In Hayford v. Citicorp Trust Bank., 2007 WL 2985049 (Del. Ch., Oct. 11, 2007), read opinion here, the Chancery Court refused to stay a post-foreclosure eviction proceeding. The case involved a homeowner  who had not paid her mortgage since the year 2002 and avoided foreclosure initially by filing bankruptcy. The bank was subsequently able to force a sheriff’s sale of the property, which the homeowner managed to forestall 6 times, but the bank successfully took title after the 7th sheriff’s sale. In this Chancery Court letter opinion, the plaintiff sought an injunction to stop the "writ of possession" that would have forcibly evicted her. The court declined to grant the injunction. The injunction was sought pending the appeal of the Superior Court’s decision to the Delaware Supreme Court. The Superior Court also declined to grant her relief and did not stay its decision pending appeal. The Chancery Court found that she had "zero" chance of success on appeal.

This case is highlighted in part due to the many stories in the popular press about the sharp rise in the number of foreclosures in connection with the credit crunch and problems in the sub-prime market. This is an example of someone who lived in their house for 5 years without paying the mortgage and who managed to find a way to avoid foreclosure during those 5 years.