## Facts

- Judy Curtis rented a residence under a written lease from a landlord who later defaulted on the mortgage secured by the property.
- U.S. Bank National Association (USBNA), as trustee for a mortgage-backed security, foreclosed on the deed of trust and purchased the property at the foreclosure sale.
- USBNA elected to terminate Curtis’s tenancy after acquiring the property.
- USBNA sent Curtis multiple written communications about her post-foreclosure tenancy and rights under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 (PTFA).
- The notices were contradictory and confusing, including a notice directing Curtis to vacate “immediately,” while other communications referenced PTFA protections.
- Before the PTFA-protected occupancy period would have expired for a bona fide tenant, USBNA filed a motion for immediate possession under Maryland Rule 14-102.
- The Circuit Court for Baltimore County granted USBNA’s motion and awarded possession to USBNA.
- Curtis appealed the possession order.

## Issues

1. Whether a foreclosure purchaser satisfies the PTFA’s notice requirement by sending a bona fide tenant contradictory and misleading notices, including a direction to vacate “immediately,” without correcting the confusion.
2. Whether a Maryland Rule 14-102 motion for possession is premature when filed before the expiration of the time period the PTFA allows a bona fide tenant to remain in the property.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals of Maryland reversed the circuit court’s order granting possession to USBNA and remanded.
- The court held that misleading and contradictory notices that remain uncorrected are ineffective to satisfy the PTFA’s advance notice obligation.
- The court held that a Rule 14-102 motion for possession is premature if filed before the purchaser has a present right to immediate possession under the PTFA, and it should be dismissed even if later litigation delay results in the tenant remaining for a comparable period.

## Legal Principles

- The PTFA is a remedial statute intended to provide residential tenants stability and certainty about whether and when they must vacate after foreclosure.
- A foreclosure purchaser must provide a bona fide tenant an accurate, clear, advance written notice of whether and when the tenant must vacate; contradictory or misleading notices that are not corrected do not satisfy the PTFA.
- A state-court possession procedure may not be used to obtain possession before the PTFA permits; compliance with PTFA timing is a prerequisite to a valid motion for possession.
- A motion’s prematurity is assessed when filed; subsequent delay in adjudication does not cure a prematurely filed possession motion.

## Conclusion

The court required clear, non-misleading PTFA notice to bona fide tenants and enforced PTFA timing by holding that a possession motion filed before the purchaser’s right to immediate possession accrues is premature and must be dismissed, leading to reversal of the possession order and remand.


Curtis v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 50 A.3d 558 (Md. 2012)