New Administrative Order Regarding the Scheduling of Foreclosure Sales in Suffolk County Becomes Effective on May 1, 2023

• Posted on: Apr 21 2023

By Jonathan H. Freiberger

In our October 19, 2020, Blog [here] we discussed, inter alia, Administrative Order 98-20, issued by Andrew A. Crecca, District Administrative Judge, Suffolk County. AO 98-20 established new procedures for scheduling foreclosure sales considering the COVID-19 pandemic. Briefly stated, AO 98-20 required the Court-appointed referee to schedule foreclosure sales through the Court Fiduciary Office so that only one sale would take place at a time.  In addition, AO 98-20 required the sale referee to make sure all participants at the auction followed any face covering and social distancing requirements at the time of the auction.

On April 11, 2023, District Administrative Judge Crecca, issued Administrative Order 12-23, which becomes effective May 1, 2023, and supersedes AO 98-20.  AO 12-23 provides:

Pursuant to the authority vested in me as District Administrative Judge, this order supersedes Administrative Order 98-20 and is in accordance with guidance issued by the Chief Administrative Judge for the trial courts of the Unified Court System (UCS) in Administrative Order 35/22 dated January 16, 2022 which provides that auctions should continue in a manner consistent with district/county auction plans and in accordance with the Unified Court System’s COVID-19 protocols. I hereby order that effective May 1, 2023, the following process will be used for scheduling and conducting foreclosure auctions in Suffolk County.

All foreclosure auctions shall be conducted in accordance with the Suffolk County Foreclosure Auction Rules and Procedures in effect at the time of the auction. Suffolk County has updated its auction plan, a copy of which is posted on the Suffolk County Courts’ website. In order to schedule a foreclosure sale, the requesting party must choose a date and time and submit a Notice of Sale to Suffolk County’s Fiduciary Department. The Notice of Sale with all the required information must be filed via NYSCEF or, in the event of a non-efiled foreclosure matter, by email to: suffauctions@nycourts.gov. The prior approval of the date and time from the Fiduciary Department will no longer be required. The auctions will continue to take place at the Town Halls throughout Suffolk County. Upon receipt of the Notice of Sale, the Fiduciary Department will enter the auction date into the court’s calendar, which will be accessible through e-courts and updated daily.

Presumably, once effective, AO 12-23 will permit multiple foreclosure sales to proceed simultaneously.

Jonathan H. Freiberger is a partner and co-founder of Freiberger Haber LLP.

This article is for informational purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.