71-1-222. Proceedings in foreclosure suits. (1) There is only one action for the recovery of debt or the enforcement of any right secured by a mortgage upon real estate, and that action must be in accordance with the provisions of this part. In the action, the court may, by its judgment, direct:

Terms Used In Montana Code 71-1-222

  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. Source: OCC
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
  • Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal property: means money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Montana Code 1-1-205
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Real property: means lands, tenements, hereditaments, and possessory title to public lands. See Montana Code 1-1-205
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. Source: OCC

(a)a sale of the encumbered property or as much of the property as may be necessary;

(b)the application of the proceeds of the sale, including the payment of property taxes due at the time of foreclosure; and

(c)the payment of the costs of the court, the expenses of the sale, and the amount due the plaintiff.

(2)If it appears from the sheriff’s return that the proceeds are insufficient and a balance still remains due, judgment can then be docketed for the balance against the defendant or defendants personally liable for the debt, and it becomes a lien upon the real estate of the judgment debtor, as in other cases on which execution may be issued.

(3)A person holding a conveyance from or under the mortgagor of the property mortgaged or having a lien on the property, which conveyance or lien does not appear of record in the proper office at the time of the commencement of the action, does not have to be made a party to the action. The judgment and the proceedings are as conclusive against the party holding the unrecorded conveyance or lien as if the holding party had been made a party to the action.

(4)The one-action limitation in this section does not prohibit an act or proceeding:

(a)to appoint a receiver for or obtain possession of real or personal property collateral for the debt or other obligation;

(b)to enforce a security interest in or the assignment of any rents, issues, profits, or other income of any real or personal property;

(c)to enforce a mortgage or other lien on real or personal property collateral located outside this state that is security for the same debt or other right secured by real property in this state;

(d)to secure a judgment outside this state on a debt or other right secured by real property in this state and by real or personal property collateral located outside this state;

(e)for the exercise of a power of sale conferred pursuant to the provisions of 71-1-223 or a foreclosure by advertisement and sale pursuant to Title 71, chapter 1, part 3;

(f)for the exercise of a right or remedy under the Montana Uniform Commercial Code, except securing a judgment on a secured debt, including a deficiency judgment on a secured debt, in a court in Montana;

(g)for the exercise of a right or remedy under the uniform commercial code of another state;

(h)for claim and delivery of personal property pursuant to the provisions of Title 27, chapter 17;

(i)for the exercise of a right to set off a deposit or share account, to enforce a pledge in a deposit or share account pursuant to a written agreement or pledge, or to enforce a financial institution’s statutory lien;

(j)to draw under a letter of credit;

(k)for the recovery of damages arising from the commission of a tort or the recovery of any declaratory or equitable relief;

(l)to collect a debt or enforce a right or obligation secured by a junior mortgage or other junior lien on real property if the property has been sold to satisfy, in whole or in part, a debt or other right or obligation secured by a senior mortgage or other senior lien on the property;

(m)concerning a mortgage securing a debt or right guaranteed, to enforce an agreement with a surety or guarantor of the debt or right secured by a mortgage on real estate, if the surety or guaranty obligation is not secured by the same mortgage;

(n)relating to a proceeding in bankruptcy, including filing a proof of claim, to seek relief from an automatic stay and any other action to determine the amount or validity of a debt or right or obligation secured by a mortgage;

(o)for filing a claim or to enforce a claim disallowed pursuant to the Montana Uniform Probate Code;

(p)that does not include collection of the debt or realization of the collateral securing the debt or other obligation;

(q)that is exempted from the provisions of this section by law;

(r)to recover costs of suit, costs and expenses of sale, attorney fees, and other incidental relief in connection with any act or proceeding authorized in this subsection (4); or

(s)for recovery of a debt or for enforcement of a right secured by a mortgage when the mortgage security in this state has become valueless through no fault of the mortgagee.

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