Sitting by assignment of the Judicial Council of the Second Circuit. The movant forthrightly states that the ruling it requests would be contrary to prior rulings, in like circumstances, made by two previous Vermont Bankruptcy Judges. Strict foreclosure does not involve a foreclosure sale. Upon the borrower's default, the court will normally set a time period in which the borrower may pay off or redeem the mortgage debt. If the borrower fails to do so in the allotted time, the lender is given an immediate right to possession of the property.
Strict foreclosure is the normal method of foreclosure only in Connecticut and Vermont.
The movant requests, based upon the uncontested facts established in its motion, that the court direct the debtor to relinquish the property to the movant. The debtor filed an objection to the granting of the movant's motion. The debtor, in effect, argues the rulings of Judges Marro and Conrad that have guided Vermont bankruptcy practice for the past 17 years should remain undisturbed. The movant and the debtor make no argument as to the effect, if any, of the dismissal of the debtor's Chapter 13 petition on one day and the filing of the Chapter 11 petition by the debtor on the next day, and the court will likewise disregard this circumstance. Accordingly, the motion requests that the court order the debtor to relinquish the property to the movant.