Increasing numbers of residential foreclosure actions are brought in federal court, as plaintiffs forum shop and seek to avoid settlement conferences and other New York state consumer protections, with default judgments in federal court obtained far more quickly than in state court. This panel will consider the options when these actions are brought in federal court, with presentations by advocates who have successfully conferenced and litigated cases to settlement in federal court and who have moved to dismiss on abstention and other state-law grounds. The pros and cons of litigating these cases in federal court, the problems these cases present for unrepresented litigants, and the various legal theories for dismissal of these actions, will be explored.

Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2015 Time: 12:00PM - 1:30PM Webinar Registration Link: http://support.empirejustice.org/site/Calendar?id=104261&view=Detail

Trainers:

Megan Freismuth, Staff Attorney, Staten Island Legal Services

Jacob Inwald, Director of Foreclosure Prevention, Legal Services NYC

Catherine Isobe, Senior Staff Attorney, Brooklyn Legal Services

CLE Credits: Areas of Professional Practice: 1.50