Heritage Federal Credit Union v. Giampa

Plaintiff, Heritage Federal Credit Union, appeals the trial court’s dismissal of its suit to foreclose a first mortgage on property that defendant, Joseph Giampa, purchased at a sheriff’s sale that followed a successful suit by Harris Bank Roselle (the Harris suit) to foreclose a second mortgage on the property. (See generally 735 ILCS 5/15— 1501 et seq. (West 1992).) The trial court held that because plaintiff took no action after becoming a party to the Harris suit, it waived its priority and was properly barred from a later suit to foreclose its mortgage.

On appeal, plaintiff argues the…