Plaintiff's legal fees in a foreclosure

[komjj14]

Jurisdiction

Connecticut

Does the defendant in a foreclosure case have to pay the plaintiff's legal fees? I have secured the funds to pay off my back mortgage payments and my mortgage lender is going to reinstate my mortgage. However, I am being by the law firm representing the bank for $3k in legal fees. I couldn't afford a lawyer to represent me in this matter so is it customary for this to be required?

 

[army judge]

Does the defendant in a foreclosure case have to pay the plaintiff's legal fees? I have secured the funds to pay off my back mortgage payments and my mortgage lender is going to reinstate my mortgage. However, I am being by the law firm representing the bank for $3k in legal fees. I couldn't afford a lawyer to represent me in this matter so is it customary for this to be required?

Probably, but you'd need to read all of the documents you signed pursuant to your mortgage to know with 100% certainty.

You could do nothing and wait to be sued by the attorney.


Or, you contact the lender and ask if you're responsible for their attorney's fees even after you settled with them over the foreclosure.

 

[adjusterjack]

Does the defendant in a foreclosure case have to pay the plaintiff's legal fees? I am being by the law firm representing the bank for $3k in legal fees. is it customary for this to be required?

Yes. Mortgage contracts typically have a bilateral lawyer fee provision which means that, if you lose in court, you pay the other party's lawyer fees.

What's happening now is that the lender, through its lawyer, is offering you a negotiated settlement that includes you paying for their incurred lawyer's fees if you want to keep your house.

Your options: Accept the offer that includes lawyer fees and keep your house. Decline the offer and give up your house.

Another option is to counter-offer on the lawyer fees and see if they'll give you a discount.

The settlement and the lawyer fees are part of the same deal. They are not separate issues. You don't get to do one without addressing the other.