involved in other types of civil disputes in both the common pleas and municipal courts and to offer it to Portage County Municipal Court for minor traffic violations.
In the meantime, Antognoli said court officials are hoping that residents take advantage of the online foreclosure mediation option.
“We’re proud to offer Portage County residents this opportunity to more efficiently address foreclosure issues that might otherwise adversely impact their families,” said Antognoli. “The hope is the platform speeds up the process, enabling more homeowners to keep their homes, while helping to reduce the court’s docket.”