US Bank Trust N.A. v. Lagrassa, R. & M.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided September 2, 2026·No. 56 MDA 2025·Published·Ford Elliott

Opinion

J-A15034-26 2026 PA Super 195

US BANK NATIONAL TRUST : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ASSOCIATION : PENNSYLVANIA :

:

v. :

:

:

MICHELLE VONNIEDA-LAGRASSA AND :

ROBERT LAGRASSA : No. 56 MDA 2025 :

Appellant :

Appeal from the Order Entered December 6, 2024 In the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County Civil Division at No(s): CI-23-03288

BEFORE: KUNSELMAN, J., LANE, J., and FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E. OPINION BY FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.: FILED: SEPTEMBER 2, 2026 In this mortgage foreclosure case, Michelle VonNieda-Lagrassa1 (Von Nieda) appeals2 pro se from the order that granted the motion for summary

 Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

1 Notwithstanding the spelling of her name in the caption, Appellant refers to

herself as “Michelle Von Nieda” and “Michelle VonNieda.” See, e.g., Appellant’s Brief at 13.

2 Other than being named in the case’s caption as an additional appellant, Robert Lagrassa is not referenced, nor alluded to, at any other place in Von Nieda’s brief. Moreover, Von Nieda only refers to herself singularly as “Appellant,” despite her use of the plural on occasion before the trial court. See generally, e.g., Defendants’ Brief in Support of Opposition to Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment, 8/29/24. As Lagrassa did not sign the notice of appeal and appellate brief and because there is no evidence that Von Nieda is, in fact, an attorney representing him, we conclude that Von Nieda is the singular appellant before this Court.

judgment filed by US Bank National Trust Association (US Bank).3 During the pendency of this appeal, Von Nieda filed, in this Court, an application for relief pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 123, alleging that due to a deed transfer on May 15, 2025, the disputed mortgage was now held by US Bank acting as “Trustee for RCF Acquisition Trust.” US Bank responsively filed an application for substitution of party pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 502(b). We affirm the court’s grant of summary judgment, grant US Bank’s application for substitution of party, and deny Von Nieda’s application for relief as moot.

The trial court summarized this matter as follows:

On March 7, 2003, [Lagrassa and Von Nieda] made, executed, and delivered a mortgage in favor of Consumer Mortgage Services, Inc. The mortgage covered real property located at 340 Waters Edge Lane, Lancaster, PA 17602 (the Property). The mortgage was recorded on March 28, 2003, in the official records of Lancaster County as Instrument Number 5168103.

The mortgage has since been assigned numerous times[, the last of] which finally assigned the mortgage to [US Bank].

The mortgage secured repayments of amounts advanced on behalf of [Lagrassa] pursuant to a note in the original principal amount of $432,000.00, with the initial interest rate of 6.125000% per annum, payable in successive monthly installments of $2,624.88, commencing May 1, 2003, and concluding upon final payment to be made on April 1, 2033. It is undisputed that [US Bank] is the holder of the note and is entitled to enforce it. Section 7 of the note states that default will permit the note holder to require immediate payment of the full amount

3 The caption utilized in the trial court indicates that the appellee’s full name is “US Bank Trust National Association as Trustee of Cabana Series III Trust.”

of principal not paid and all interest owed on that amount.

[US Bank] provided [Lagrassa and Von Nieda] notice that they were in default on the mortgage for missed monthly payments beginning on November 1, 2008, through October 1, 2021. The notice included an ability to cure the default comporting with the note’s acceleration clause: full payment of the principal balance plus any other charges that were due at the time of default. The notice also included a [calculation] of the amount past due.

Trial Court Opinion, 2/25/26, at 1-2 (unpaginated; unnecessary capitalization omitted).

Procedurally, US Bank filed a complaint in mortgage foreclosure on May 12, 2023. In response, Von Nieda filed an answer and new matter, with ten exhibits appended, on June 29, 2023. US Bank filed a reply to Von Nieda’s new matter on July 18, 2023. On July 26, 2024, US Bank filed its motion for summary judgment, with Von Nieda responding thereto on August 30, 2024. Ultimately, in granting summary judgment, the court found that: (1) US Bank provided “numerous exhibits and a sworn affidavit to demonstrate that the mortgage is in default[]”; and (2) Von Nieda failed to “raise a genuine issue of material fact as [she did not] state a cognizable defense, nor [had she] provided any evidence to the contrary of [US Bank’s] action in foreclosure.” Order, 12/6/24, at 1 n.1 (unpaginated). Von Nieda timely appealed this

decision.4

4 Although her notice was facially late, as it was filed thirty-two days after the

court’s entry of its order granting summary judgment, see Pa.R.A.P. 903(a), we found her appeal to be timely filed when the 30th day after the entry of the court’s order fell on a Sunday and the court was closed, due to inclement weather, on the 31st day. See Judgment Order, 1/28/26, at 2 (“Here, the (Footnote Continued Next Page)

On appeal, Von Nieda presents six questions for our review:

1. Did the trial court err in granting summary judgment where US Bank lacked standing to foreclose due to a defective and unrecorded assignment chain, rendering the foreclosure action null and void?

2. Did the trial court err in failing to dismiss the complaint where US Bank fraudulently recorded an assignment of mortgage in 2020 from an entity that was not the creditor of record at the time?

3. Did the trial court err in failing to recognize multiple violations of the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and the Unfair Trade Practices & Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL), which barred or limited US Bank’s foreclosure claims?

4. Did the trial court err in granting foreclosure where US Bank failed to respond to Von Nieda’s multiple notices of error under RESPA, thereby waiving its right to enforce the mortgage?

5. Did the trial court err in finding Von Nieda in default where evidence established her continuous payments, erroneous escrow/interest rate calculations, and discharge protections from Chapter 13 bankruptcy?

6. Did the trial court err and deprive Von Nieda of due process by failing to maintain a complete record, where multiple pages of her answer and new matter were missing from the court file, despite US Bank having responded to the full new matter?

See Appellant’s Brief at 2-3.

order granting summary judgment was ‘entered on the docket’ at the time Rule 236 notice was sent to the parties on December 6, 2024. Because the 30th day thereafter was a Sunday, the final day to file a notice of appeal fell on Monday, January 6, 2025. See 1 Pa.C.S.[] § 1908 (providing that ‘when the last day of [a] period shall fall on a Saturday or Sunday … such day shall be omitted from the computation’). However, because the court was closed for inclement weather that day, [Von Nieda] timely filed [her] notice of appeal on the following business day, January 7, 2025.”).

This Court has explained the scope and standard of review for an appeal from a summary judgment determination as follows:

Our scope of review of a trial court’s order granting or denying summary judgment is plenary, and our standard of review is clear:

the trial court’s order will be reversed only where it is established that the court committed an error of law or abused its discretion.

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US Bank Trust N.A. v. Lagrassa, R. & M., (Pa. Ct. App. 2026).

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