Source: http://stopforeclosurefraud.com/tag/tax-lien/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 16:58:10+00:00

Document:
Tag Archive | "Tax lien"
Dionisio Arias, et al., Defendants.
In this tax lien certificate foreclosure action, plaintiff, NYCTL 2005-A TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK, AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN (THE TRUST), moved for a judgment of foreclosure and sale for the premises located at 199 Troutman Street, Brooklyn, New York (Block 3173, Lot 37, County of Kings). On March 4, 2011, the Court received from the Kings County Supreme Court Foreclosure Department a notice of withdrawal of the instant motion, dated February 16, 2011, from plaintiff’s counsel, Phillips Lytle LLP. The notice of withdrawal did not state any reason for the request.
Then, on May 23, 2011, plaintiff’s counsel faxed to me a “second request” to withdraw [*2]the instant motion for a judgment of foreclosure and sale. Again, no reason for the request was articulated. Further, at the bottom of the May 23, 2011-letter to me, it states “THIS LAW FIRM IS ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE.” Since this statement is in a cover letter addressed to me and does not appear to be preprinted on the letterhead of the Phillips Lytle firm, the Court would like to know what debt I personally owe to the Phillips Lytle firm or THE TRUST. This statement borders upon frivolous conduct, in violation of 22 NYCRR § 130-1.1. Was it made to cause annoyance or alarm to the Court? Was it made to waste judicial resources? Rather than answer the above rhetorical questions, counsel for plaintiff is directed never to place such a foolish statement in a cover letter to this Court. If this occurs again, the firm of Phillips Lytle LLP is on notice that this Court will have the firm appear to explain why the firm should not be sanctioned for frivolous conduct.
With respect to the request of plaintiff’s counsel to withdraw the instant motion for a judgment of foreclosure and sale, the Court grants the request to withdraw the motion. However, since plaintiff, THE TRUST, is not discontinuing the instant foreclosure action, the Court, to prevent the waste of judicial resources, for procedural reasons and not upon the merits, dismisses the instant foreclosure action with prejudice.
Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) § 1321 allows the Court in a foreclosure action, upon the default of the defendant or defendant’s admission of mortgage payment arrears, to appoint a referee “to compute the amount due to the plaintiff.” In the instant action, the referee computed the amount due. Then, plaintiff, THE TRUST, moved, as required, to obtain a default judgment of foreclosure and sale against defendant ARIAS. Subsequently, plaintiff requested that the Court allow it to withdraw its motion for a judgment of foreclosure and sale. The Court grants plaintiff’s request to withdraw its motion for a judgment of foreclosure and sale. However, to allow the instant action to continue without seeking the ultimate purpose of a foreclosure action, to obtain a judgment of foreclosure and sale, without any valid reason, is a mockery and waste of judicial resources. Continuing the instant action without moving for a judgment of foreclosure and sale is the judicial equivalent of a “timeout,” and granting a “timeout” to plaintiff, THE TRUST, is a waste of judicial resources. Therefore, the instant action, for these procedural reasons, is dismissed with prejudice.
ORDERED, that Phillips Lytle, LLP is on notice that if any of attorneys or staff sends any communication to this Court stating “THIS LAW FIRM IS ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE,” it may be subject to civil contempt and/or sanctions for frivolous conduct, pursuant to 22 NYCRR § 130-1.1.
273 BRIGHTON BEACH AVE. REALTY CO., ET AL., Defendants.
Leonid Krechmer, Esq., Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf LLP, NY NY, Plaintiff.
The defendant did not answer, Defendant.
NYCTL 2009-A TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN FOR THE NYCTL 2009-A TRUST (THE TRUST), previously moved for an order to appoint a referee to compute and amend the caption. In my December 7, 2010 decision and order, I denied the motion without prejudice, because the affidavit submitted in support of the motion, upon the default of defendants, was not executed by an officer of THE TRUST or someone with a power of attorney from THE TRUST. I granted leave to plaintiffs to renew their motion, within sixty (60) days of the December 7, 2010 decision and order, upon plaintiffs’ presentation to the Court of its compliance with the statutory requirements of CPLR § 3215 (f), with “an affidavit of facts” executed by someone who is an officer of THE TRUST or someone who has a valid power of attorney from THE TRUST.
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 “an affidavit of facts” executed by someone who is an officer of THE TRUST or someone who has a valid power of attorney from THE TRUST. A repeated failure to comply with this court order will mandate the dismissal of the instant action with prejudice.
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) XXXXXXXXXXXXX.
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 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].
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]).
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.
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 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.
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 ; Kihl v Pfeffer, 94 NY2d 118 ). 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 we make clear again, as we have several times before, thatdisregard of deadlines should not and will not be tolerated (see Miceli v State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co., 3 NY3d 725 ; Brill v City of New York, 2 NY3d 748 ; Kihl v Pfeffer, 94 NY2d 118 ) [Emphasis added].” (Andrea v Arnone, Hedin, Casker, Kennedy and Drake, Architects and Landscape Architects, P.C., 5 NY3d 514, 521 ).” As we made clear in Brill, and underscore here, statutory time frames —like court-order time frames (see Kihl v Pfeffer, 94 NY2d 118 ) — 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).
ORDERED, the failure of plaintiffs NYCTL 2009-A TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN FOR THE NYCTL 2009-A TRUST, to comply with the requirements of the preceding paragraph will result in the dismissal with prejudice of the instant tax lien foreclosure action for the premises located at 273 Brighton Beach Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (Block 8672, Lot 31, County of Kings).
CPLR § 3215 (f) for a default judgment.
Further, it is my policy to mail copies of my orders to litigants’ counsel. Even if Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP, for whatever reason, did not receive by U.S. Mail a copy of the May 3, 2010 order, it must to be suffering from corporate amnesia. The May 3, 2010 order was properly filed with Kings County Clerk. Plaintiffs’ counsel should have ascertained that I issued my May 3, 2010 order giving them sixty (60) days to renew their motion for an order of reference and related relief with proper documentation. Therefore, I grant the request of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP that their “application be withdrawn at this time.” However, for violation of my May 3, 2010 order, the instant tax lien foreclosure action is dismissed with prejudice and the notice of pendency is cancelled and discharged. The Court cannot countenance utter disregard of a court-ordered deadline.
County Clerk on May 1, 2009, by plaintiffs, NYCTL 1998-1 TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN, to foreclose on a tax lien certificate for real property located at 856 Hancock Street, Brooklyn, New York (Block 1490, Lot 33, County of Kings), is cancelled and discharged.

References: § 130
 § 1321
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 § 3215
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 § 2105
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 § 5
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