Summary
This Appellate Division decision affirms the lower court's denial of a defendant's motion to dismiss a mortgage foreclosure complaint as time-barred. The court held that the six-year statute of limitations began running when the plaintiff accelerated the mortgage debt by commencing a prior foreclosure action in May 2021. Because the current action was filed in January 2023, it was brought within the statutory period and properly proceeded.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the six‑year statute of limitations for a mortgage foreclosure began to run when the debt was accelerated in May 2021, rendering the January 2023 action timely.
Holdings
- The statute of limitations began to run upon acceleration of the mortgage debt in May 2021; therefore the January 2023 foreclosure action was timely and the motion to dismiss as time‑barred was properly denied.
Key quotations
“[E]ven 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” (at *2)
Factual background
Albert Pezone executed a note secured by a mortgage in May 2007. B&B Capital, LLC, as assignee of the mortgage, filed a foreclosure action in May 2021, which accelerated the debt. In January 2023 the plaintiff filed a second foreclosure action. Pezone moved to dismiss the complaint as time‑barred, arguing the six‑year statute of limitations had run.
Procedural history
The defendant executed a mortgage note in May 2007. The plaintiff, as assignee, commenced a foreclosure action in May 2021, accelerating the debt. The plaintiff later filed a second foreclosure action in January 2023. The defendant moved to dismiss as time‑barred; the trial court denied the motion; the defendant appealed.