We wrote about the delays brought about due to a change made in the Cook County Chancery Division here. As more of an observer of foreclosure rather than a practitioner these seemed like a short delay that wouldn’t have too much impact. But I got this e-mail from a local big foreclosure practitioner that foreshadows a potential major shift in where foreclosure cases are filed:
Cook County has historically made cases very hard to navigate through the system just because of the volume. Lately however, the Judges have become debtor friendly and creditor unfriendly. The straw that broke the plaintiff’s bar was a General Order entered on April 1st by the Presiding Judge. It effectively is creating a judicial moratorium of 6 months or more.
With the future looking bleak in Cook County, the plaintiff’s bar began to explore the possibility of filing in Federal Court. Yes we need diversity and that will have to be overcome. In addition we needed to get the cooperation of the Clerk of the Court and the Chief Judge due to the sheer volume of cases that potentially could be filed. Recently a couple of us sat down with Judge Holderman and discussed the issues. We were pleased that they are receptive to our overtures to filing in Federal Court. Thus, as a plaintiffs bar we are moving forward to identify cases that can be filed in Federal Court.
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