By Marc J. Chalfen

In the recent Illinois case of 1010 Lake Shore Association v. Deutsche Bank Nat. Trust Co. (PDF), the 1st District Appellate Court in Illinois ruled that the purchaser of a condominium unit at a judicial sale that does not pay its post-sale assessments, can be held responsible for the delinquent assessments that were not paid by the prior owner. The Court attempted to reconcile provisions of the Illinois Condominium Property Act and the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law. In this case, the purchaser at the judicial sale did not make its post-foreclosure sale assessment payments totaling approximately $24,000, for nearly two years. The Court held the purchaser liable for that amount, plus over $43,000 in unpaid assessments incurred prior to its purchase of the unit, and determined that the condo association's lien for the prior unpaid assessments on the unit was not extinguished. Lender-mortgagees and condo associations should be aware of this recent case and its ramifications.