| NYCTL 2009-A Trust v 273 Brighton Beach Ave. Realty Co. |
| 2011 NY Slip Op 50375(U) [30 Misc 3d 1236(A)] |
| Decided on March 15, 2011 |
| Supreme Court, Kings County |
| Schack, J. |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| As corrected in part through March 21, 2011; it will not be published in the printed Official Reports. |
NYCTL 2009-A Trust
and the Bank of New York as Collateral Agent and Custodian for the NYCTL 2009-A Trust, ,
Plaintiffs,
against 273 Brighton Beach Ave. Realty Co., et al., Defendants. |
The following papers numbered 1 to 1 read on this motion:Papers
Numbered:
Motion for an order of reference1
____________________________________________________________________
____
[*2]
In this action to foreclose on a tax lien for the premises
located at 273 Brighton Beach Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (Block 8672, Lot 31, County of
Kings), plaintiffs,
Plaintiffs moved in a timely manner, on December 29, 2010, and renewed their motion for
the appointment of a referee and to amend the caption. However, plaintiffs failed to comply with
my December 7, 2010 decision and order. Therefore, the Court grants plaintiffs one final
opportunity to comply, within sixty (60) days of this decision and order, by presenting the Court
with Plaintiffs' original moving papers for an order to appoint a referee to compute and amend the
caption failed to present an "affidavit made by the party,"pursuant to CPLR § 3215 (f).
Instead the previous motion contained an affidavit of merit by Marc Marino, who stated "I am the
Authorized Signatory of Mooring Tax Asset Group, LLC, servicing agent for plaintiffs in the
within action." For reasons unknown to the Court, plaintiffs failed to provide any power of
attorney authorizing Mooring Tax Asset Group, LLC to go forward with the instant foreclosure
action. Therefore, in my December 7, 2010 decision and order, I denied without prejudice the
original motion, for the appointment of a referee to compute and to amend the caption. I granted
plaintiffs leave to comply with CPLR § 3215 (f) by providing an "affidavit made by the
party," whether by an officer of THE TRUST or someone with a valid power of attorney from
THE TRUST, within sixty (60) days from my December 7, 2010 decision and order.
In the instant renewed motion, "[i]n an effort to comply with said [December 7, 2010]
Decision and Order, Plaintiffs submit with the instant application the Affidavit of Marc Marino
sworn to on December 21, 2010, and a relevant except from the Servicing Agreement, certified
pursuant to CPLR § 2105 (Exhibit "E") [ ¶ 11 of affirmation in support of motion]."
Further, plaintiffs' counsel alleges that this "establishes . . . Plaintiffs' compliance with CPLR
§ 3215 (f), including Marc Marino's personal knowledge of the facts and his authority to
seek the relief [*3]requested herein." Despite the arguments
presented by plaintiffs' counsel, it is clear that plaintiffs' counsel failed to comply with my
December 7, 2010 decision and order. Plaintiff's submission is not in compliance with the
requirements of CPLR § 3215 (f). On any application for judgment by default, the applicant shall
file proof of service of the summons and the complaint, or a summons
and notice served pursuant to subdivision (b) of rule 305 or subdivision
(a) of rule 316 of this chapter, and proof of the facts constituting
the claim, the default and the amount due by affidavit made by
the party . . . Where a verified complaint has been served, it may
be used as the affidavit of the facts constituting the claim and the
amount due; in such case, an affidavit as to the default shall be
made by the party or the party's attorney. [Emphasis added].
Plaintiffs continue to fail to submit "proof of the facts" in "an affidavit made by
Mr. Marino must have, as plaintiffs' agent, a valid power of
attorney for that express purpose. Additionally, if a power of attorney
is presented to this Court and it refers to servicing agreements, the
Court needs a properly offered copy of the servicing agreements, to
determine if the servicing agent may proceed on behalf of plaintiffs.
(EMC Mortg. Corp. v Batista, 15 Misc 3d 1143 (A), [Sup Ct, Kings
County 2007]; Deutsche Bank Nat. Trust Co. v Lewis, 14 Misc 3d 1201
(A) [Sup Ct, Suffolk County 2006]).
General Obligations Law § 5 - 1501 (10) defines "power of attorney" as "a written
document by which a principal with capacity designates an agent to act on his or her behalf." The
selected portions presented of the July 1, 2009 Amended and Restated Servicing Agreement are
not a power of attorney. Further, the Court wonders why plaintiffs' counsel did not present the
entire servicing agreement for review. Is there classified information in the document? Moreover,
unlike a power of attorney, the parties executing the July 1, 2009 Amended and Restated
Servicing Agreement did not sign under penalty of perjury before a notary public. One signatory,
Jacqueline Kuhn, Assistant Treasurer, signed the document for THE BANK OF NEW YORK
MELLON, as Paying Agent and Collateral Agent and Custodian, and then acknowledged [*4]and agreed to the agreement for THE BANK OF NEW YORK
MELLON, as Indenture Trustee. It is comforting to know that Ms. Kuhn agreed with herself.
