Summary
This New York Appellate Division decision reverses lower court orders that granted summary judgment for a mortgage foreclosure plaintiff against defendant Kelvin Blasse. The court held that the plaintiff's attempt to accelerate the mortgage debt triggered a six-year statute of limitations, which had expired before the current action was commenced. Additionally, under the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, the plaintiff was ineligible for the CPLR 205(a) savings provision because the prior foreclosure action was dismissed as abandoned. Consequently, the trial court's grant of summary judgment and appointment of a referee were reversed.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the plaintiff is entitled to the savings provision of CPLR 205(a) or 205‑a under the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA)
- Whether the foreclosure action is barred by the six‑year statute of limitations
Holdings
- The plaintiff is not entitled to the benefit of the savings provision of CPLR 205(a) or 205‑a because the earlier 2007 foreclosure action was dismissed as abandoned.
- The action is barred because the statute of limitations began to run on the entire accelerated debt when the plaintiff elected to call due the whole amount in the complaint.
Key quotations
“[E]ven if the 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 1)
“the plaintiff is not entitled to the benefit of the savings provision of CPLR 205(a) or 205‑a” (at 1)
Factual background
In 2007 the plaintiff sued the defendant to foreclose a Brooklyn mortgage, seeking the entire amount secured. That action was dismissed as abandoned in 2019. The plaintiff re‑filed a foreclosure action in September 2019 and moved for summary judgment on the complaint against the defendant in March 2021. The trial court granted summary judgment and appointed a referee to compute the debt.
Procedural history
The plaintiff commenced a 2007 foreclosure action that was dismissed as abandoned in 2019. A new foreclosure action was filed in 2019; the plaintiff moved for summary judgment in 2021. The Supreme Court, Kings County, granted summary judgment and appointed a referee on September 29, 2022. The defendant appealed both orders.
Remand instructions
Denial of the plaintiff's summary‑judgment motion against Kelvin Blasse and award of one bill of costs to the appellant.