Hudson City Savings Bank v. Lorenz

39 Misc. 3d 538
CourtNew York District Court
DecidedJanuary 3, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 39 Misc. 3d 538 (Hudson City Savings Bank v. Lorenz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York District Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hudson City Savings Bank v. Lorenz, 39 Misc. 3d 538 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2013).

Opinion

[540]*540OPINION OF THE COURT

C. Stephen Hackeling, J.

The respondent Robert Lorenz has appeared individually1 in the above captioned summary dispossession proceeding and agreed to a trial upon stipulated facts with the petitioner as follows:

The petitioner commenced a mortgage foreclosure proceeding in Suffolk County under index No. 38165 during 2009. The respondents appeared in the action. A judgment of foreclosure was entered which resulted in a sale and the execution of a referee’s deed dated May 4, 2012 running to the benefit of petitioner/mortgagee Hudson City Savings Bank.

Prior to the issuance of the referee’s deed, the respondent Madeleine J. Cooney obtained a “stay away” order of protection against respondent Robert Lorenz, her husband, on January 27, 2012. Said order resulted in Robert Lorenz having to move out and reside elsewhere thereafter.

On July 6, 2012, the petitioner served a “10 day Notice to Quit” together with a copy of a referee’s deed, which included an attorney’s certification that the deed was an exact duplicate of the referee’s deed which was recorded with the County Clerk.2 It also included a certification that Cohn & Roth were duly authorized agents of the petitioner for the purpose of bringing dispossess proceedings. Service on all the respondents was in the nature of “nail and regular mail and certified follow up mail” at the premises located at 16 Weathervane Way, Dix Hills, New York 11746. The “nail and mail” procedure was undertaken after four attempts at personal service at the residence.

Thereafter, the petitioner commenced the above captioned eviction proceeding via affixation together with regular and certified mail service on August 4, 2012 after seven attempts at personal service at the foreclosed premises.

The petitioner did not have actual or written notice of the entry of the “stay away” order of protection and that the foreclosed premises were no longer Robert Lorenz’s residence during the time of the service of the “Notice to Quit” and the service of the above captioned petition.

[541]*541Issue Presented

The issue presented by the parties for this court’s resolution is whether substituted “nail and mail” service of a notice to quit, a referee’s deed and a dispossess petition upon an individual who resides elsewhere by virtue of a court order meets the requirements of RPAPL 713 and 735?

Discussion

The court will summarily dispose of the threshold issue presented that the respondent Lorenz has no standing to defend this dispossess action as he is not a resident or occupant of the subject premises by virtue of his wife’s order of protection. While technically accurate, such an order does not change the character of Lorenz’s interest in the subject premises. Even if Lorenz was not a deed holder, New York Domestic Relations Law recognizes a whole host of inchoate ownership/possession rights in the marital premises. Additionally, orders of protection are of limited duration and can be and often are vacated or amended by the issuing court for a myriad of reasons. Similarly, Lorenz’s possession rights only conflict with his wife’s and he could immediately and legally retake possession of the premises upon his wife’s relocating from same.

Jurisdiction

Addressing the respondent’s jurisdictional challenge, the court’s analysis starts with the fundamental premise that “Due Process” in the context of civil litigation does not guarantee “in hand” service of process or even actual notice of suit. (See Bossuk v Steinberg, 58 NY2d 916 [1983].) Premised thereon, the New York Legislature has enacted alternative substitute manners of service of process in both section 308 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules and section 735 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, which have already been held to pass constitutional muster as they provide “reasonable Notice of Suit.” (See KMT E., LLC v Nischo, 31 Misc 3d 1215[A], 2011 NY Slip Op 50682[U] [Suffolk Dist Ct 2011], citing Raschel v Rish, 69 NY2d 694 [1986].) Unlike CPLR 308 which requires “a due diligence” standard of substituted service, section 735 requires a lesser standard of “reasonable application.” (See Siegel, NY Prac § 575 [5th ed 2011].)

The relaxed standard of section 735 service may be utilized only in conjunction with the commencement of “summary proceedings” for the expedited recovery of real property. This section provides:

[542]*542“Manner of service; filing; when service complete
“1. Service of the notice of petition and petition shall be made by personally delivering them to the respondent; or by delivering to and leaving personally with a person of suitable age and discretion who resides or is employed at the property sought to be recovered, a copy of the notice of petition and petition, if upon reasonable application admittance can be obtained and such person found who will receive it; or if admittance cannot be obtained and such person found, by affixing a copy of the notice and petition upon a conspicuous part of the property sought to be recovered or placing a copy under the entrance door of such premises; and in addition, within one day after such delivering to such suitable person or such affixing or placement, by mailing to the respondent both by registered or certified mail and by regular first class mail,
“(a) if a natural person, as follows: at the property sought to be recovered, and if such property is not the place of residence of such person and if the petitioner shall have written information of the residence address of such person, at the last residence address as to which the petitioner has such information, or if the petitioner shall have no such information, but shall have written information of the place of business or employment of such person, to the last business or employment address as to which the petitioner has such information.” (Emphasis added.)

A condition precedent to a foreclosure sale purchaser’s commencement of a “summary proceeding” to recover real property is the service of a 10-day “Notice to Quit” and the exhibiting of a certified copy of the referee’s deed. Section 713 (5) of the RPAPL expressly provides that these documents must be served in the same manner as a notice of petition under section 735.

It is the respondent’s contention that this petition is jurisdictionally defective by virtue of the fact that he was not a resident of the subject premises pursuant to the court order when nail and mail services were made of both the notice to quit and later the eviction petition. The court need not endeavor to undertake an exhaustive consideration of the import of a court order compelling a new residence and respondent to stay away from the premises. Unlike section 308 of the CPLR, [543]*543“actual residence” is not a requirement of section 735 of the RPAPL if the petitioner does not have written notice of the respondent’s new residence or place of employment. The justification for disregarding the actual residence criteria is that unlike plenary actions, “summary proceedings” involve expedited hearings concerning occupancy and possession rights of real property, i.e., a “res” as defined in the common-law legal vernacular.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
39 Misc. 3d 538, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hudson-city-savings-bank-v-lorenz-nydistct-2013.