HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v. Aschmoneit

55 Misc. 3d 288, 44 N.Y.S.3d 710
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 21, 2016
StatusPublished

This text of 55 Misc. 3d 288 (HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v. Aschmoneit) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v. Aschmoneit, 55 Misc. 3d 288, 44 N.Y.S.3d 710 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Maria S. Vazquez-Doles, J.

Procedural History

This is a foreclosure action which was commenced by summons and complaint on September 1, 2015, by HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Defendants were served the summons and complaint and certificate of merit of the plaintiff on September 24, 2015, and the only defendant that served an answer was Patricia As-chmoneit. No other defendants answered or appeared in this action. Both plaintiff and defendant Patricia Aschmoneit participated in court mediated settlement conferences from November 16, 2015 until January 25, 2016, and after settlement was not reached, it was subsequently transferred to a Trial Part.

Three months later, the court sent the parties a foreclosure action scheduling order to appear on April 27, 2016 at 2:00 p.m., stating that any applications for relief needed to be submitted to the court on or before that next conference date. It further ordered that if plaintiff failed to timely submit its application for relief on or before that conference date that it may result in dismissal of the action pursuant to 22 NYCRR 202.27, unless an adjournment based on good cause is obtained.

On April 27, 2016, plaintiff’s counsel appeared for the foreclosure conference and stated that he was unable to obtain [290]*290an affidavit of merit from plaintiff so that he could make the application for a summary judgment motion timely. As such, since plaintiff was not ready to proceed at the scheduled conference, the court dismissed the action, pursuant to its notice in the foreclosure scheduling conference order, pursuant to 22 NYCRR 202.27.

Plaintiff now brings this motion for the following relief: (1) to vacate the prior dismissal of the action, dated April 27, 2016; (2) to award plaintiff summary judgment against defendant Patricia Aschmoneit, pursuant to CPLR 3212; (3) to strike the answer interposed by defendant Patricia Aschmoneit; (4) to award plaintiff default judgment against all non-answering defendants; (5) to appoint a referee to compute the total sums due and owing to plaintiff; (6) to amend the caption to substitute HSBC USA, N.A. as plaintiff to Federal National Mortgage Association; and (7) for such further relief as the court deems just and proper. Defendant, Patricia Aschmoneit, by way of her attorney, Douglas M. Jones, submitted an affirmation in opposition.

Factual Background

First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Rochester was the original lender of the note signed by the defendants Patricia Aschmoneit and Thomas Aschmoneit on October 23, 1996, in the amount of $150,000, to be paid in monthly payments of $1,444.33 and at a rate of interest of 8.125%. Said note is attached as exhibit A to plaintiff’s motion and an undated al-longe is affixed and endorsed in blank. Plaintiff’s exhibits B through F contain assignments of mortgage, consolidation agreements and a certificate of merger in chronological order as follows: by and between Patricia and Thomas Aschmoneit to First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Rochester dated October 23, 1996; a certificate of merger from the State of New York Banking Department dated March 7, 1997 merging First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Rochester with Marine Midland Mortgage Corporation; a consolidation, extension and modification agreement between Patricia Aschmoneit and Thomas Aschmoneit to Marine Midland Mortgage Corporation in the amount of $150,000 dated March 13, 1998; a new note and mortgage between Patricia Aschmoneit and Thomas Aschmoneit to Marine Midland Mortgage Corporation dated March 13, 1998 and endorsed in blank; an assignment by successor from First Federal Savings and Loan Association of [291]*291Rochester to Marine Midland Mortgage Corporation dated March 25, 1998; a corporate secretary’s certificate evidencing that Marine Midland Mortgage Corporation will be known as HSBC Mortgage Corporation effective March 29, 1999; a corporate assignment of mortgage dated March 23, 2012 from HSBC Mortgage Corporation to HSBC Bank USA, N.A.; and an assignment of mortgage from HSBC Bank USA, N.A. to Federal National Mortgage Association, dated December 17, 2015.

Discussion

Plaintiff argues that the court’s dismissal was improper, pursuant to 22 NYCRR 202.27, because the plaintiff’s counsel appeared at the conference; therefore, the court did not have the discretion to dismiss the action. The court has considered plaintiff’s argument and finds it is without merit. According to 22 NYCRR 202.27, it states, in pertinent part, “At any scheduled call of a calendar or at any conference, if all parties do not appear and proceed or announce their readiness to proceed immediately.” Plaintiff not only needed to appear but proceed or announce its readiness to proceed, for which plaintiff announced that it was not ready to proceed on April 27, 2016 because it did not obtain an affidavit of merit from its client so that it could make its summary judgment motion timely. The court noted that plaintiff had three months since it left the Settlement Conference Part to put in its motion, and that it never sought an adjournment of the appearance date nor did it outline what diligent efforts were taken to obtain the required affidavit of merit from their representative. Therefore, because of plaintiff’s inability to announce its readiness to proceed, the court was correct in dismissing the case without prejudice. The court has the discretion to make such order as is just and to control its calendar.

Plaintiff further requests that the court vacate the dismissal of the action that occurred on April 27, 2016 and substitute the plaintiff HSBC USA, N.A. with Federal National Mortgage Association as the plaintiff in its stead. CPLR 5015 governs the vacatur of a judgment of dismissal within one year of its application. A party can move to vacate a default if (1) it is excusable and (2) there is a meritorious claim or defense. (See CPLR 5015 [a] [1].) Plaintiff claims that it appeared in court on the date of the conference, but needed to obtain an affidavit of merit from its client before it could file its summary judgment [292]*292motion and that is the reason why it could not proceed. On its motion for a vacatur of the dismissal, the plaintiff fails to provide an excusable reason why it failed to be ready to proceed and why it believes it remains to have a meritorious claim. Upon its submissions and for the reason below, the court is clear why the plaintiff was not ready to proceed and why it would not have ever been ready to proceed.

The record demonstrates that this action was commenced by the filing of the summons and complaint on September 1, 2015, and it was served on the defendants along with the certificate of merit from the plaintiff HSBC USA, N.A. on September 24, 2015. Plaintiff admits that it assigned its mortgage from HSBC USA, N.A. to Federal National Mortgage Association after the action was commenced and said assignment did not take place until December 17, 2015 (plaintiff’s exhibit E). Plaintiff also admits through the affidavit of Nathan Abeln, foreclosure specialist, of Seterus, Inc., as subservicer for Federal National Mortgage Association in support of its motion, that it assigned the note to Federal National Mortgage Association although no documentary proof of the assignment was provided to the court.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
55 Misc. 3d 288, 44 N.Y.S.3d 710, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hsbc-bank-usa-na-v-aschmoneit-nysupct-2016.