Foreclosure Magistrates

Mortgage companies and tax collectors file foreclosure cases in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in downtown Cleveland.  Cuyahoga Common Pleas handles foreclosures differently than in other places in Ohio.  It is important for the homeowner to understand the process here.

When a foreclosure case is filed, it is randomly assigned to one of the 34 judges in the court.  Once the judge has been assigned the foreclosure, however, the case is immediately referred to one of the foreclosure magistrates.  Magistrates are like deputy judges.  The foreclosure magistrates decide the foreclosure cases for the 34 judges.  The foreclosure magistrates do not work in the main courthouse.  Instead, they have their own department and their own staff, catty-corner from the Justice Center, at 310 West Lakeside, on the sixth floor.  The foreclosure magistrates all have deep experience in foreclosure and are subject-matter experts.

If you receive a summons in a foreclosure case, it will tell you the name of the judge in the case.  But to find out which magistrate was assigned your case, you can call the magistrates’ department at (216) 443-8505.  The staff in the magistrates’ department are very helpful, and can answer some questions for the homeowner.

I have had cases before all of the foreclosure magistrates in Cuyahoga County. Please call me at (216) 357-3870 or click here  to send me an e-mail for some free advice about your case and your options.