Summary
The Connecticut Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s judgment of foreclosure by sale after the defendant appealed, claiming the plaintiff’s predecessor had abandoned the second mortgage securing her home equity line of credit. The appellate court held that the trial court did not clearly err in finding the defendant failed to prove abandonment, citing the lack of equity in the property at the time of prior proceedings and the lender's business decisions regarding demand letters. The case was remanded solely for the purpose of setting a new sale date.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the defendant proved the special defense of abandonment of the second mortgage
- Whether the trial court’s factual findings were clearly erroneous
Holdings
- The defendant failed to establish abandonment; the trial court’s finding that abandonment was not proven was not clearly erroneous, and the judgment of foreclosure by sale is affirmed.
Key quotations
“For all [these] reasons, the court does not find that the special defense of abandonment precludes the [substitute] plaintiff from successfully foreclosing on the defendant’s property.” (at 6)
“It is the law of this state that a mortgagee may abandon his right of security under the mortgage. . . . Abandonment is a question of fact. To constitute it there must be an intention to abandon or relinquish accompanied by some act or omission to act by which such an intention is manifested.” (at 5)
Factual background
In 2006 the defendant obtained a home‑equity line of credit secured by a second mortgage on her New Milford property. PNC Bank acquired the loan in 2008 and later defaulted. PNC did not appear in a 2013 foreclosure action on the first mortgage and later "charged off" the second mortgage, sending sporadic demand letters between 2012 and 2016. The defendant argued that PNC had abandoned the second mortgage, a claim the trial court rejected.
Procedural history
The plaintiff, Aspen Properties Group, LLC, as trustee of the Aspen G Trust, foreclosed on the defendant's property. The trial court entered a judgment of foreclosure by sale. The defendant appealed, asserting that the predecessor mortgage holder, PNC Bank, had abandoned the second mortgage. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment.
Remand instructions
Remand for the purpose of setting a new sale date.