SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-5532-17T3

U.S. BANK TRUST, N.A. 

AS TRUSTEE FOR LSF9 

MASTER PARTICIPATION

TRUST,

Plaintiff-Respondent, 

v. 

HEATHER L. TORRONE, 

MR. TORRONE, husband of

HEATHER L. TORRONE, 

VINCENT TORRONE, and

MRS. VINCENT TORRONE, 

his wife, 

Defendants-Appellants,

and

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

and DOREEN IRWIN,

Defendants.

__________________________

Submitted October 3, 2019 - Decided

Before Judges Koblitz and Whipple.

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the 

internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

October 23, 2019
2

A-5532-17T3

On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, 

Chancery Division, Essex County, Docket No. F032641-09.

Rubenstein Business Law, attorneys for appellants 

(David Joshua Rubenstein, on the brief).

Phelan Hallinan Diamond and Jones, attorneys for 

respondent (Brian J. Yoder, on the brief). 

PER CURIAM

In this residential mortgage foreclosure action, defendants Heather and 

Vincent Torrone appeal from a May 25, 2018 Chancery Division order denying 

defendants' motion to vacate the March 20, 2018 sheriff's sale.1 We affirm. 

The record reveals the following information. On February 27, 2004, 

defendant executed a note for $313,500 in favor of GreenPoint Mortgage 

Funding, Inc. (GreenPoint). The fixed interest rate was 6.250%, and the 

required monthly payment was $1,930.28. To secure payment of the note, on 

the same date, defendant executed a non-purchase money mortgage in favor of 

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee for GreenPoint, 

encumbering their property in Bloomfield. The mortgage was recorded on 

March 12, 2004, in the Essex County Clerk's Office. 

 

1

 We denied defendants extremely untimely motion to appeal the final judgment.
3

A-5532-17T3

On March 1, 2009, defendants defaulted on the loan, and failed to make 

any payments since that date. After the filing of a foreclosure complaint and 

contesting answer, on March 18, 2016, the parties agreed to a consent order in 

which defendants agreed to withdraw all counterclaims and deem their answer 

non-contesting in exchange for an agreement to refrain from a final judgment 

until July 13, 2016. After several assignments, on January 18, 2017, the

mortgage was assigned to plaintiff, U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. as Trustee for LSF9 

Master Participation Trust (USBankTrust), which was recorded on January 25, 

2017. An uncontested motion to substitute plaintiff was granted on March 2, 

2017. 

On August 29, 2017, without objection, a final judgment for $428,123 

plus interest and counsel fees was entered against defendants. The sheriff's sale

occurred on March 20, 2018 and defendants filed a motion to vacate the sale 

three weeks later. 

Defendants' sole claim before the motion court and on appeal is that 

USBankTrust is a foreign entity not registered to conduct business in New Jersey

and therefore it could not move for the entry of final judgment or proceed to a 

sheriff's sale. We find "an abuse of discretion when a decision is 'made without 

a rational explanation, inexplicably departed from established policies, or rested 
4

A-5532-17T3

on an impermissible basis.'" US Bank Nat. Ass'n v. Guillaume, 209 N.J. 449, 

467–68 (2012) (quoting Iliadis v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 191 N.J. 88, 123 

(2007)).

Defendants made no objection to the assignment of mortgage to plaintiff, 

which occurred after defendants withdrew their objections to the entry of final 

judgment. Under these circumstances a foreign bank may seek final judgment 

and pursue a sheriff's sale. 

The Foreign Banks section under Article 44 of The Banking Act of 1948,

N.J.S.A. 17:9A-325 to -332, states in pertinent part:

Nothing in this article shall prohibit a foreign 

bank from

. . . .

(2) contracting in this State with a banking 

institution to acquire, and acquiring in this State from 

such banking institution, a part interest in or the entire 

interest in any loan heretofore or hereafter made by 

such banking institution, together with a like interest in 

any security and any security instrument heretofore or 

hereafter given to such banking institution to secure or 

evidence such loan;

(3) enforcing in this State obligations heretofore 

or hereafter acquired by it in the transaction of business 

outside of this State, or in the transaction of any 

business authorized by paragraph (1) or (2) of this 

section;
5

A-5532-17T3

(4) acquiring, holding, leasing, mortgaging, 

contracting with respect to, or otherwise protecting or 

conveying property in this State heretofore or hereafter 

assigned, transferred, mortgaged or conveyed to it as 

security for, or in whole or part satisfaction of a loan or 

loans made by it or obligations acquired by it in the 

transaction of business outside of this State, or in the 

transaction of any business authorized by paragraphs 

(1) or (2) of this section.

[N.J.S.A. 17:9A-331]

The motion court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendants' 

motion to vacate the sheriff's sale.

Affirmed.