November 01, 2006
WHAT ARE STATUTES AND WHICH ONES APPLY TO INDIANA COMMERCIAL FORECLOSURES?

A statute is a law, or a set of laws, established by the legislative branch of the government.  In Indiana, the General Assembly is our state’s legislature.  Indiana’s statutes are contained in the Indiana Code, abbreviated as Ind. Code or I.C.  The list of statutes that could apply to a commercial foreclosure matter is far too long to outline here.  But the most relevant statutes can be found in the links on the left side of my blog’s home page.  They include:

·                    Mortgages, Generally (I.C. 32-29)

·                    Mortgage Foreclosure Actions (I.C. 32-30-10)

·                    Indiana Uniform Commercial Code – Secured Transactions (I.C. 26-1-9.10); there are seven “parts” of this statute; Part 6 “Default” is most applicable to my blog because it furnishes rules about defaults and the enforcement of a security interests upon defaults

·                    Judgments in Mortgage and Lien Actions (I.C. 32-30-12)

·                    Execution of Judgments (I.C. 34-55)

·                    Receiverships (I.C. 32-30-5)

·                    Indiana’s Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (I.C. 32-18-2)

·                    Lis Pendens (I.C. 32-30-11) 

·                    Judgment Liens (I.C. 32-30-13)

·                    Adverse Claims Act (I.C. 28-9)

·                    Attachment (I.C. 34-25-2)

·                    Garnishment (I.C. 34-25-3) 

In the statutory cites, the first number designates the title, the second the article, the third the chapter, and the fourth the section.  For example, the statute applicable to redemption by an owner of real estate before a sheriff’s sale is Title 32, Article 29, Chapter 7, Section 7 (I.C. 32-29-7-7).  In future posts, I’ll describe many of these statutes in more detail.

If you have a legal question about a particular commercial foreclosure situation, the first place to turn is the Indiana Code.  You might find a statute that directly addresses the issue.  If so, the statute arguably is the definitive authority on the matter.  In other words, the statute ultimately controls the legal rights and obligations of the parties.  Frequently, to the dismay of parties involved in litigation, there is no statute on point or, if there is one, the statute may be less than clear.  That’s when case law (the common law) must be studied because written court decisions often interpret statutes.

Many of the rules applicable to real estate mortgages and personal property security interests, as well as the procedures for foreclosure actions, are contained in the Indiana Code.  One of the goals of my blog is to provide links to all the pertinent statutes.  So, if you are wondering whether there is an Indiana statute that speaks to a particular matter, please email me.  I'm happy to supply links to all the noteworthy statutes.

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