Judge-schack-harris-07262008 - Judge Asks Why the Trustee Would Purchase a Non-performing Loan

8/9/2019 Judge-schack-harris-07262008 - Judge Asks Why the Trustee Would Purchase a Non-performing Loan

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L.

P R E S E N T :HON. ARTHUR M. SCHACK

JusticeDEUTSCHE BANK NA TIONAL TRUST COh IPANY,

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Ilaintiff,- against -

ROSE HARRIS, et. al.,Defendants.

At an IAS Term, Part 27 ofthe Supreme Court of theState of New York, held inand for the County ofKings, at the Courthouse,at Civic Center, Brooklyn,New Y ork, on the 5* dayof February 2008

DECISION& ORDERIndex No. 35549/07

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Pla int iff s application, upon the defkult c)fall defendants, for an order of referencefor the premises located at 1038 Remsen Avennc, B rooklyn, New York (Block 7968, Lot68, County o f Kings) is denied without yret;udicc:, with leave to renew upon providing the

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Court with a satisfactory explanation to various questions with respect to : the O ctober 23,2007 assignment of the instant mortgage to plain I iff, DEUTSCH E BAN K NATION ALTRUS T COM PAN Y(DE UTSC HE BAN K); the c.mployment history o f one EricaJohnson-Seck, who executed the affidavit of fact5 in the instant application as an officerof DEUTSCHE BA NK; plaintiff DEUTSCHE B INKSpurchase o f the instant non-performing loan; and why does INDYM AC BA EK , F.S.B., (INDYMAC ), MORTGA GEELECT RON IC REGIST RATIO N SYST EMS , I NC. (ME RS), and plaintiff DEUTS CHEBANK all share office space at 460 Sierra hladrt. Villa, Pasadena, CA 91 107.

Defendant ROSE HARRIS borrowed $40k,000.00 from INDYM AC on March 24,2006. The note and mortgage were recorded in tlle Office of the City Register, New YorkCity Department of Finance on June 9,2006 at City Register File Num ber (CR FN)2006000325 13 1. IND YM AC, by M ERS, its noli iinee for the purpose of recording themortgage, assigned the note and m ortgage to plaiiitiff DEUTSC HE BAN K, on October23,2007, with the assignment recorded on Kovelliber 8,2007, at CRFN 2007000559884.

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According to pla in tiff s application, defendant HA RRIS default began with thenonpayment of principal and interest due on M ay 1,2007. Yet on October 23,2007,more than five mon ths later, plaintiff DEUTSCHI BAN K accepted the assignm ent of theinstant non-performing loan from IN DYM A C.

The Assignment by M ERS, on behalf of IBDYM AC, w as executed by LauraHescott, Vice President of ME RS. The notaiy pul)lic, James G . Morris, stated in the jurat

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that the assignment wa s executed in the State of Minnesota, County of Dakota (DakotaCounty is located in the Minneapolis-St. Paul mctropolitan area, and its county seat isIHastings, Minnesota). The C ourt is perplexed as to why the assignment was not executedin Pasadena, California, the alleged priiicipal place of business for both the assignorand the assignee. The assignment states that MI RS, as nominee for INDYM AC, has itsIprincipal place of business at 460 Sierra Madrc Villa, Pasadena, CA 91107, and thatDEUTSCHE BANK has its principal place of I-usiness at 460 Sierra Madre V illa,Pasadena, CA 91 107, c/o IndyM ac Bank F .S.B.

Pl ain tiff s affidavit, submitted in support of the instant application for a defaultjudgment, was executed by Erica Johnson-Seck, who claims to be a V ice President ofplaintiff DEU TSCH E BAN K. The affidavit wa. executed in the State of Texas, County

Iof Williamson (Williamson County, Texas is lochted in the Austin metropolitan area, andits county seat is Georgetown, Texas). The CO U !. ~s perplexed as to why the assignmentwas not executed in Pasadena, California, at 46U Sierra Madre V illa, the allegedprincipal place of business for both the assign1,)r and the a ssignee. In my January 3 1,2008 decision (Deutsche Bank National Tr (1st Ca np un y v Ma raj,- isc 3d- A],2008 NY Slip Op 50176 [U]), I noted that Erica Johnson -Seck, claimed that she was aVice President of MERS in her July 3,2 00 7 INIIYMAC to DEUT SCHE BANKassignm ent, and then in her July 3 1,2 00 7 affidavit claimed to be a DEUTSC HE BANKVice President. Just as in Deutsche B ank Natior!al Trust Com pany v M araj, at 2 , the

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Court in the instant action, before granting itn application for an order of reference,requires an affidavit from Ms. Johnson-Seck, describing her employment history for thepast three years.

Further, the Court requires an exl3lanation rrom an officer o f plaintiff DEU TSC HEBANK as to why, in the middle o f our national sm pr im e mortgage financial crisis,DEU TSCH E BANK would purchase a non-perfc rm ing loan from INDYM AC, and whyDEUTSCH E BANK, INDY MA C and M ERS all share office space at 460 Sierra MadreVilla, Pasadena, CA 91 107.

IConclusionAccordingly, it isORD ERED , that the application of plainli Tf, DE UTSC HE BAN K NA TION AL

TRU ST COM PAN Y, for an order of reference for the premises located at 1038 RemsenAvenue, Brooklyn, New York (Block 7968, Lot 68, County o f Kings), is denied withoutprejudice; and it is hr th er

ORD ERED , that leave is granted to plaint iff, DEUTS CHE B AN K NATIO NA LTRU ST COMP AN Y, to renew its application foi an order of reference for the premiseslocated at 1038 Remsen Avenue, B rooklyn, Ne\\, York (Block 7968, Lo t 68, County ofKings), upon p resentation to the Court, within ft trty-five (45) days of this decision andorder, of: an affidavit from Erica Johnson-Seck describing her employment history for thepast three years; and, an affidavit from an office . of plaintiff DEU TSCH E BANK

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INATIONAL T RUST C OMPAN Y, explaining why: (1) plaintiff DEU TSCHE BANKNATIONAL TRUS T COM PANY purc11:ised ionp performing loan from INDYMACBANK, F.S.B.; (2) plaintiff DEU TSCH E BANK N ATION AL TR UST CO MPA NYshares office space at 460 Sierra Madre Villa, Pasadena, CA 91107 with MORTGA GEELECTRO NIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC., and INDYMAC BANK, F.S.B.; (3)plaintiff DEUTSCHE BAN K NATIONA L TRU ST COM PANY claims 460 Sierra M adreVilla, Pasadena, CA 91107 as its principal place of business in the October 23,2 00 7assignment of the instant m ortgage, but execu terlthe assignment in Dakota Coun ty,Minnesota; and, (4) plaintiff DEUTSC HE DAN < NATIONAL TRUST COMPANYclaims 460 Sierra Madre Villa, Pasadena, CA 91107 as its principal place of business inthe affidavit in support o f the instant applic:Ition, but the a ffidavit was executed inWilliamson County, Texas.

This constitutes the Decision and Order o f the Court.

E N T E R1O . ARTHUR M . SCHACKJ. S. C.- 5 -

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Judge-schack-harris-07262008 - Judge Asks Why the Trustee Would Purchase a Non-performing Loan