Opinion ID: 2353188
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Whether plaintiff's claims were excepted from the settlement

Text: The settlement agreement contains the following provision: ` Reserved Claims and Defenses ' means the following claims and defenses that are excepted from the Release: (a) any claims or defenses that a Settlement Class Member asserts, affirmatively or defensively, with respect to Fairbanks' Servicing in an effort to defeat any pending or future real estate foreclosure action (whether judicial or non-judicial), including those related to the Servicing practices covered by this Agreement, shall be unaffected by the Release in connection with such action. The plaintiff argues that her Superior Court action reasonably may be construed as an effort to defeat a pending foreclosure action and therefore constitutes a reserved claim. However, it is undisputed that plaintiff commenced her Superior Court suit nearly one month after the completion of the foreclosure on her property and after the property was conveyed to Ciccarone. Indeed, the very purpose of the action was to request that the court set aside the completed foreclosure and grant plaintiff damages based on defendant's allegedly wrongful conduct. Accordingly, plaintiff's action cannot be considered to be an attack on a pending foreclosure under any reasonable interpretation. Rather, the suit sought to undo an already completed, but allegedly illegal foreclosure. We conclude that the language contained in the settlement agreement concerning excepted claims does not apply to plaintiff's suit.