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43 AS WE CLOSE OUT 2021, ARE WE STARTING TO SEE TRENDS? Of the cases that are moving in foreclosure in 2021, the percentage of contested cases is higher than the historical average. at trend of a higher percentage of contested cases will carry over to the New Year, and the trends show borrowers being savvier in raising challenges to standing, compliance with servicing regulations, and asserting COVID- 19-related issues. Another trend relates to the court system itself. Many courts are backlogged due to COVID-19, and it may cause delays in moving cases towards hearings on summary judgment or trial. Courts are also dealing with issues of whether to continue to permit various proceedings via remote technology or going back to live appearances. Virtual remote hearings have been a cost savings feature for counsel and servicer, and a return to live proceedings may negatively impact the costs of litigation in 2022. WHAT CAN SERVICERS DO TO PREPARE FOR THE UPCOMING CONTESTED CASES? Servicers certainly have a full workload as this year ends. With the moratoriums sunsetting, servicers have a large burden of allocating resources to which files will be referred in early 2022. at being said, knowing that an increase in the number of contested files is inevitable, there are certain steps that servicers can take to ensure that contested files can move more efficiently through the court system. Documentation is and will continue to be an important factor. All contacts regarding loss mitigation need to be clearly documented to refute borrower claims. In legal challenges to foreclosures, servicers will need to be able to document to courts that the servicer indeed complied with all regulatory loss mitigation requirements. With contested litigation, discovery requests from borrowers will certainly increase as well, and servicers need to be prepared to timely respond to those document requests. With new debt collection regulations in effect, it is paramount that servicers work with counsel so that attorneys have requisite periodic statements. In contested matters, there will also be enhanced scrutiny as to claimed charges on a borrower's account. All the relevant backup documentation must be maintained in order to refute borrower claims. As we move into a New Year that is hopefully bright, with close working relationships with outside counsel, servicers can successfully manage the hurdles presented by higher contested volumes and heightened regulatory requirements. Stephen M. Hladik is a Partner at Hladik, Onorato & Federman, LLP. Formerly a Deputy Attorney General in charge of the Harrisburg office of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Consumer Protection, Hladik brings a broad range of experience to his mortgage foreclosure, bankruptcy, tax sale, and UDAP legal practice. He also serves as Chair of the Legal League 100. A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, Hladik obtained his law degree from Widener University, with honors, where he served as Internal Managing Editor of the Law Review. Hladik gained significant expertise in lending law enforcement while serving in the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection, handling UDAP, FDCPA, RESPA, and TILA cases. 43