Court Opinion

ID: 9950516
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-14 14:10:07.858498+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:37:21.300974
License: Public Domain

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE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.

                                                        SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
                                                        APPELLATE DIVISION
                                                        DOCKET NO. A-1976-22

BENEFICIAL NEW JERSEY,
INC., d/b/a BENEFICIAL
MORTGAGE COMPANY,

          Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

NORBERTO JOHN DIAZ,
a/k/a NORBERTO DIAZ,

          Defendant-Appellant,

and

MARCIA V.B. MARQUES,

     Defendant.
_________________________

                   Submitted February 13, 2024 – Decided March 14, 2024

                   Before Judges Gooden Brown and Puglisi.

                   On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey,
                   Chancery Division, Hudson County, Docket No. F-
                   028256-09.

                   Norberto John Diaz, appellant pro se.
            McCabe, Weisberg & Conway, LLC, attorneys for
            respondent (James A. French, of counsel and on the
            brief).

PER CURIAM

      Defendant Norberto John Diaz appeals from the Chancery Division's

February 17, 2023 order denying his motion to set aside a sheriff's sale pursuant

to Rule 4:65-5. We affirm, substantially for the reasons set forth by Judge Mary

K. Costello in her cogent oral decision on the record.

      On December 20, 2005, defendant executed and delivered a promissory

note and mortgage in the amount of $402,297.23 in favor of plaintiff Beneficial

New Jersey, Inc., d/b/a Beneficial Mortgage Company, and secured against a

residential property in Kearny. The mortgage was recorded on January 6, 2006.

On November 27, 2008, defendant defaulted on the mortgage payments and

subsequently failed to cure the default.

      On May 29, 2009, plaintiff filed a foreclosure action against defendant,

who was personally served with the complaint but did not file an answer.

Default judgment was entered on December 9, 2009, followed by final judgment

in foreclosure, which was granted on December 13, 2010.

      On September 29, 2021, defendant filed a petition for bankruptcy under

Chapter 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which resulted in an

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automatic stay of the final judgment. See 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(2). On August 4,

2022, the bankruptcy court granted the secured creditor 1 relief from the

automatic stay against the property. On October 13, 2022, the court granted

plaintiff's request for a pluries writ of execution against the property.

      On November 17, 2022, the Hudson County Sheriff's Office scheduled the

sale of the property for January 19, 2023. At the sale, the property was conveyed

by sheriff's deed to plaintiff, which had submitted the winning bid of $365,000.

The deed was recorded on April 25, 2023.

      On January 23, 2023, defendant filed a motion to vacate the sheriff sale ,

asserting his bankruptcy case was still active, the sheriff's sale did not raise the

judgment amount of $458,941.39, and the sale must be set aside due to

negligence and mistake.      Argument was scheduled for February 17, 2023.

Defendant was advised of the argument date via electronic notice on eCourts,

through which defendant had previously filed his documents.

      On February 17, 2023, Judge Costello heard argument on the motion.

Defendant did not appear, request an adjournment, or notify chambers' staff of

any difficulties calling in.     The court was unable to contact defendant

1
   Although the movant in bankruptcy court was U.S. Bank Trust National
Association, we presume plaintiff is one of its "successors and assigns" to which
the order applied.
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                                         3
telephonically because he did not include his phone number in his motion. The

court summarized defendant's position as she gleaned from his motion papers:

            So the [d]efendant . . . filed this motion to set aside the
            foreclosure sale, which was held last month on January
            19[], 2023.

            The entire dispute arises from a foreclosure action . . .
            where final judgment was granted in favor of [plaintiff]
            in the amount of $458,941.39.

            It is reported by [defendant] . . . that the sheriff's sale
            "did not raise or achieve the highest and best price for
            the property."

            [Defendant] argues that the sale itself was violative of
            the automatic bankruptcy stay because [defendant]
            insists he has an active and open personal bankruptcy
            matter in front of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and that
            the sheriff's sale should be set aside because of the
            negligence and mistake of proceeding with the sale by
            the servicer.

            [Defendant] argues in his papers that the servicer . . . in
            connection with or in concert with the [p]laintiff's
            attorney's firm . . . violated the stay issued in his
            bankruptcy case . . . in . . . that [the] matter remains
            active and that federal law requires not only the
            automatic stay being honored, but there was written
            notice sent on January 14[], 2023, which was also
            ignored or not given credence by the [p]laintiff's
            servicer. Due to this, [defendant] feels the sheriff's sale
            must and should be set aside.

      The judge noted defendant executed and delivered a note and mortgage

against the property, fell into default three years later, and failed to cure the

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                                        4
default. She found defendant was served with the complaint in foreclosure and

failed to answer, which resulted in the entry of default and then final judgment

and foreclosure.

      The judge also found defendant filed the Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition

almost eleven years later and, on August 4, 2022, "the [b]ankruptcy [c]ourt

granted secured creditor relief from the automatic stay against th[e] property,

thereby removing any bankruptcy-related stay against the property." At the

sheriff's sale, plaintiff submitted the prevailing bid. The judge found plaintiff

had obtained relief from the stay "before going to sale and, therefore, there was

nothing improper about it."

      The judge also addressed defendant's contention the purchase price was

inadequate. Citing First Tr. Nat'l Ass'n v. Merola, 319 N.J. Super. 44, 50 (App.

Div. 1999), the judge found "on its own, the price that [a property] fetches in an

otherwise viable auction or public sale is not in and of itself grounds to set aside

the sale."

      This appeal follows, wherein defendant contends the trial court failed to

provide adequate findings of fact and conclusions of law to support its decision.

We disagree.

                                                                              A-1976-22
                                         5
      An appellate court reviews an order granting or denying a motion to vacate

a sheriff's sale for abuse of discretion. United States v. Scurry, 193 N.J. 492,

502-03 (2008). An abuse of discretion arises "when a decision is 'made without

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

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

467 (2012) (quoting Iliadis v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 191 N.J. 88, 123 (2007)).

      It is well-settled that the court has the authority to set aside a sheriff's

sale and order a resale of the property. First Tr. Nat'l Ass'n, 319 N.J. Super. at

49.   "[T]he exercise of this power is discretionary and must be based on

considerations of equity and justice." Ibid. "[A] judicial sale may be set aside

'by reasons of fraud, accident, surprise, or mistake, irregularities in the conduct

of the sale, and so on.'" Ibid. (quoting Karel v. Davis, 122 N.J. Eq. 526, 528 (E.

& A. 1937)). An appellate court accords deference to such decisions in the

absence of "a misconception of the applicable law." O'Neill v. City of Newark,

304 N.J. Super. 543, 550 (App. Div. 1997).

      Having considered defendant's contentions in light of the applicable law,

we conclude they lack sufficient merit to warrant extended discussion in a

written opinion. R. 2:11-3(e)(2). Accordingly, we affirm for the reasons set

forth by Judge Costello in her well-reasoned decision.

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                                        6
Affirmed.

                A-1976-22
            7