Osuji v. Deutsche Bank, N.A.

589 B.R. 502
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 28, 2018
DocketNo. 17-CV-3153 (JFB)
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 589 B.R. 502 (Osuji v. Deutsche Bank, N.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Osuji v. Deutsche Bank, N.A., 589 B.R. 502 (E.D.N.Y. 2018).

Opinion

JOSEPH F. BIANCO, United States District Judge *504Samuel Osuji ("appellant") appeals from a May 9, 2017 Order entered by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York (the "Bankruptcy Court") granting a motion by Deutsche Bank National Trust Company ("Deutsche Bank") as trustee for Indymac INDX Mortgage Loan Trust 2007-AR1, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Series 2007-AR1 ("Indymac"). In its motion (the "Stay Relief Motion"), Deutsche Bank requested that the Bankruptcy Court terminate the automatic stay as it applied to one of the properties appellant listed in his bankruptcy schedules. The Bankruptcy Court issued the Order on appeal (the "Stay Relief Order") terminating the stay for cause, and specified that the stay was terminated as to Deutsche Bank, its agents, assigns, or successors in interest, so that they could "take any and all action under applicable state law to exercise their remedies against the Property." (ECF No. 1 at 9.)1

On September 1, 2017, Deutsche Bank (as trustee for Indymac, and collectively, "appellees") responded to this appeal, arguing that the Bankruptcy Court properly entered the Stay Relief Order "as there was a lack of adequate protection, lack of equity, there was no reorganization as this was a Chapter 7 case, and the Court had already decided to abstain from litigation relating to Deutsche Bank's standing to enforce the Note and Mortgage." (ECF No. 8 at 1.) As set forth below, after a de novo review, the Court finds the instant appeal to be without merit and affirms the Bankruptcy Court's Stay Relief Order.

I. BACKGROUND

The Court assumes the parties' familiarity with the full facts and procedural history of this action and summarizes the facts and history relevant to the instant appeal based on the record in the underlying Bankruptcy Court proceeding, the related adversary proceeding, and the instant appeal.

A. The Underlying Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Appellant filed a voluntary petition for relief under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code on December 30, 2015. In his chapter 7 case, appellant filed bankruptcy schedules listing five properties that he claimed to own, including the property at issue in the instant appeal, located at 113 Lawrence Street, Uniondale, New York 11553 (the "Lawrence Street Property" or the "Property"). Affidavit, In re Osuji , No. 15-75534-ast (Bankr. E.D.N.Y. Jan. 13, 2016),2 ECF No. 9 at 2-4. Appellant listed the Property as valued at $189,000.00 and indicated that he intended to retain it, claiming *505a 100 percent exemption of the fair market value. Id. , ECF No. 9 at 4, 13.

On October 27, 2016, the trustee in the bankruptcy proceeding filed a status report to inform the Bankruptcy Court of his intention "to pursue or not pursue" any interest of the estate in the five properties appellant claimed to own. Id. , ECF No. 40. The trustee stated only his intention "to administer the Estate's interest in one of the subject properties," id. at 1; he did not state an interest in administering the Lawrence Street Property.

B. Appellees' Stay Relief Motion

On March 15, 2017, appellees filed the Stay Relief Motion, requesting that the Bankruptcy Court grant relief from the automatic stay with respect to the Lawrence Street Property. Id. , ECF No. 70. Appellees requested relief "so that the New York Supreme Court may hear the Foreclosure Action" involving this Property, id. , ECF No. 69 at 7, and thereby enable Deutsche Bank to "exercise its rights and remedies with respect to the Property under applicable state law," id. at 8.

In support of their motion, appellees explained that Deutsche Bank was the holder of the Note and assignee of the Mortgage on this Property. Id. at 2. Appellees stated that the previous owner of the Property had stopped paying his monthly mortgage payments and was, therefore, in default on the loan he had taken to purchase the Property (which was secured by the Note and Mortgage assigned to Deutsche Bank). Id. On December 30, 2009 (following the default on the April 1, 2009 mortgage payment, and all payments thereafter), a foreclosure action was commenced to close on the Property. Id. at 2-3.

As stated supra , appellant also claimed to own this Property, and filed a state court action in 2012 seeking a judgment awarding him legal title to the Property. Id. at 3. Appellant thereafter filed his bankruptcy petition on December 30, 2015. Appellees explained in their Stay Relief Motion that "[although] Debtor is not a party to the Note and Mortgage and his claimed interest in the Property remains unrecorded in the land records, Deutsche Bank stayed the Foreclosure Action upon notice of Debtor's claim of ownership in the Property and his bankruptcy filing." Id. at 4.

In support of their Stay Relief Motion, appellees also summarized the procedural history of appellant's adversary proceeding relating to the Property: On March 30, 2016, appellant brought an adversary proceeding against Indymac Bank, F.S.B.,3 alleging that Indymac was not, in fact, the holder of the Note and Mortgage encumbering the Lawrence Street Property.4 Id. at 5; Adversary Complaint, Osuji v. Indymac Bank F.S.B. , No. 16-8045-ast (Bankr. E.D.N.Y. Mar. 30, 2016),5 ECF No. 1 at 1-2. On February 2, 2017, the Bankruptcy Court issued an Order abstaining from the *506adversary proceeding (the "Abstention Order").6 Id. , ECF No. 29 at 15-16. The Bankruptcy Court explained that "permissive abstention [wa]s warranted because state law issues predominate over this adversary proceeding." Id. at 13.

Following this Order, appellees filed their Stay Relief Motion, noting that "[t]he Abstention Order unequivocally states that the state law issues relating to the Property should be addressed by the New York Supreme Court," and that this was not possible in light of the automatic stay that resulted, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362, when appellant filed for bankruptcy in federal court. In re Osuji , ECF No. 69 at 7. As stated supra , appellees requested that the Bankruptcy Court grant relief from the automatic stay so that they could pursue the foreclosure action in state court. (ECF No. 1 at 7.) Appellees attached a copy of the Note, Mortgage, and Assignment of Mortgage to the affirmation filed in support of their motion. In re Osuji , ECF Nos. 69-2, 69-3, 69-5. Appellant opposed, asserting that Deutsche Bank was not the holder of the Note and Mortgage, had not submitted any evidence demonstrating how it became the holder of the Note, and did not have standing to seek relief from the automatic stay. Id. , ECF No. 77 at 2. The Bankruptcy Court held a hearing on the motion, during which appellees' counsel stated that he had the original Note in his possession in court that day. (ECF No. 1 at 4.)

C. The Stay Relief Order

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
589 B.R. 502, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/osuji-v-deutsche-bank-na-nyed-2018.