| First Am. Intl. Bank v Spoiled Trucks & Cars Corp. |
| 2012 NY Slip Op 50512(U) [34 Misc 3d 1242(A)] |
| Decided on March 21, 2012 |
| Supreme Court, Queens County |
| Kitzes, J. |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports. |
First American
International Bank, Plaintiff,
against Spoiled Trucks & Cars Corp., MOHAMMAD TAGHI NOORI, CAPITAL ONE DEVELOPMENT LLC, AND "JOHN DOENo.1" THROUGH "JOHN DOE #12" the last twelve names being fictitious and unknown to First American International Bank, the persons or parties intended being the tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises, described in the complaint, Defendants. |
Plaintiff moves for an order awarding Plaintiff summary judgment on
the first cause of action in Plaintiff's Complaint; (ii) striking each of the defenses included in the
Defendants' Answer to the Complaint; (iii) appointing a referee to compute the amount due to
Plaintiff.According to the complaint and Plaintiff's evidence, this action involves a loan by
plaintiff to defendant Spoiled Trucks, made on or about November 16, 2006. The aggregate
amount of the Loan was not to exceed two million seven hundred thousand ($2,700,000.00)
dollars. Spoiled Trucks secured this loan with a mortgage on certain real property it owned
located at 81-05 Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst. The purpose of the Loan was to consolidate
Spoiled Trucks' existing mortgages on the Property, and provide Spoiled Trucks with a revolving
line of credit. The Loan was to mature on December 1, 2008 (the "Maturity Date"). Spoiled
Trucks also had the option to extend the Maturity Date for two three-month periods, provided
that certain terms and conditions were met by Spoiled Trucks. On or about November 16, 2006,
Spoiled Trucks executed a consolidated mortgage note in the original principal amount of
$2,700,000.00. On or about November 16, 2006, Spoiled Trucks executed the consolidated
mortgage (the "Consolidated Mortgage"), in order to secure payment of the Consolidated
Mortgage Note. Contemporaneously with the Consolidated Mortgage, Spoiled Trucks and
Plaintiff entered into the Consolidation, Modification and Extension Agreement [*2](the "CMEA"), pursuant to which all existing mortgages secured by
the Property were consolidated into the Consolidated Mortgage, constituting a single first lien on
the Property. On or about December 1, 2006, the Consolidated Mortgage and CMEA were
recorded in CRFN: 2006000665334 in the Office of the City Register of the City of New York.
Plaintiff funded the Loan in the amount of $2,700,000.00 on November 16, 2006. In order to
further secure payment of the Loans to Plaintiff, Defendant Noori executed a Guaranty on
November 16, 2006 (the "Noori Guaranty") in connection with the Loan.Spoiled Trucks failed to
pay the Loan in full on the Maturity Date. Thereafter, Plaintiff extended the Loan from time to
time, with the latest extension expiring on April 1, 2011. However, Spoiled Trucks failed to pay
the Loan in full on April 1, 2011. On May 11, 2011, counsel to Plaintiff notified Spoiled Trucks,
in a letter, of several events of default under the Loan Documents, including, Spoiled Trucks'
failure to pay the Loan in full on April 1, 2011, and Spoiled Trucks' unauthorized transfer of the
Property to Capital One. In the May 11, 2011 letter, Plaintiff also notified Spoiled Trucks that no
further extensions of the Maturity Date would be given in connection with the Loan, and that all
amounts due under the Loan Documents were due immediately. Finally, in the May 11 letter,
Plaintiff notified Spoiled Trucks that if full payment of the amounts due under the Loan
Documents was not received by June 1, 2011, that Plaintiff would take appropriate steps to
enforce its rights and remedies under the Loan Documents. Spoiled Trucks failed to pay the Loan
in full on June 1, 2011, and Plaintiff considers this an event of default. In addition, during the
process of discussing Spoiled Trucks' request for further extensions, Plaintiff learned that its
collateral for the Loan, the Property, was transferred to Capital One by Spoiled Trucks' and
Plaintiff did not give its consent to the transfer. Plaintiff considers this transfer to be an event of
default. Plaintiff repeatedly notified Spoiled Trucks, as borrower, and Noori, as guarantor, of
these events of default. Finally, as of June 1, 2011, the total amount owed by Spoiled Trucks to
Plaintiff is $2,831,906.27, which includes, principal, interest, and feesBased on these failures to
make payments, on August 30, 2011, Plaintiff commenced the instant action for Foreclosure of
Mortgage. Thereafter, Plaintiff made the instant motion, which is opposed by Defendants.In
moving for summary judgment in an action to foreclose a mortgage, a plaintiff establishes its
case as a matter of law through the production of the mortgage, the unpaid note, and evidence of
default. Wells Fargo v. Webster, 61
AD3d 856, 856 (2d Dept. 2009), citing Republic Natl. Bank of NY v. O'Kane, 308
AD2d 482, 482 (2d Dept. 2003), quoting Village Bank v. Wild Oaks Holding, 196 AD2d
812, 812 (2d Dept. 1993). In Wells Fargo, supra, the Second Department held that
plaintiff bank sustained its initial burden of demonstrating its entitlement to judgment as a matter
of law by submitting proof of the existence of the note, mortgage, and consolidation agreement,
and the defendants' default in payment. Id. Once plaintiff's burden has been met, it
becomes incumbent on the defendants to demonstrate, by admissible evidence, the existence of a
triable issue of fact as to a bona fide defense. Id.Here, t
he Court finds that Plaintiff has made a prima facie showing of entitlement to
judgment as a matter of law on its claims for foreclosure of the Mortgage, and demonstrated that
there are no material issues of fact in dispute with respect to these claims. More specifically,
Plaintiff has [*3]submitted to the Court copies of the duly
executed Commitment Letter, Note and Mortgage and Guaranty, and affidavit of Selina Xu, an
employee of Plaintiff who is responsible for the administration of the subject Loan, and was
responsible for corresponding with defendant Spoiled Trucks & Cars Corp. concerning the Loan.
Additionally, she reviewed Plaintiff's books and records relating to the subject Loan. In her
affidavit, Ms. Xu sets forth the facts set forth above. Moreover, the Commitment Letter sets forth
the following: "No statements agreements or representations, oral or written which may have
been made either by the Bank or by any employee, agent or broker, with respect to this
commitment letter or the Loan, shall be of any force or effect, except to the extent stated in this
commitment letter, and all prior agreements and representations in respect to this commitment
letter and the Loan are merged herein so that this commitment letter shall contain the entire
agreement with respect to the Loan." Plaintiff has established that Defendants Spoiled Trucks
have failed to make, or cause to be made, payment in accordance with the terms of the Note and
Mortgage.Defendants oppose this motion and claim that Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment
is devoid of any competent, reliable evidence establishing that defendants are in default of their
loan obligations as a matter of law. According to them, the motion contains absolutely no
documentary corroboration of that conclusory allegation and the facts set forth by Plaintiff and
submitted in defendants' opposition affidavit establish triable issues that preclude summary
judgment. Furthermore, Plaintiff's employee's affidavit includes only one self-serving,
unsubstantiated letter sent after the fact by outside litigation counsel declaring that the loan term
had previously expired. But the retroactive deadline claimed in the litigator's letter was not
consistent with the Plaintiff's conduct since it never previously communicated this deadline to
defendants and, even after the litigator attempted to make a record that is contrary to the course
of dealings and the documents, the Plaintiff continued to accept loan payments from defendants,
as it had for years following the close of the loan term.Defendants also claim that facts regarding
the long-standing, complex relationship between Plaintiff and defendants, which explains the
commercial reasons why Plaintiff acceded to the on-going extension of the loan term for years
and creates issues of fact concerning the defenses of waiver, estoppel, unclean hands and good
faith reliance. These facts are set forth in the affidavit of Mr. Noori. and submitted documents.In
pertinent part, Mr. Noori states that, defendants were induced to enter into the initial lending
relationship with Plaintiff by its promise to provide construction financing for the development
of the Property after refinancing it. Mr. Noori points out that the Xu Affidavit is devoid of any
mention of the Bank's promise to extend construction financing after the initial refinancing. He
also claims that Plaintiff recognized that the source of repayment of the loan would be proceeds
of future sales at the development project and that the loan was thus intrinsically tied to the
forthcoming construction financing that the Bank would provide. He also states that a joint
venture arrangement was created, defendant Capital One Development, on February 6, 2008.
Spoiled Trucks and Capital One Construction are both members of Capital One Development,
and Spoiled Trucks thereafter transferred ownership of the Property to Capital One Development
on April 4, 2008. Plaintiff was well aware of all of this throughout the transfer of the Property
and subsequent payments to Plaintiff. Moreover, despite having promised construction financing
of approximately $8-$10 million to induce the loan and having been aware of the [*4]steps taken to develop the Property, including the developmental
deal and demolition work, Plaintiff ultimately refused to provide the financing. As a result,
construction of the Property continues to be delayed due to an inability to secure alternative
financing.He also states that Plaintiff waived any claim that the loan term expired because it
consistently accepted payments on the loan for years after the initial term came due. From
December 2008 through September 2009, the Bank accepted the monthly payments made on the
loan without any effort to claim or enforce the end of the loan term. Furthermore, he states that
Plaintiff never provided notice that the loan was deemed to be in default. Rather, Plaintiff sent
extensions of the loan, on or about October 21, 2009, that stated that the loan will mature on
November 1, 2009, yet, on November 3, 2009 and December 7, 2009, Plaintiff continued to
accept monthly payments made on the loan. He also states that on or about December 22, 2009
and December 31, 2009, Plaintiff sent Spoiled Trucks notices of default stating that "payment in
the amount of $2,827,162.48 is presently due" and that "the Loan is in default, and has been
accelerated," respectively. Again on or about January 15, 2010 and January 29, 2010, the Bank
sent Spoiled Trucks notices of default stating that "payment in the amount of $2,819,652.06 is
presently due" and that "the Loan is in default, and has been accelerated," respectively. However,
on February 24, 2010, Plaintiff continued to accept monthly payments on the loan. On or about
February 1, 2010 and March 1, 2010, the Bank sent Spoiled Trucks notices of default stating that
"payment in the amount of $2,829,083.57 is presently due" and that "the Loan is in default, and
has been accelerated," respectively. In addition, on August 2, 2010, the Bank sent Spoiled Trucks
a notice of default providing that "payment in the amount of $116,273.97 is presently due."
Nevertheless, the Bank again continued to accept monthly payments on the loan submitted during
the period of April 2010 through March 2011. On May 11, 2011, outside counsel for the Bank
sent a letter to Spoiled Trucks notifying Spoiled Trucks of the purported occurrence of material
events of default under the loan documents. In particular, the letter acknowledges that the loan
had been extended "from time to time," but claimed without any basis whatsoever that "the latest
extension [had run] on April 1, 2011 . . . [and] no further extensions of the maturity date will be
given." Defendants had never received any prior notice of any purported April 1, 2011 deadline,
and in its letter counsel provided no basis for its claim that such a deadline had existed. Based on
Mr. Noori's affidavit and the documentary evidence, defendants claim Plaintiff's conduct and
treatment of the loan raises triable issues of material fact concerning whether the loan is in
default.The Court finds that Defendants have failed to raise an issue of fact regarding Plaintiff's
entitlement to summary judgment in its favor. Initially, the Court notes that Defendants do not
allege that they have made the payment demanded in the May 11, 2011 letter. In any event, the
documentary evidence proves that the Loan matured. According to its terms, the Loan matured
on December 1, 2008 and Spoiled Trucks had the opportunity to obtain two three month
extensions upon the payment of a fee. On April 28, 2009 Plaintiff and Spoiled Trucks entered
into a Credit Addendum for the Loan, extending the term of the Loan to November 1, 2009.
Thus, the Loan matured no later than November 1, 2009. Thereafter, as was its right, Plaintiff
temporarily forbore from exercising its rights and remedies under the Loan Documents. During
this period, Plaintiff accepted partial payments of the amounts due in connection with the Loan.
At no time, however, did any of the Defendants tender, as they were required to, the entire
amount [*5]due and owing to Plaintiff. In any event, by April
2011, it was clear that Plaintiff had elected to exercise its rights and remedies and sent such to
Defendant Spoiled Trucks. Plaintiff's acceptance of partial payment cannot constitute a waiver of
the right to foreclose, or an indefinite extension of the Loan's maturity date.Furthermore,
Defendants' claim of lack of notice is not material and in any event, is contradicted by
documentary evidence both sides have submitted. First, absent language in a mortgage to the
contrary, there is no requirement in New York that a defaulting commercial borrower be given
written notice of the default, or the opportunity to cure the default prior to the Lender's
commencing a foreclosure action. See, 1-4 Bergman on New York Mortgage
Foreclosures, § 4.04A ("The general rule is that demand for payment is not a
prerequisite to commencement of a mortgage foreclosure action.") Thus, as a matter of law,
defendants' claims of lack of notice are no bar to summary judgment. Moreover, defendants have
explicitly waived the right to receive notice here. The Note provides, in relevant part, that: "I
[Spoiled Trucks] and any other person who has obligations under this Note waive the rights of
presentment, notice of dishonour and protest. . . .'Notice of dishonour' means the right to require
you to give notice that the amounts due have not been paid." In any event, as is clear from the Xu
and Noori affidavits, Defendants actually received the very notice they are complaining of.
Moreover, under New York law, the Summons and Complaint in this case also provided legally
sufficient notice of the default. Clayton Nat'l, Inc. v. Guldi, 307 AD2d 982 (2d Dep't
2003.)Similarly, Defendants' claim that Plaintiff's continued acceptance of the monthly loan
payments creates issues of material fact of waiver and estoppel is rejected. Each of the Loan
Documents specifically bars such a defense. Moreover, Defendants have failed to put forward
sufficient facts to establish their waiver and estoppel defenses. The bare assertion that certain
representatives of the mortgagee made such a promise is not enough to create an issue of fact.
See, Flintkote Co. v. Bert Bar Holding Corp., 114 AD2d 400 (2d Dep't 1985.) In
this regard, the facts set forth by Mr. Noori do not relate to the loan the borrower's and
guarantor's default on their obligations under the Loan Documents. Nor do his assertions
overcome the integration clause contained in the commitment letter which provides, among other
things that "all prior agreements and representations n respect to this commitment letter and the
Loan are merged herein so that this commitment letter shall contain the entire agreement with
respect to the Loan." The Court notes that to the extent Defendants rely upon any representations
made by bank employees, that are not in the loan documents, such reliance is misplaced.
Furthermore, to the extent Plaintiff waived any of its rights, any such waiver was fully and
effectively withdrawn by Plaintiff's counsel's May 2011 letter to Spoiled Trucks.Defendants' final
argument against summary judgment is that Plaintiff is not entitled to summary judgment
because it has unclean hands is also rejected by this Court. As an initial matter, unclean hands is
not a defense to a mortgage foreclosure action. See La Jolla Bank, FSB v Whitestone Jewels,
LLC, No. 13920/09, 2011 NY Slip Op. 33362(U) at 9 (NY Sup. Ct. Queens County Dec. 7,
2011. ) Regardless, even if Defendants could raise unclean hands as a defense on this motion,
that defense is barred by the agreements between the parties. Neither the commitment letter nor
any of the Loan Documents make mention of any proposed construction financing for Spoiled
Trucks. The integration clause precludes any claim or defense by Spoiled Trucks based on
alleged oral representations that occurred prior to the [*6]October
30, 2006 date of the commitment letter. In any event, Spoiled Trucks has specifically waived its
unclean hands defense since the April 28, 2009 loan extension specifically stated it was, in part,
entered into so that Spoiled Trucks could obtain construction financing from another Lender.
Based on the above, the Court finds Defendants have failed to raise an issue of fact that
prevents the granting of this motion. Accordingly the motion is granted, in its entirety.
Settle order
ORIN R. KITZES, J.S.C.