April 14 is the scheduled starting date of a trial in St. Louis County Circuit Court to determine whether a judge will issue an injunction to prevent the mortgage holder of the Cedars at the JCA from foreclosing on the facility.

Judge Melvyn Wiesman will preside over the case, which was filed by the Jewish Center for Aged in late November, seeking to halt attempts to foreclose by PAMI Autumn, LLC, a subsidiary of Lehman Bros that purchased the $55-million mortgage of the Cedars in a HUD auction in September, PAMI purchased the mortgage note for $19.1 million, according to HUD records. HUD auctioned the note after the Cedars defaulted on its mortgage payments.

PAMI Autumn announced in October its intent to foreclose in legal notices published in The Countian, a newspaper covering the St. Louis County Courts. Under Missouri law, companies must publish notices of intent to foreclose for 20 consecutive days prior. The notices stated that the Cedars would be sold to the highest bidder on Dec. 10 unless it had paid its mortgage in full. The Jewish Center for Aged filed a motion in St. Louis County Circuit Court on Nov. 28 for a temporary restraining order to prevent the mortgage holder from foreclosing.

On Dec. 3, after meeting with Circuit Judge Melvyn Wiesman in chambers, the judge granted a temporary restraining order, pending a hearing on a preliminary injunction. The JCA was ordered to post a bond of $1.5 million “as security for payment of such costs and damages (if any) as may be incurred or suffered by defendants if it is found to have been wrongfully restrained,” according to court documents.

According to court documents filed by attorneys for the JCA, the JCA argued the mortgage holder had not followed rules set out in the original lease of the ground on which the facility was built. One of the rules stipulates that if the Cedars were to go into default, the JCA must be given a “Purchase Notice,” allowing the JCA a first opportunity to purchase the mortgage note “at fair market value” before any attempts are made to foreclose. The JCA says it was not given such an opportunity, according to the court documents.

In addition, lawyers for the JCA argued in their motion that it would cause “serious and irreparable harm and injury” for the foreclosure to proceed before all terms of the original lease were followed.

“A foreclosure without affording Plaintiffs their rights is also against the public interest and contrary to public policy because it unnecessarily puts at risk the security and well-being of numerous elderly and infirm people who are served by JCA at the facility,” the court documents filed by the JCA’s attorneys stated.

Ken Rubin, board president of the JCA, said that mediation between the two parties is ongoing. Jewish Light calls to PAMI were not returned as of press time.