Denver Post-
Colorado’s Supreme Court is considering changes to courtroom rules that would ensure consumers can better challenge a foreclosure before their homes can be taken.
The court is holding a public hearing Thursday over changes to the state’s Rule 120 process, which gives homeowners the opportunity to contest a foreclosure by appearing in court, but is poorly understood and rarely used.
The most critical of several proposed changes would make sure a homeowner is actually heard by a judge. As it stands, the process requires a homeowner to provide a response within a set time after being notified of the Rule 120 hearing. If they don’t, a hearing is not held and the foreclosure order is usually rubber-stamped — even if the homeowner shows up in court at the previously scheduled time.
“What’s really different is that when you are told something is scheduled for a hearing, you won’t appear that day and meet shut doors,” said Frederick Skillern, a former district judge in the 18th Judicial District and chairman of the committee that drafted the changes. “If you’re told there’s a hearing, there will be a judge for you to talk to.”