An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Foreclosure To Ensure Timely Completion
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1405
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: CARNEY, CARDONE
Amends: 14 MRSA §6323, 14 MRSA §6324

Legislative Document
No. 1405
H.P. 1020
House of Representatives, March 26, 2019
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Foreclosure To Ensure 
Timely Completion
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative CARNEY of Cape Elizabeth.
Cosponsored by Representative: CARDONE of Bangor.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  14 MRSA §6323, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2013, c. 521, Pt. C, §1, is 
further amended to read:
1.  Procedures for all civil actions.  Upon expiration of the period of redemption, if 
the mortgagor or the mortgagor's successors, heirs or assigns have not redeemed the 
mortgage, any remaining rights of the mortgagor to possession terminate, and the 
mortgagee shall cause notice of a public sale of the premises stating the time, place and 
terms of the sale to be published once in each of 3 successive weeks in a newspaper of 
general circulation in the county in which the premises are located, the first publication to 
be made not more than 90 days after the expiration of the period of redemption. Except 
when otherwise required under 12 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1024.41 or any 
successor provision, the public sale must be held not less than 30 days nor more than 45 
days after the first date of that publication. Except for sales of premises that the court has 
determined to be abandoned pursuant to section 6326, the public sale may be adjourned, 
for any time not exceeding 7 30 days and from time to time until a sale is made, by 
announcement to those present at each any such adjournment.  The court, upon motion of 
the mortgagee, filed before the deadline for sale and showing good cause, may grant such 
further extensions of the mortgagee's time to sell as it considers appropriate.  For sales of 
premises that the court has determined to be abandoned pursuant to section 6326, the 
public sale may be adjourned once for any time not exceeding 7 days, except that the 
court may permit one additional adjournment for good cause shown.  Adjournments may 
also be made in accordance with the requirements of 12 Code of Federal Regulations, 
Section 1024.41 or any successor provision.  The mortgagee, in its sole discretion, may 
allow the mortgagor to redeem or reinstate the loan after the expiration of the period of 
redemption but before the public sale.  The mortgagee may shall convey the property to 
the mortgagor upon redemption or may execute a waiver of foreclosure, and in 
conjunction with a reinstatement only with the written consent of the mortgagor.  Any 
waiver and the written consent of the mortgagor must be filed with the court along with a 
motion to dismiss the foreclosure, and upon such a waiver all other rights of all other 
parties remain as if no foreclosure had been commenced. The mortgagee shall sell the 
premises to the highest bidder at the public sale and deliver a deed of that sale and the any 
writ of possession, if a writ of possession was obtained during the foreclosure process, 
that has been issued to the purchaser.  The deed conveys the premises free and clear of all 
interests of the parties in interest joined in the action. The mortgagee or any other party in 
interest may bid at the public sale.  If the mortgagee is the highest bidder at the public 
sale, there is no obligation to account for any surplus upon a subsequent sale by the 
mortgagee. Any rights of the mortgagee to a deficiency claim against the mortgagors are 
limited to the amount established as of the date of the public sale.  The date of the public 
sale is the date on which bids are received to establish the sales price, no matter when the 
sale is completed by the delivery of the deed to the highest bidder.  If the property is 
conveyed by deed pursuant to a public sale in accordance with this subsection, a copy of 
the judgment of foreclosure and evidence of compliance with the requirements of this 
subsection for the notice of public sale and the public sale itself must be attached to or 
included within the deed, or both, or otherwise be recorded in the registry of deeds.
Sec. 2.  14 MRSA §6324,  as amended by PL 2003, c. 20, Pt. T, §10, is further 
amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read:
The report of sale required by this section must be filed with the court within the 
earlier of 60 days after the public sale and 30 days after the mortgagee's delivery of the 
deed conveying the mortgaged property to the purchaser at the mortgage sale. Upon a 
showing of good cause by the mortgagee, made by motion filed before the expiration of 
the deadline, the court may extend the deadline for the filing of the report of sale for an 
additional period of time as the court considers appropriate. In the event that the 
mortgagee fails to timely file the report of sale, the mortgagee has no right to seek a 
deficiency judgment.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the laws governing foreclosure proceedings in order to ensure 
timely completion of foreclosure sales.  This bill:
1.  Extends the mortgagee's time to sell the property following an adjournment of the 
sale, and requires that additional extensions of time be approved by the court;
2.  Provides that a mortgagee may execute a waiver of foreclosure only with the 
written consent of the mortgagor; and
3.  Establishes a time frame for the mortgagee to file a report of sale.