Art. 3722 Enforcement by ordinary proceeding

If a lender wants to enforce a regular mortgage through a standard lawsuit instead of a faster foreclosure process, they have to follow a specific order of steps. First, they need to sue the borrower and win a judgment against them. Only after getting that judgment can they move forward to collect on it, usually by having the property sold.

Sometimes the lender can't get a personal judgment against the borrower. This might happen if the borrower can't be found or served with the lawsuit properly, or in other similar situations. When that happens, the court can still issue a judgment, but it only applies to the property itself rather than to the borrower personally. This is called an "in rem" judgment. It means the lender can still go after the mortgaged property to satisfy the debt, even without a personal judgment against the person who owes the money.