JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Murray

63 A.3d 1258, 2013 Pa. Super. 55, 2013 WL 1092850, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 142
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 18, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by168 cases

This text of 63 A.3d 1258 (JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Murray) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Murray, 63 A.3d 1258, 2013 Pa. Super. 55, 2013 WL 1092850, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 142 (Pa. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION BY

WECHT, J.:

Francis X. Murray (“Murray”), pro se, appeals the order entered on March 26, 2012. That order granted summary judgment to JP Morgan Chase Bank (“Appel-lee”) in the foreclosure action against Murray to which it allegedly succeeded as substituted plaintiff.1 The order also awarded Appellee an in rem judgment against Murray in the amount of $882,762.59, with interest of $87.77 per diem from February 1, 2012, “plus other costs and charges collectively under the [Mjortgage for foreclosure and sale of the mortgaged premises.” We reverse.

The original plaintiff that commenced this action on May 6, 2010 was Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. as Trustee for [1259]*1259Washington Mutual Mortgage Securities Corp.2000-1 (“Plaintiff’). The Complaint identified the mortgagee as Great Western Bank d/b/a Sierra Western Mortgage Company. Complaint in Mortgage Foreclosure (“Complaint”) at 1 ¶ 1(a). The Complaint alleged that the parties entered into the Mortgage on August 22,1997. Id. at 1 ¶ 1(b). The Mortgage was recorded in Chester County on October 2,1997. Id. at 2 ¶ 1(c).

The Complaint listed a pair of assignments of the Mortgage as follows:

Assignor: Great Western Bank dba Sierra Western Mortgage Company
Assignee: Deutsche Bank National Trust Company Americas
Date of Assignment: August 15, 2000
Recording Date: July 27, 2007
Book: 7223
Page: 955
Assignor: Deutsche Bank National Trust Company Americas
Assignee: Deutsche Bank National
Trust Company, as Trustee for Washington Mutual Mortgage Securities Corp.2000-1.
The assignment is in the process of being formalized.

Id. at 2 ¶ 1(d) (for sake of convenience, hereinafter we refer to these assignments, respectively, as the “Deutsche Bank Assignment” and the ‘WaMu Assignment”). Plaintiff identified itself in the alternative as “either the original Mortgagee named in the Mortgage, the legal successor in interest to the original Mortgagee, or ... the present holder of the [Mjortgage by virtue of the above-described Assignment(s).” Id. at 2 ¶ 2.

The Complaint also averred that “[e]ach Mortgagor named in paragraph 1 executed a note as evidence of the debt secured by the Mortgage (the “Note”),” id. at 2 ¶ 4, and attached the Note to the Complaint as exhibit B. The Note was executed to the benefit of “Great Western Bank, a Federal Savings Bank [djoing [bjusiness as Sierra Western Mortgage Company.” Id. Exh. B. In the form in which it was attached to the Complaint, the Note showed no in-dorsements, nor was any allonge 2 attached for the purpose of noting any indorse-ments or assignments.

The Complaint alleged that Murray as mortgagor had defaulted on his obligations under the Mortgage as of September 1, 2009, and remained in default through April 80, 2010. Id. at 2 ¶ 7. The Complaint alleged damages in default consisting of installment payments, interest, late charges, escrow advances, and other costs and fees totaling $768,113.02. The Complaint further asserted ongoing interest at a per diem rate of $93.68 for each day after April 30, 2010, with additional fees, costs, and expenses collectible under the Mortgage and Note. Id. at 3 ¶¶ 8-9.

On June 8, 2010, Murray filed a “Preliminary Objection in the Form of [a] Motion to Dismiss the Complaint” (“PO”). The PO consisted principally of a series of densely convoluted challenges to Plaintiffs standing to pursue the foreclosure action. First, Murray contended that the Deutsche Bank Assignment was “so serious in defect” as to require dismissal of the Complaint. Murray noted that seven years had separated that putative assignment and the recording of same, which was “either negligent or fraudulent or part of a larger effort to conceal the true Holder in Due Course,” and consequently was “a defective assignment in both execution in recording.” PO at 3 ¶ 2.

