Chief Justice Administers Oath to Trained Foreclosure Mediators

In Nevada more than 32,600 foreclosures have been posted since last July. Approximately 10% of those who are being victimized are seeking help from Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program.

Last Friday on 11th December many mediators who had undergone training in foreclosure mediation were administered oaths by the Chief Justice James Hardesty of Nevada Supreme Court. There are about 165 foreclosure mediators in Nevada – most of them being stationed in Clark County, it being one of the hardest hit regions.

Hardesty said, “The state is suffering mightily in this economic crisis.” He explained that many factors had led to this devastation but it was not “the people who want to own their own home and … live the American dream.” He explained that this move was to try and settle the bone of contention between the two parties – the borrowers and the lenders.

The Nevada programme is without a precedent in USA. Speaking at an interview following the oath taking ceremony he said that many elements in the plan are unique. For instance Nevada is a non-judicial-disclosure state. It meant that foreclosures are completed by the issuance of a default notice from the trustee and does not include any court action.

California is also a non-judicial-disclosure state and it was one of the worst hit by the foreclosure crisis. It is seeking guidance from Nevada to tackle the problem said Hardesty. The plan had been initiated last June after the legislators passed a law for the setting up of the mediation programme and gave the Supreme Court the task of taking the lead. Hardesty commented that the justices were taken by surprise to be given this responsibility.

In no other state is the highest court involved so intimately with the issue. He said the ball was handed to the High Court because of the latter’s previous experience with tactful and effective mediation. Another distinctive feature of the programme is that the lenders are forced to participate in it. This is no surprising considering the target of the plan is to “help keep Nevadans in their homes” said the public information officer of the Supreme Court, Bill Gang.

Verise Campbell, the administrator of the programme was given the credit for transforming the plan from a concept into a reality within a month. Campbell turned the praise towards Hardesty and said that it was his skill in pulling together a working group comprising of lenders, real estate experts, borrowers, judges and trained mediators that was of pivotal importance.

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