Summary
This Appellate Division decision affirms the dismissal of a mortgage foreclosure action as time-barred under New York's six-year statute of limitations. The court held that the limitations period began running when the plaintiff initially accelerated the debt by filing a prior foreclosure complaint in 2010, and neither the subsequent voluntary discontinuance of that action nor a unilateral de-acceleration letter revived the claim. The court also rejected the plaintiff's constitutional challenges to the retroactive application of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the six‑year statute of limitations began to run when the mortgage debt was accelerated in the 2010 foreclosure action and whether the later discontinuance or unilateral de‑acceleration revived the limitations period.
- Whether the retroactive application of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act violates the Due Process or Takings Clauses of the United States Constitution.
Holdings
- The statute of limitations began to run when the mortgage was accelerated in the 2010 action; the voluntary discontinuance of that action and the plaintiff’s unilateral de‑acceleration did not revive or reset the limitations period, rendering the 2023 action time‑barred.
- The retroactive application of FAPA does not violate the Due Process or Takings Clauses.
Key quotations
“"Even if a mortgage is payable in installments, once a mortgage debt is accelerated, the entire amount is due and the statute of limitations begins to run on the entire debt."” (694)
“"Acceleration occurs, inter alia, by the commencement of a foreclosure action wherein the plaintiff elects in the complaint to call due the entire amount secured by the mortgage."” (673)
Factual background
Bina Levy executed a note in 2003 secured by a mortgage on real property in Nassau County. The mortgage was later accelerated when the plaintiff filed a foreclosure action in September 2010, calling the entire debt due. The 2010 action was discontinued in 2016 without prejudice. In November 2017 the plaintiff filed a new foreclosure action, which the defendants contested as barred by the six‑year statute of limitations and the newly enacted Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act.
Procedural history
The mortgage was executed in 2003. The plaintiff commenced a foreclosure action in 2010, accelerating the debt. That action was voluntarily discontinued in 2016. A new foreclosure action was filed in 2017. The defendants moved for summary judgment asserting the six‑year statute of limitations under CPLR 213[4] and the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act. The Supreme Court, Nassau County, granted summary judgment on June 15, 2023. The plaintiff appealed.