Therefore, the instant renewed motion for an order to appoint a referee to compute and
amend the caption is denied without prejudice. The Court will grant THE TRUST a final
opportunity for the appointment of a referee to compute and to amend the caption by its timely
submission of an affidavit by either an officer of THE TRUST, or someone with a valid power of
attorney from THE TRUST, possessing personal knowledge of the facts.
Plaintiffs' counsel is reminded of the recent December 16, 2010 Court of Appeals decision,
in Gibbs v St. Barnabas Hosp. (16
NY3d 74), which instructed, at *5:
As this Court has repeatedly emphasized, our court system is
dependent on all parties engaged in litigation abiding by the rules of
proper practice (see e.g. Brill v City of New York, 2 NY3d 748 [2004];
Kihl v Pfeffer, 94 NY2d 118 [1999]). The failure to comply with
deadlines not only impairs the efficient functioning of the courts and
the adjudication of claims, but it places jurists unnecessarily in the
position of having to order enforcement remedies to respond to the
delinquent conduct of members of the bar, often to the detriment of
the litigants they represent. Chronic noncompliance with deadlines
breeds disrespect for the dictates of the Civil Practice Law and Rules
and a culture in which cases can linger for years without resolution.
Furthermore, those lawyers who engage their best efforts to comply
with practice rules are also effectively penalized because they must
somehow explain to their clients why they cannot secure timely
responses from recalcitrant adversaries, which leads to the erosion
of their attorney-client relationships as well. For these reasons, it
is important to adhere to the position we declared a decade ago that
"[i]f the credibility of court orders and the integrity of our judicial
system are to be maintained, a litigant cannot ignore court orders
with impunity [Emphasis added]." (Kihl, 94 NY2d at 123).
"Litigation cannot be conducted efficiently if deadlines are not taken seriously, and
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED, that leave is granted to plaintiffs ORDERED, the failure of plaintiffs This constitutes the Decision and Order of the Court.
ENTER
J. S. C.
THE TRUST purchased
certain tax liens from the City of New York on August 18,
2009. These liens, including the tax lien for the premises known as 273 Brighton
Beach Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (Block 8672, Lot 31, County of Kings), were recorded in
the Kings County Office of the City Register, New York City Department of Finance, on August
25, 2009, at City Register File Number (CRFN) 2009000271394.
CPLR § 3215 (f) states:
the party." The renewed "affidavit of facts" was submitted by Marc Marino, "the
Authorized Signatory of Mooring Tax Asset Group, LLC, servicing agent for plaintiffs in the
within action." Further, plaintiffs' counsel provided the Court with snippets of the July 1, 2009
Amended and Restated Servicing Agreement between NYCTL 2009-A TRUST, Issuer,
MOORING TAX ASSET GROUP, LLC, Servicer and THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON,
Paying Agent and Collateral Agent and Custodian, consisting of the cover paper, pages 16, 17,
18 and three signature pages. In my December 7, 2010 decision and order I stated that:
While it appears in the snippets, on page 17, that the Servicer might have authority to
prepare affidavits in support of a foreclosure action, the Court, in following the requirements of
CPLR § 3215 (f), needs an affidavit by an officer of THE TRUST or someone with a valid
power of attorney from THE TRUST.
we make clear again, as we have several times before, that disregard of deadlines
should not and will not be tolerated (see Miceli v State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co., 3 NY3d 725 [2004];
Brill v City of New York, 2 NY3d 748 [2004]; Kihl v Pfeffer, 94 NY2d 118
[1999]) [Emphasis added]." (Andrea v Arnone, Hedin, Casker, Kennedy and Drake, Architects and
Landscape Architects, P.C., 5 NY3d 514, 521 [2005]). "As we made clear in
Brill, and underscore here, statutory time [*5]frames
like court-order time frames (see Kihl v Pfeffer, 94 NY2d 118 [1999])
are not options, they are requirements, to be taken seriously by the parties. Too
many pages of the Reports, and hours of the courts,
are taken up with deadlines that are simply ignored [Emphasis added]."
(Miceli, 3 NY3d at 726-726).
THE BANK OF NEW YORK AS
COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN FOR THE NYCTL 2009-A TRUST,
Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (Block 8672, Lot 31, County of Kings) is denied
without
prejudice; and it is further
___________________________
HON. ARTHUR M. SCHACK
March 15, 2011