Massachusetts § 69A - Vacating, reversing or modifying decree of foreclosure

§ 69A. Vacating, reversing or modifying decree of foreclosure

Section 69A. The land court may grant a motion to vacate a decree of foreclosure brought by any interested person other than the petitioner under section 65 within 1 year after the final entry of the decree if presented with extraordinary circumstances and if: (i) no innocent purchaser has acquired an interest in the property for value; or (ii) no claim for excess equity has been paid pursuant to section 64A, unless the court makes appropriate equitable orders to protect the rights of the purchaser of the property or the payor of the excess equity. If the foreclosure petition was filed for an unoccupied or abandoned building as set forth in sections 1 and 81A or if there has been a certification pursuant to section 81B that the redemption amount as determined pursuant to section 62 exceeds the assessed value of the parcel, no petition to vacate a decree of foreclosure entered under section 69 and no proceedings at law or in equity for reversing or modifying such a decree shall be commenced by any person other than the petitioner except within 90 calendar days after the final entry of the decree or within 1 year of the final entry of the decree, if the decree was entered prior to the effective date of this section. For any decree relating to a property for which record title stands in the name of a deceased person or person under guardianship or conservatorship, a petition may be maintained for reversal or modification of such decree up to 1 year from the date of decree.

No motion to vacate a decree of foreclosure and no proceeding at law or in equity for reversing or modifying such a decree shall be commenced by any person other than the petitioner under section 65 after 1 year, except upon a showing that the moving party's due process rights have been violated.

If a decree of foreclosure is vacated pursuant to this section, all rights and obligations set forth in section 64A shall be suspended and any proceedings instituted in the superior court regarding excess equity shall be dismissed.