Foreclosure help, county by county

How the county system works

Thirteen districts, sixty-two courthouses, one procedure.

New York's trial courts are organised into thirteen judicial districts under four Appellate Division departments. A foreclosure is filed in the Supreme Court of the county where the property is, and each district publishes its own plan for how foreclosure auctions are scheduled and run.

Supreme Court, County Court and the clerk

The Supreme Court is New York's trial court of general jurisdiction and hears mortgage foreclosures. In the larger counties it has its own civil term and, often, a dedicated foreclosure or settlement-conference part. In many smaller counties the Supreme Court and County Court share a bench and a courthouse, which is why some county pages name a combined Supreme and County Court.

The County Clerk is a separate, elected office. It records the notice of pendency against the property, keeps the court file under the index number, and runs the land-records search that shows deeds, mortgages and liens. In New York City the five County Clerks also serve as clerks of the Supreme Court.

What the judicial district decides

Statewide law fixes what happens: the 90-day notice, the 20 or 30 day answer, the mandatory settlement conference within 60 days of proof of service, the judgment, the sale. The district decides where and how the sale is held. Under Administrative Order 35/22 a plaintiff or referee must obtain the date, time and place from the county's Supreme Court Clerk, and each district has published an auction plan naming the location in each of its counties or leaving it to the clerk per sale.

That is the single biggest practical difference between counties, and it is why every county page states the auction location and schedule where the district has published one.

Which county page to read

The county the property is in, not where you live now or where the lender is. The summons and complaint names the county at the top; so does the notice of pendency. If the property straddles or you are unsure, the court locator entry on either county page will confirm which court has the case.