Jan. 8, 2009 – Wisconsin courts are stepping up efforts to cope with an historic wave of foreclosures.

The court system has provided educational programs on mortgage laws and regulations for judges and court staff, and some judges have developed procedures to help ensure litigants are communicating in an effort to settle their disputes.

One program – an alternative dispute resolution program started in other states – is being piloted in Wisconsin by Chief Judge William D. Dyke, Iowa County Circuit Court.

Dyke initiated a local rule that requires lenders who file a foreclosure action as of Jan. 1, 2009 to notify defendants that foreclosure mediation is an option under the state’s alternative dispute resolution statute. Foreclosure filings in Iowa County jumped from 58 in 2006 to 92 in 2007 and 105 in 2008.

Reflecting a national trend, the number of mortgage foreclosure filings in Wisconsin jumped 21.4 percent, from 2007 to 2008, figures compiled by the Director of State Courts Office show.

Foreclosure filings statewide, excluding Portage County, increased from 21,051 in 2007 to 25,547 in 2008 – the second consecutive year during which foreclosure filings increased more than 20 percent, said Director of State Courts A. John Voelker.

The largest percentage increase occurred in Pepin County, where filings increased 252 percent, from 29 in 2007 to 102 in 2008. The next largest percentage increase was in Adams County, where filings increased 80 percent, from 123 to 222, followed by Vernon County, where filings increased 67 percent, from 45 to 75.

The largest numeric increase occurred in Milwaukee County, where foreclosure filings increased 14 percent, from 5,683 to 6,468. The next largest numeric increase was in Dane County, where filings increased 46 percent, from 897 to 1,312, followed by Racine County, where filings increased by 295, from 806 to 1,101, or by 37 percent.

Source: Jan. 13, 2008, Wisconsin Supreme Court news release.