The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that its ruling in Pinti v. Emigrant Mortgage Co., 472 Mass. 226, 227, 232 (2015) "applies in any case where the issue was timely and fairly asserted in the trial court or on appeal before July 17, 2015." Fed. Nat’l Mortg. Ass’n v. Marroquin, 477 Mass. 82, 83 (2017).
In Pinti, the court held that a foreclosure by the statutory power of sale is invalid if the notice of default sent to the borrowers does not strictly comply with paragraph 22 of the standard mortgage by, among other things, informing the borrower of the action required to cure the default and the right of the borrower to bring a court action to challenge the default or present a defense to acceleration and foreclosure. Marroquin, 477 Mass. at 82-83 (citing Pinti, 472 Mass. at 227, 232).
The court in Pinti expressly limited its holding by prospectively applying it "to mortgage foreclosure sales of properties that are the subject of a mortgage containing paragraph 22 or its equivalent and for which the notice of default required by paragraph 22 is sent after [July 17, 2015]," reasoning that retroactive application created a risk to third-party purchasers who could not confirm strict compliance from a title search. (Id. at 83) (quoting Pinti, 472 Mass. at 243 n.25). It did not address whether the holding applied to any case pending in the trial court or on appeal.
Source: Mortgage Daily
