Wisconsin foreclosure law generally allows a lender the option to shorten the debtor’s redemption period in return for agreeing not to go after the “debtor” for any “deficiency” after the sale of the real estate (i.e. if a property sells for less than the amount due the lender at the foreclosure auction, the lender has no right to go after debtor personally for the difference if lender elects a shorter redemption period). In Bank Mutual v. S.J. Boyer Constr., 2009 WI App 14, the appellate court concluded that a lender was also prohibited from going after a “guarantor” of the “debtor” if the shorter redemption period is chosen by the lender. This appellate court decision was recently overruled by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Bank Mutual v. S.J. Boyer Construction, Inc., 2010 WI 74 (July 9, 2010). In summary, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that by choosing a shorter redemption period the lender is precluded from seeking a deficiency judgment against the “debtor,” but the lender may still seek a deficiency judgment against the “guarantor” for any deficiency resulting from the sale at auction. Given that many, if not most, of relatively smaller commercial real estate projects are developed in single purpose limited liability entities where lenders require personal guarantees from owners of the entities (and others), this decision appears to be quite beneficial for lenders in that it allows them to, among other things, speed up the sales process without giving up the ability to go after the guarantors for any difference between the sale price and the balance of the amount due the lender