Chicago Title Land Trust Company v. Watkin

The Illinois Supreme Court considered the question of whether a property owner may bring a quiet title action to remove a mortgage lien once the statutory 10-year limitations period on a mortgage foreclosure action has lapsed. The court held that a property owner cannot succeed based merely on the lapse of the statute of limitations, explaining that even though the statute of limitations would serve as an affirmative defense to a mortgage lienholder’s claim to foreclose the mortgage, the mortgage lien itself survives at lease 20 years from the date the last payment is due. (NEVILLE, OVERSTREET, HOLDER WHITE, CUNNINGHAM, ROCHFORD, and O’BRIEN, concurring)