Mill City Mortgage v. Irrgang, B.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided July 14, 2026·No. 15 EDA 2025·Unpublished·Stevens

Opinion

J-A10045-26

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

MILL CITY MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF 2019-I, WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND : PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY FSB, AS TRUSTEE : : : v. : : : BRUCE E. IRRGANG : No. 15 EDA 2025 : Appellant :

Appeal from the Judgment Entered December 13, 2024 In the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County Civil Division at No(s): 2021-01715-RC

BEFORE: STABILE, J., LANE, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.*

MEMORANDUM BY STEVENS, P.J.E.: FILED JULY 14, 2026

Appellant Bruce E. Irrgang appeals the judgment entered on December

13, 2024 by the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County in this mortgage

foreclosure action brought by Mill City Mortgage Loan Trust 2019-1,

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB, as Trustee (“Mill City”) in regards to

the note and mortgage associated with the property located at 655 North

Wayne Avenue, Wayne, PA (“the Property”). We affirm.

The trial court summarized the factual background of this case as

follows:

On March 19, 1999, [Appellant] executed a promissory note ("Note") in favor of [Mill City’s] predecessor in interest, Summit Bank, in the principal amount of $ 1,950,000.00 with interest at a rate of 7.375 percent per annum. Exhibit P-2. The Note is indorsed ____________________________________________

* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court. J-A10045-26

in blank by virtue of an allonge stapled to the Note. Id. The Note is secured by a mortgage on the Property (the "Mortgage"), which was recorded on March 26, 1999 in the Chester County Office of Recorder of Deeds in Book 4532, Page 0818, et seq. Exhibit P-3.

The Mortgage provides that "Borrower shall promptly pay when due the principal of and interest on the debt evidenced by the Note and any prepayment and late charges due under the Note." Id. The Mortgage further reads:

If Borrower fails to perform the covenants and agreements contained in this Security Instrument, ..., then Lender may do and pay for whatever is necessary to protect the value of the Property and Lender's rights in the Property. Lender's actions may include paying any sums secured by a lien which has priority over this Security Instrument, appearing in court, paying reasonable attorney's fees and entering on the Property to make repairs.... Any amounts disbursed by the Lender under this paragraph 7 shall become additional debt of Borrower secured by this Security Instrument.

Id. Pursuant to Section 21 of the Mortgage, upon notice of default to borrower and failure to cure, the Lender "at its option may require immediate payment in full of all sums secured by this Security Instrument without further demand and may foreclose this Security Instrument by judicial proceeding." Id. Section 21 of the Mortgage provides that the "Lender shall be entitled to collect all expenses incurred in pursuing the remedies provided in this paragraph 21, including, but not limited to, attorneys' fees and costs of title evidence to the extent permitted by applicable Law." Id.

The Note and Mortgage were modified by a Loan Modification Agreement executed on August 18, 2016 which adjusted the unpaid principal balance to $ 2,813,791.85 with $13,791.85 deferred. Additionally, the Loan Modification Agreement reduced the interest rate to 4.5000% and extended the maturity date to August 1, 2056. Exhibit P-13. [Mill City] further produced the original Note indorsed in blank. Exhibit P-2.

[Appellant] defaulted under the terms of the Note and Mortgage as modified by the Loan Modification Agreement by failing to make the monthly installment payment due on February 1, 2020 and has failed to pay the monthly installments due thereafter. Exhibit P-14. On April 7, 2020, Notice under Act 91 was sent to [Appellant] at his last known address and the

-2- J-A10045-26

Mortgaged Premises that the subject loan is in default and that to cure the default he must pay $57,605.71 within thirty (30) days. Exhibit P-15. Defendant failed to cure the default as required by the Notice.

Trial Court Order and Opinion (T.C.O.), 8/20/24, at 2-3.

Throughout the course of the loan, the Note and Mortgage were

transferred numerous times before ultimately ending in possession of Mill City.

