Attorney General v. Dime Savings Bank of New York
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
413 Mass. 284, 596 N.E.2d 1013 (1992)
- Written by Tammy Boggs, JD
Facts
The Dime Savings Bank of New York (Dime) (defendant) had mortgages on various residential properties. The mortgagors defaulted, Dime commenced foreclosures, and Dime purchased the properties at the ensuing foreclosure sales, obtaining title. At the time of the foreclosures, the mortgagors-in-default or their tenants who occupied the properties (the occupants) refused to relinquish possession. Dime sued the occupants for trespass, seeking injunctions ordering the occupants to vacate the properties. The court granted the requested injunctions. Thereafter, the attorney general (plaintiff) sued Dime, claiming that Dime’s practice violated the state’s general law, which prohibited anyone from recovering possession of real property unless a specified procedure was used (the summary-process statute) or as otherwise “authorized by law.” Dime had not used the summary-process statute, and the attorney general argued that Dime could not maintain actions for trespass against the occupants. The matter was considered by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on stipulated facts.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Abrams, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
