Wells Fargo Bank, NA v. Pilchesky, J.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 7, 2020
Docket1199 MDA 2019
StatusUnpublished

This text of Wells Fargo Bank, NA v. Pilchesky, J. (Wells Fargo Bank, NA v. Pilchesky, J.) 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
Wells Fargo Bank, NA v. Pilchesky, J., (Pa. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

J-A11016-20

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

WELLS FARGO BANK, NA NOW BY : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ASSIGMENT LENDERS COMMERCIAL : PENNSYLVANIA FINANCE, LLC : : : v. : : : JOSEPH PILCHESKY AND JOANNE R. : No. 1199 MDA 2019 RICCI A/K/A JOANNE PILCHESKY : : : APPEAL OF: JOSEPH PILCHESKY :

Appeal from the Order Entered June 18, 2019 In the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County Civil Division at No(s): 2015-02268

BEFORE: PANELLA, P.J., McLAUGHLIN, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.*

MEMORANDUM BY McLAUGHLIN, J.: FILED AUGUST 07, 2020

This is an ejectment action that Appellee Wells Fargo Bank, NA now by

assignment Lenders Commercial Finance, LLC (“Wells Fargo”) instituted

against Joseph Pilchesky, the occupant of a property that was the subject of

a prior foreclosure action. The court granted summary judgment to Wells

Fargo and Pilchesky has appealed. He argues the trial court erred in sustaining

Wells Fargo’s preliminary objections to his counterclaims, in granting Wells

Fargo’s summary judgment motion, and in denying his summary judgment

motion. We affirm.

____________________________________________

* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court. J-A11016-20

In 2013, Wells Fargo brought a mortgage foreclosure action against

Joanne R. Ricci a/k/a Joanne R. Pilchesky for a property located in Scranton,

PA. Ricci’s ex-husband Joseph Pilchesky resided on the property, but did not

have a recorded interest in the property.

In November 2013, Wells Fargo obtained a default judgment in the

mortgage foreclosure action. It obtained court permission in September 2014

to serve notice of a sheriff’s sale by mailing the notice to Ricci by regular mail,

and by posting on the property. Wells Fargo subsequently filed an affidavit

that it had provided such service. In October 2014, Wells Fargo purchased the

property at a sheriff’s sale, and, in December 2014, it recorded the deed.

Wells Fargo then commenced the present ejectment action in March

2015, seeking to recover possession of the property from Ricci and Pilchesky.

Pilchesky filed preliminary objections, challenging the sheriff’s sale. The trial

court overruled Pilchesky’s preliminary objections, reasoning that Pilchesky

was not a record owner of the property, had failed to make a proper and timely

objection to the sheriff’s sale, and could not challenge the sale in an ejectment

action.

Pilchesky subsequently filed an answer with counterclaims, which he

amended three times. Pilchesky’s third amended counterclaim had eight

counts: fraud, unjust enrichment, violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and

Consumer Protection law (“UTPCPL”), violation of due process rights,

negligence, bad faith, mail fraud, and violation of the Fair Debt Collection Act.

Pilchesky alleged, among other things, that he was a lienholder on the

-2- J-A11016-20

property, and had received notice of a June sheriff’s sale, learned it was

canceled, but did not get notice of the October sheriff’s sale, and if he had

received notice, he would have bid on the property. He further alleged that

the deed was transferred before he could file a petition to set aside the sale,

and that he lost property rights valued at $200,000 due to Wells Fargo’s

actions. Plaintiff’s Third Amended Counterclaim and Request for Injunctive

Relief, filed Dec. 14, 2015, at ¶¶ 1-34.

Wells Fargo filed preliminary objections to the third amended

counterclaim and sought an order compelling Pilchesky to file a substantive

response to the preliminary objections. The trial court granted the request.1

The court sustained Wells Fargo’s preliminary objections, and dismissed the

counterclaims.2

Wells Fargo filed a motion for summary judgment on its ejectment

action.3 Pilchesky responded and also filed a motion for summary judgment.

The trial court granted Wells Fargo’s motion for summary judgment and

denied Pilchesky’s motion. Pilchesky filed a timely notice of appeal.

Pilchesky raises the following issues:

1Pilchesky filed an appeal, which this Court quashed. His petition for certiorari was denied.

2 Pilchesky filed an appeal, which was quashed.

3 Wells Fargo conveyed the property to Lenders Commercial Finance, LLC after the filing of the motion for summary judgment. For ease of discussion, we will continue to reference the Appellee as Wells Fargo.

-3- J-A11016-20

1. Did trial court abuse its discretion when it granted [Wells Fargo’s] preliminary objections to [Pilchesky’s] third amended counterclaim[?]

2. Did trial court err at law when it granted [Wells Fargo’s] motion for summary judgment?

3. Did trial court err at law when it denied [Pilchesky’s] motion for summary judgment?

Pilchesky’s Br. at 4 (unnecessary capitalization omitted).

Pilchesky first claims that the trial court erred in sustaining Wells Fargo’s

preliminary objections. Pilchesky argues that Wells Fargo illegally acquired

title to the property through manipulating the foreclosure and sheriff’s sale

process. He claims that Wells Fargo had a June sheriff’s sale date, and served

all parties of interest notice of this date, and then continued the sale. He claims

Wells Fargo did not serve any parties in interest for the next sale date, which

is when it purchased the property. Pilchesky claims he had a $200,000 lien on

the property and he extensively renovated the property. He states that he

continued to occupy the property, and, if he had received notice of the sale,

he would have bid on the property. He claims he could not challenge the

sheriff’s sale because he did not have notice of the sale before the title was

transferred,4 and he was not the owner of record. He claims that he can

challenge now because there was fraud.

Pilchesky argues that the fraud claim properly pled that the Bank had a

duty to give him notice of the sale date and claims he pled a violation of his

4He claims he was in the hospital when Wells Fargo claims to have posted the notice and it was not there when he returned.

-4- J-A11016-20

due process rights because Wells Fargo did not provide notice of the sale date,

and this failure deprived him of an opportunity to bid on the property. He

alleges he pled a negligence action because the Bank failed to provide notice,

which was a breach of a duty owed to him.

We review an order sustaining preliminary objections “to determine

whether the trial court committed an error of law.” Joyce v. Erie Ins. Exch.,

74 A.3d 157, 162 (Pa.Super. 2013) (quoting Feingold v. Hendrzak, 15 A.3d

937, 941 (Pa.Super. 2011)). We apply the same standard on appeal as the

trial court used when it entertained the objections. Id. “When considering

preliminary objections, all material facts set forth in the challenged pleadings

are admitted as true, as well as all inferences reasonably deducible

therefrom.” Id. (quoting Feingold, 15 A.3d at 941). A court should sustain

preliminary objections that seek the dismissal of a cause of action “only in

cases in which it is clear and free from doubt that the pleader will be unable

to prove facts legally sufficient to establish the right to relief.” Id. (quoting

Feingold, 15 A.3d at 941). “If any doubt exists as to whether a demurrer

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