Chief Justice Jean Toal
/ FILE
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina's chief justice has ordered a stop to all pending foreclosures until the parties involved can complete an intervention process.
Chief Justice Jean Toal wrote in the order published Tuesday that all pending foreclosures are on hold while homeowners try to mitigate their losses and perhaps modify their loans.
This is the second time in as many years that Toal has halted foreclosures.
In 2009, she ordered South Carolina judges to stop finalizing foreclosure sales on thousands of properties guaranteed by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or any other mortgage company that had signed on to a federal assistance program, saying she wanted to give homeowners time to take advantage of the help.
Two weeks later, Toal replaced the injunction with procedures to ensure foreclosures were handled uniformly.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWACH