| Valley Natl. Bank v 252 W. 31 St. Corp. |
| 2025 NY Slip Op 05209 [241 AD3d 1217] |
| September 30, 2025 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| Valley National Bank, Respondent, v 252 West 31 St. Corp. et al., Appellants, et al., Defendant. |
Michael Kennedy Karlson, New York, for appellants.
Andriola Law, PLLC, New York (James M. Andriola of counsel), for respondent.
Appeal
- Academic and Moot Questions
- Sale of Property Subsequent to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale
Appeal from order, Supreme Court, New York County (Francis A. Kahn, III, J.), entered on or about May 10, 2023, which denied defendants' motion to vacate the judgment of foreclosure and sale, same court and Justice, entered on November 9, 2023, upon defendants' default, unanimously dismissed, without costs, as moot.
On November 9, 2023, Supreme Court entered a judgment of foreclosure and sale on the property at issue. On February 14, 2024, the property was sold at auction to the highest bidder, and on March 1, 2024, a referee deeded the property to the bona fide purchaser. Thus, by the time defendants moved to vacate the judgment on March 21, 2024, the property had been sold.
Defendants never moved to stay the enforcement of the judgment, including the sale, under CPLR 5519. The Referee therefore had the right to sell the property, and the property was sold to a bona fide third-party purchaser (see Solo Group LLC, Series 9 v Dunia, 230 AD3d 1083, 1084 [1st Dept 2024]; see also Da Silva v Musso, 76 NY2d 436, 440-441 [1990]). Any determination by this Court as to the merits of Supreme Court's order will not undo the sale and transfer of ownership, thus rendering the appeal moot (see Solo Group LLC, 230 AD3d at 1084). Concur—Kern, J.P., Scarpulla, Kapnick, Gesmer, Hagler, JJ.