ILLINOIS APPEALS COURT AFFIRMS FORECLOSURE JUDGMENT AND SALE

Illinois’ First District recently issued an opinion affirming US Bank’s final judgment of foreclosure and rejecting the borrower’s challenges to the bank’s standing and evidence of amounts due. U.S. Bank Tr., N.A. v. Winston, 2025 IL App (1st) 241237, ¶ 55. The Court did not make any new or noteworthy findings on the issue of standing; however, one of the Court’s findings regarding evidence of the amounts due warrants discussion.

In opposition to the bank’s summary judgment the borrowers contended that the payment history attached to the bank’s affidavit of amounts due and owing was incomplete in that a payment they allegedly made in December 2013 “was not reflected in the records attached to the summary judgment motion.” 1 Ostensibly, the borrowers were suggesting the bank was required to proffer a complete payment history to satisfy the bank’s burden of proof on the issue of damages.

The First District rejected this argument explaining that the borrower’s alleged default was in July 2014 so “any payment that defendants may have made in December 2013 [was] not at issue in [the] case.” The Court concluded the bank’s proof of amounts due was sufficient. 2 This finding is impactful because some local trial judges are entertaining arguments that a foreclosing lender is required to proffer a payment history which reflects payments from loan origination instead of from the borrower’s default date. To rebut that argument, practitioners can now rely on the First District’s findings in Winston.

1 Winston, at ¶39. Future references or quotations from this case are to this citation until indicated otherwise.

2 Winston, at ¶¶40-42, 55.

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