Are lienholders required to be joined as defendants in a foreclosure action?

In a foreclosure action, lienholders are not required to be joined as defendants. Instead, the law mandates that they must be given notice of the foreclosure proceedings. This notice allows the lienholders to protect their interests and potentially claim their rights in relation to the property, but they do not have to be joined as parties to the action.

This distinction is important because it can streamline the foreclosure process. If lienholders were always required to be joined as defendants, it could complicate and prolong the proceedings, as all parties with an interest in the property might need to be litigated together, even if their interests are subordinate to those of the mortgagee.

The other choices imply either a necessity to join all lienholders or conditional requirements for joining them, which do not accurately represent the statutory and procedural framework of foreclosure actions. The correct understanding is that while notice to lienholders is mandatory to ensure they are aware of the foreclosure and can act accordingly, their formal presence as defendants in the case is not a requirement.