[1260]*1260Second, Murray observed that Plaintiff as named — Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. as Trustee for Washington Mutual Mortgage Securities Corp.2000-1 — differed from the mortgagee named in the Complaint, Great Western Bank d/b/a Sierra Western Mortgage Co. Id. at 4 ¶ 3. Murray contended that only the original creditor was entitled to bring a foreclosure action. Id. at 4 ¶4. Moreover, Plaintiff failed to provide any documentation in support of the averred assignments, allegedly in violation of Pennsylvania law and/or an uncited provision of the Federal Debt Collection Act. Id.

Third, independently of whether the Deutsche Bank Assignment was effective, Murray contended that the subsequent WaMu Assignment, too, was infirm. Specifically, Murray contended that the party listed as the assignor in the WaMu Assignment was different than the party listed as assignee in the prior Deutsche Bank Assignment. Murray asserted that the party that ostensibly held the Mortgage and Note following the Deutsche Bank Assignment, while a Deutsche Bank entity in name, was not the same Deutsche Bank entity that purportedly assigned the Mortgage and Note in the WaMu Assignment. Thus, alleged Murray, the latter WaMu assignment necessarily was ineffective, failing to convey the Mortgage and Note to which Appellee assertedly succeeded by merger. Consequently, by Murray’s lights, Appellee could not have become a holder of the Mortgage and Note, and therefore lacked standing to maintain the action.

Finally, Murray also challenged the verification appended to Plaintiffs Complaint. See PO at 10 ¶34. Specifically, Murray contended that the signatory to the verification — as, at best, an agent of Plaintiff rather than an appropriately qualified officer of same — was required to assert the signatory’s satisfaction of the several criteria enumerated at Pa.R.C.P. 1024(c). The signatory having failed to do so in multiple particulars, Murray contended that the verification (and hence the Complaint) was infirm.

The trial court denied Murray’s PO in its entirety by an order entered on September 27, 2010. Therein, the trial court denied Murray’s challenge to standing as follows:

Pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 2002, all actions shall be prosecuted by and in the name of the real party in interest. A “real party in interest” is the person who has the power to discharge the claim upon which suit is brought and to control the prosecution of the action.” Clark v. Cambria County Bd. Of Assessment Appeals, 747 A.2d 1242 (Pa.Cmwlth.2000), appeal denied, 568 Pa. 740, 798 A.2d 1292 (2002). The Pennsylvania Superior Court has held that Pa.R.C.P. 1147(a)(1) does not require that a party have a recorded assignment as a prerequisite to filing a complaint in mortgage foreclosure. US Bank, N.A. v. Mallory, 982 A.2d 986 (Pa.Super.2009).

Order, 9/27/2010 (citations modified).

On October 18, 2010, Murray filed his Verified Answer to Complaint in Mortgage Foreclosure, with New Matter (“Answer & New Matter”). Therein, Murray set forth as affirmative defenses, inter alia,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Citizens Bank v. Monsour, R.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
Kline, R. v. Rowley, E.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
PNC Bank v. Perry, W.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Ivy, G. v. Acker, P.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
U.S. National Bank v. Ramos, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
De Lage Landen Financial Serv. v. Giancola, D.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
US Bank National Assoc. v. Thigpen, S.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
JPMorgan Chase Bank v. Gallagher, S.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Ortolani, J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Hobbie, L. v. CCO Mortgage And Citizens Bank
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Wilmington Savings v. Stewart, T.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
Wells Fargo Bank v. Dixon, D.K.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
The Bank of New York Mellon v. Henry, R.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
Lowell Funding Group v. Moore, W.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
U.S. Bank N.A. v. Schwartz, S.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
U.S. ROF III v. Laird, S.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
HSBC Bank USA v. Buset
241 So. 3d 882 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2018)
Diamond Credit Union v. Savory, R.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
63 A.3d 1258, 2013 Pa. Super. 55, 2013 WL 1092850, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 142, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jp-morgan-chase-bank-na-v-murray-pasuperct-2013.