By Jonathan H. Freiberger As explained in our Blog entitled: “ Get Rid of a Stale Mortgage By Bringing an Action Under RPAPL 1501(4) ,” mortgage on real property are typically delivered as security for the repayment of an obligation evidenced by a promissory note. A mortgage is an encumbrance on real property. Removing the encumbrance, if given the opportunity, makes sense. In situations where a mortgage appears as a lien of record on real property, but the statute of limit

By Jonathan H. Freiberger In our October 19, 2020, Blog < here =">here</a>"> we discussed, inter alia , Administrative Order 98-20 , issued by Andrew A. Crecca, District Administrative Judge, Suffolk County. AO 98-20 established new procedures for scheduling foreclosure sales considering the COVID-19 pandemic. Briefly stated, AO 98-20 required the Court-appointed referee to schedule foreclosure sales through the Court Fiduciary Office so that only one sale would take place a

By Jonathan H. Freiberger As explained in prior Blog articles, a court will grant a motion for summary judgment if, upon all the papers and evidence submitted, the cause of action or defense is established sufficiently to warrant directing judgment in favor of the moving party as a matter of law. CPLR § 3212 (b); Gilbert Frank Corp. v. Federal Ins. Co. , 70 N.Y.2d 966, 967 (1988); Zuckerman v. City of New York , 49 N.Y.2d 557, 562 (1980). The function of the court when presen

By Jonathan H. Freiberger While this Blog has addressed numerous issues relating to residential mortgage foreclosure, it has never touched upon the requirement in RPAPL 1351 (1) that a judgment of foreclosure and sale “shall direct that the mortgaged premises, or so much thereof as may be sufficient to discharge the mortgage debt, the expenses of the sale and the costs of the action, and which may be sold separately without material injury to the parties interested, be sold b

By Jonathan H. Freiberger Many times, multiple actions are pending that involve similar facts and/or legal issues. In such instances it may be appropriate to consolidate those actions pursuant to CPLR 602(a) , which provides that “ hen actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before a court, the court, upon motion, may order a joint trial of any or all the matters in issue, may order the actions consolidated, and may make such other orders concerning pr

By Jonathan H. Freiberger Because there have been a number of appellate decisions interpreting RPAPL 1304 , this Blog has written frequently on that topic. See, e.g. , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> and < here =">here</a>"> . By way of background, and as p

By Jonathan H. Freiberger This Blog frequently addresses issues related to mortgage foreclosure actions, generally, and issues of standing, specifically. Much of the background of this article was taken from a prior article: “ Appellate Division, Second Department, Validates Mortgage Foreclosure Defendants’ Cries of ‘Leave me Allonge ’”. As to the issues relating to the standing of a lender to commence a foreclosure action, this Blog has noted that, in general, a foreclosin

By Jonathan H. Freiberger Much has been written in this Blog about mortgage foreclosure actions. In this Blog’s prior article: “Second Department Addresses Issues Regarding Proof of Value of Foreclosed Property for the Purpose of Calculating Deficiency Judgment Under RPAPL 1371” , we discussed deficiency judgments. By way of brief background, loans are generally evidenced by a promissory note. The borrower’s repayment obligations are frequently secured by a mortgage on rea

By Jonathan H. Freiberger For any number of reasons, a party asserting a claim or claims in a litigation may decide that it no loner wishes to pursue them. In such a case, CPLR 3217 outlines the manner in which claims, depending on the stage of litigation, may be discontinued. Among others, an action can be discontinued without a court order: “by serving upon all parties to the action a notice of discontinuance at any time before a responsive pleading is served or, if no r

By Jonathan H. Freiberger In general, to “establish prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law in an action to foreclose a mortgage, a plaintiff must produce the mortgage, the unpaid note, and evidence of default.” M&T Bank v. Barter , 186 A.D.3d 698, 799 (2 nd Dep’t 2020) (citations omitted). As readers of this Blog know, depending on the defenses raised in borrower’s answer, lender may be required to submit additional proof to meet its prima facie case. See,

By Jonathan H. Freiberger A notice of pendency is a provisional remedy available to litigants seeking a judgment that affects title to real property. 5303 Realty Corp. v. O&Y Equity Corp. , 64 N.Y.2d 313 (1984). The rules concerning notices of pendency are found in Article 65 of the CPLR. As the name suggests, a notice of pendency puts the world on constructive notice that an action has been commenced that may affect the title to the property and, accordingly, “ person w

By Jonathan H. Freiberger Section 3025 of the CPLR permits litigants to amend their pleadings. Without leave of court, a party can amend a pleading once, as of right, “within twenty days after its service, or at any time before the period for responding to it expires, or within twenty days after service of a pleading responding to it.” CPLR 3025(a). After the expiration of the “as of right” time to amend pleadings, a party can seek the court’s permission (or all parties

By Jonathan H. Freiberger This Blog frequently covers the pre-foreclosure notice requirements of RPAPL 1304 . See, e.g. , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> and < here =">here</a>"> . While this stuff is interesting, it also happens to be the subject of frequen

By Jonathan H. Freiberger I say it all the time and I’m going to say it again, the readers of this Blog know that we frequently discuss numerous aspects of residential mortgage litigation. S ee, e.g., < here =">here</a>"> and the articles linked therein. A related subtopic that gets much attention in this Blog is the pre-foreclosure notice requirements of RPAPL 1304 . See, e.g. , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> ,

By Jonathan H. Freiberger This Blog has written extensively on a variety of issues related to mortgage foreclosure, including those related specifically to limitations periods ( see, e.g., < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> and < here =">here</a>"> . As to the limitations period relevant to mortgage foreclosure actions, we have previously written that: An action to foreclose a mortgage is governed by a six-year statute

By Jonathan H. Freiberger In our January 14, 2022, Blog Article entitled: “ Don’t Let Undue Delay Cause You to Lose Your Interest in Interest ”, we discussed, inter alia , the court’s discretion in the calculation of the amount of interest due to a lender in a mortgage foreclosure actions. Regarding the court’s equitable powers, we stated: CPLR 5001(a) provides, in relevant part that “in an action of an equitable nature, interest and the rate and date from which it shall be

By Jonathan H. Freiberger On May 24, 2022, the New York Court of Appeals decided Batavia Townhouses, Ltd. v. Council of Churches Hous. Dev. Fund Co., Inc. , and held that “General Obligations Law § 17-105, by its express terms, is the sole statute governing the tolling or revival of the statute of limitations for an action to foreclose a mortgage.” In so doing, the Court rejected plaintiff’s assertion that GOL §17-101 was equally applicable. This Blog has written numerous a

By Jonathan H. Freiberger The readers of this Blog know that we frequently discuss numerous aspects of residential mortgage litigation. S ee, e.g., < here =">here</a>"> and the articles linked therein. A related subtopic that gets much attention in this Blog is the pre-foreclosure notice requirements of RPAPL 1304 . See, e.g., < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =

By Jonathan H. Freiberger Statute of limitations issues frequently arises in mortgage foreclosure actions. This Blog has written extensively on a variety of issues related to mortgage foreclosure, including those related specifically to limitations periods ( see, e.g., < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> and < here =">here</a>"> . In this Blog article entitled: “ Revive a Time-Barred Claim Using § 17-101 of New York’s General Obligations La

By Jonathan H. Freiberger The readers of this Blog know that we frequently discuss numerous aspects of residential mortgage litigation. S ee, e.g., < here =">here</a>"> and the articles linked therein. A related subtopic that gets much attention in this Blog is the pre-foreclosure notice requirements of RPAPL 1304 . See, e.g., < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> , < here =