January 18, 2013
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division Holds that Bank Has Standing to Foreclose
In Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. v Delphonse, 64 A.D.3d 624 (2d Dept. 2009) the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department found that the lender, Countrywide Home Loans (Countrywide), had standing to foreclose on the Delphonses, the homeowners in the case, because the court found that the Delphonses waived the issue at the pre-trial stage, and furthermore that Countrywide met its burden of proof. The court held, “[the Delphonses] waived the defense of lack of standing (see CPLR 3211[a][3]) by failing to either make a pre-answer motion to dismiss the complaint on that ground or by asserting that defense in their answer. . . . On its motion for summary judgment, [Countrywide] established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting the mortgage, the underlying note, and evidence of a default.”
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