Meyerson Capital X LLC v. Kats

33 Misc. 3d 1017
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 25, 2011
StatusPublished

This text of 33 Misc. 3d 1017 (Meyerson Capital X LLC v. Kats) 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
Meyerson Capital X LLC v. Kats, 33 Misc. 3d 1017 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Sylvia Hinds-Radix, J.

In this foreclosure case, defendant Radislav Kats (defendant) moves to dismiss plaintiff Meyerson Capital X LLC’s action against him.

On or about March 14, 2005, defendant entered into a contract with defendant Sandra Wilde for the purchase of certain real property located at 2995 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, New York. Under the terms of the agreement, which is entitled “Residential Contract of Sale,” defendant agreed to pay Ms. Wilde $1,715,000 for the subject property. On or about August 19, 2005, in order to finance the payment, defendant executed an adjustable rate note and a mortgage on the property to Greenpoint Mortgage Funding, Inc. On or about March 1, 2011, Greenpoint assigned all of its rights, title and interests in the note and mortgage to Sell Suds LLC. On March 7, 2011, Sell Suds assigned its rights, title, and interest in the note and mortgage to plaintiff. By summons and complaint dated April 15, 2011, plaintiff commenced the instant foreclosure action against defendant. According to the complaint, defendant ceased making mortgage payments in May 2010 and a principal bal[1019]*1019anee of $979,552.27 remains outstanding. The complaint further alleges that the mortgage being foreclosed is a commercial mortgage secured by a mixed-use property, and therefore, RPAPL 1304 is inapplicable.

Defendant now moves to dismiss the complaint. In so moving, defendant contends that plaintiff failed to comply with RPAPL 1304, which requires that a lender give at least 90 days’ notice prior to commencing an action against a borrower when the underlying loan constitutes a “home loan” as defined in the statute. In this regard, defendant contends that the complaint erroneously alleges that the notice requirements of RPAPL 1304 do not apply inasmuch as the contract of sale for the premises is entitled “Residential Contract of Sale.” Under the circumstances, defendant maintains that the complaint must be dismissed.

In further support of his motion, defendant maintains that plaintiff failed to comply with the notice requirements set forth in the Federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA). Specifically, defendant notes that under 15 USC § 1641 (g) (1), a buyer or assignee must notify the borrower within 30 days from the date a mortgage loan is sold or assigned to a new owner. Here, plaintiff failed to provide such notice. Consequently, defendant argues that the action must be dismissed.

Finally, defendant argues that the complaint must be dismissed inasmuch as plaintiff has failed to provide any explanation as to why it would buy a nonperforming loan. In this regard, defendant notes that according to the complaint, he stopped making payments on the mortgage in May of 2010. However, defendant purchased the loan from Sell Suds nearly one year later, in March of 2011.

In opposition to defendant’s motion, plaintiff initially notes that defendant’s motion is supported solely by an affirmation by an attorney who lacks firsthand knowledge of the underlying facts in the case. Under the circumstances, plaintiff maintains that the motion is legally deficient and must be denied. In any event, plaintiff argues that there is no merit to the motion. In particular, with respect to defendant’s argument that plaintiff failed to comply with the notice requirements of RPAPL 1304, plaintiff contends that this provision is inapplicable in this case inasmuch as the underlying loan did not qualify as a “home loan” as defined in the statute. In support of this contention, plaintiff submits copies of various loan documents which were executed by defendant when applying for the mortgage loan with Greenpoint. Specifically, plaintiff submits a loan applica[1020]*1020tion receipt confirmation, a loan commitment letter, and a “True NoDoc Application (Commercial),” all of which indicate that the loan was for business or commercial purposes and not for personal, family, or household purposes. In addition, plaintiff submits a copy of a rent roll which was prepared, executed, and delivered by defendant to Greenpoint at the origination of the loan in order to induce Greenpoint to make said loan. This rent roll indicates that the mortgaged premises was leased to two commercial tenants and two residential tenants.

With respect to defendant’s contention that plaintiff failed to comply with TILA’s notice requirements when it purchased the mortgage from Sell Suds, plaintiff points to the fact that TILA does not apply to credit transactions involving extensions of credit primarily for business, commercial, or agricultural purposes. Thus, given the aforementioned evidence indicating that the loan was made to defendant in order to purchase a mixed-use property for business/commercial purposes, plaintiff maintains that TILA is inapplicable in this case.

Finally, plaintiff maintains that the fact that the note and mortgage were assigned to it after defendant defaulted on the loan does not serve as a basis for dismissing the complaint. In this regard, plaintiff notes that there is no statute or case law which imposes a duty upon a plaintiff/lender to plead in the complaint an explanation as to why it was assigned a nonperforming loan.

RPAPL 1304 requires that a lender give certain specified notice to a borrower at least 90 days before commencing a foreclosure action when the underlying loan is a “home loan.”

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Related

Mauro v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.
727 F. Supp. 2d 145 (E.D. New York, 2010)
Aurora Loan Services, LLC v. Weisblum
85 A.D.3d 95 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
33 Misc. 3d 1017, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/meyerson-capital-x-llc-v-kats-nysupct-2011.