On March 16, 2021, Mill City filed a complaint in mortgage foreclosure and

subsequently amended their complaint on July 8, 2021. On November 15,

2021, Appellant filed an answer with new matter and a counterclaim to the

amended complaint. On December 27, 2021, Appellant filed an answer with

new matter removing the counterclaim. On January 14, 2022, Mill City filed

a reply to Appellant’s new matter. Thereafter, Appellant filed two separate

motions for summary judgment, both of which the trial court denied.

The trial court held a bench trial on May 14, 2024 at which Mill City

presented the testimony of Janet Gioello, a litigation representative at Fay

Servicing, LLC (“Fay”), the loan servicer and attorney in fact for Mill City.

Gioello presented the original Note, which had been indorsed in blank through

an attached allonge.1 Exhibit 2; Notes of Testimony (N.T.), 5/14/24, at 14-

15. Mill City presented the chain of recorded transfers of the Mortgage, which

the trial court cited as follows:

See Exhibit P-4 (Assignment of Mortgage from Bank of America, N.A. s/b/m to Fleet National Bank s/b/m to Summit Bank to Bank ____________________________________________

1 An allonge is “[a] slip of paper sometimes attached to a negotiable instrument for the purpose of receiving further indorsements when the original paper is filled with indorsements.” Black's Law Dictionary (12th ed., 2024).

-3- J-A10045-26

of America, N.A. dated February 13, 2012 and recorded on February 16, 2012 in Book 8360, Page 2044); Exhibit P-5 (Assignment of Mortgage from Summit Bank to Bank of America, N.A. dated November 23, 2011 and recorded on April 27, 2012 in Book 8412, Page 1922); Exhibit P-6 (Assignment of Mortgage from Bank of America, N.A. to Ventures Trust 2013-I-H-R by MCM Capital Partners LLC, its Trustee, dated November 18, 2014 and recorded on February 11, 2015 in Book 9056, Page 1727); Exhibit P-7 (Assignment of Mortgage from Ventures Trust 2013- 1-H-R by MCM Capital Partners LLC, its Trustee, by Meridian Asset Services, Inc., its Attorney-in-Fact to Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, D/B/A Christiana Trust, not individually but as Trustee for Hilldale Trust, dated October 9, 2017 and recorded on January 8, 2018, in Book 9678, Page: 2128); Exhibit P-8 (Corrective Assignment of Mortgage from Bank of America, National Association, successor by merger to Summit Bank to Bank of America, N.A., dated June 28, 2019 and recorded on August 8, 2019 in Book: 9976, Page: 585, intended to correct the assignor's name on Plaintiff's Exhibit P-5, the Assignment recorded on April 27, 2012 in Book 8412, Page 1922); Exhibit P-9 (Assignment of Mortgage from Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, D/B/A Christiana Trust, not individually but as Trustee for Hilldale Trust, by Meridian Asset Services, LLC, its Attorney-in-Fact to DLJ Mortgage Capital, Inc., dated May 14, 2019 and recorded on August 22, 2019, in Book 9985, Page 966); Exhibit P-10 (Assignment of Mortgage from DLJ Mortgage Capital, Inc. to U.S. Bank Trust National Association, as Trustee of CVF III Mortgage Loan Trust II, dated April 8, 2019 and recorded on August 22, 2019 in Book 9985, Page 970); Exhibit P-11 (Assignment of Mortgage from U.S.

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

Mill City Mortgage v. Irrgang, B., (Pa. Ct. App. 2026).

Mill City Mortgage v. Irrgang, B. (Mill City Mortgage v. Irrgang, B.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

US Bank N.A. v. Mallory
982 A.2d 986 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2009)
In Re Walker
466 B.R. 271 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2012)
Johnston the Florist, Inc. v. TEDCO Construction Corp.
657 A.2d 511 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1995)
U.S. Bank, N.A. Ex Rel. Bank of America, N.A. v. Pautenis
118 A.3d 386 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015)
Gerber, L. v. Piergrossi, R.
142 A.3d 854 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2016)
Bayview Loan Servicing LLC v. Wicker
206 A.3d 474 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2019)
JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Murray
63 A.3d 1258 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2013)
Viall, W. v. Garvin, H.
2024 Pa. Super. 123 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2024)