Investors Mortgage Co. v. Rodia

625 A.2d 833, 31 Conn. App. 476, 1993 Conn. App. LEXIS 253
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedJune 1, 1993
Docket11629
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 625 A.2d 833 (Investors Mortgage Co. v. Rodia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Investors Mortgage Co. v. Rodia, 625 A.2d 833, 31 Conn. App. 476, 1993 Conn. App. LEXIS 253 (Colo. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

Lavery, J.

The sole issue in this case is whether the beneficiary of a trust, who, without objection, is substituted for the trustee as the plaintiff in a foreclosure action after title has vested in the trustee, has standing to file a motion for a deficiency judgment. The substitute plaintiff, the beneficial owner of the mortgage, claims that the defendants’ motion to dismiss was improperly granted because the substitute plaintiff had standing to file the motion for a deficiency judgment. We agree and reverse the judgment of the trial court.

The following facts are relevant to the disposition of this appeal. The defendants, Fay Louise Rodia and John A. Rodia, were indebted to the original plaintiff, The Investors Mortgage Company, as trustee, in the amount of $100,000 by their promissory note dated January 13,1989. To secure this note, the defendants gave a blanket mortgage to The Investors Mortgage Company, as trustee, on four separate parcels of land situated in Shelton. That same day, the plaintiff, Moneyhelpers, Inc., entered into a trust agreement with The Investors Mortgage Company whereby the plaintiff would own the mortgage but The Investors Mortgage Company would act as trustee for Money-helpers, Inc., in closing, servicing and administering and holding legal title to the blanket mortgage.

The defendants defaulted on the note. By complaint dated January 15,1991, The Investors Mortgage Company, as trustee, instituted proceedings to foreclose the blanket mortgage. On June 6, 1991, a judgment of [478]*478strict foreclosure was entered in favor of The Investors Mortgage Company, as trustee, on the properties mortgaged by the defendants. The defendants failed to redeem on their law day, and all subsequent encum-brancers also failed to redeem. Title to the subject premises vested in The Investors Mortgage Company, as trustee, on October 9, 1991.

On or about October 11, 1991, The Investors Mortgage Company, as trustee, transferred the subject premises by quitclaim deed to the substitute plaintiff, Moneyhelpers, Inc. On October 30, 1991, The Investors Mortgage Company filed a motion for a deficiency judgment, and a motion to substitute Moneyhelpers, Inc., as the plaintiff. When the motion for a deficiency judgment and the motion to substitute the plaintiff appeared on the court calendar, the defendants requested that the motion for a deficiency judgment go off, to which the Investors Mortgage Company agreed. The defendants, however, had no objection to Moneyhelpers, Inc., being substituted as the plaintiff. The motion to substitute the plaintiff was granted by the court.

On February 18,1992, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the motion for a deficiency judgment. The trial court held that the substitute plaintiff, Moneyhel-pers, Inc., lacked standing to prosecute the motion for a deficiency judgment because Moneyhelpers, Inc., was not the foreclosing plaintiff as is required by the deficiency judgment statute, General Statutes § 49-14. The trial court decided that the remedy provided by § 49-14 is available only to foreclosing plaintiffs, and, in this case, The Investors Mortgage Company was the foreclosing plaintiff, not Moneyhelpers, Inc. The trial court determined that Moneyhelpers, Inc., lacked the required standing to seek a deficiency judgment and dismissed its motion. We disagree.

[479]*479Standing is the legal right to set the judicial process in motion. One cannot rightfully invoke the jurisdiction of the court unless he has, in an individual or representative capacity, some real interest in the cause of the action, or a legal or equitable right, title or interest in the subject matter of the controversy. Horton v. Hydra Systems International, Inc., 16 Conn. App. 420, 425, 547 A.2d 926 (1988); Hiland v. Ives, 28 Conn. Sup. 243, 245, 257 A.2d 822 (1966). Standing is “a practical concept designed to ensure that courts and parties are not vexed by suits brought to vindicate nonjusticiable interests and that judicial decisions which may affect the rights of others are forged in hot controversy, with each view fairly and vigorously represented.” Maloney v. Pac, 183 Conn. 313, 320, 439 A.2d 349 (1981). These two objectives are met “when a complainant makes a colorable claim of direct injury he has suffered or is likely to suffer, in an individual or representative capacity.” Id., 321. Standing focuses on whether a party is a proper party to request adjudication of the issues, rather than on the substantive rights of the aggrieved parties. Nye v. Marcus, 198 Conn. 138, 141, 502 A.2d 869 (1985).

We begin our review of the issue of standing with an analysis of the language of paragraph three of the trust agreement between The Investors Mortgage Company and Moneyhelpers, Inc. Paragraph three states “[s]uch blanket mortgage note and mortgage deed shall be held by and in the name of the Company, as Trustee for the benefit of the Mortgage Owner.” Pursuant to General Statutes § 52-106,1 The Investors Mortgage Company, as trustee, had the right to sue for a deficiency judgment without joining those benefi-[480]*480daily interested in the action. In this case, Money-helpers, Inc., was the beneficial owner.

The motion to substitute the plaintiff was granted by the court, bringing Moneyhelpers, Inc., into the case in place of The Investors Mortgage Company pursuant to General Statutes § 52-1072 and Practice Book § 99.3 “Most of our cases discuss the admission of new parties as coming within the ‘broad discretion’ of the trial court. E.g., Manter v. Manter, 185 Conn. 502, 507, 441 A.2d 146 (1981); Jones v. Ricker, 172 Conn. 572, 575n., 375 A.2d 1034 (1977); Nikitiuk v. Pishtey, 153 Conn. 545, 555, 219 A.2d 225 (1966). But there are also cases which make clear that intervention of right exists in Connecticut practice. Ricard v. Stanadyne, Inc., 181 Conn. 321, 322n., 435 A.2d 352 (1980); Greenwich Gas Co. v. Tuthill, 113 Conn. 684, 695, 155 A. 850 (1931); Bucky v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 33 Conn. Sup. 606, 608, 363 A.2d 1119 (1976); DeFelice v. Federal Grain Corporation, 12 Conn. Sup. 199, 201 (1943).” Horton v. Meskill, 187 Conn. 187, 192, 445 A.2d 579 (1982). The principle of intervention of right is derived from the second sentence of Practice Book § 99, which provides: “If a person not a party has an interest or title which the judgment will affect, the court, on his motion, shall direct him to be made a party.” (Emphasis added.) Section 52-107 contains nearly identical language pro[481]

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Bluebook (online)
625 A.2d 833, 31 Conn. App. 476, 1993 Conn. App. LEXIS 253, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/investors-mortgage-co-v-rodia-connappct-1993.