Some time ago, our newsletter article (see below) discussed some of the fine lines of allowable commercial competition. That issue was recently front and center before the Court of Appeals after the Federal courts could not make a decision. In Bessemer Trust Co., N.A. v. Branin, Branin was sued by…
Petitioner claimed that the man named on her birth certificate was not her father, but that an Italian national was her biological father. Petitioner sought to amend her birth certificate to remove the name appearing thereon so that she could assert rights in this man’s estate, in Italy. The court…
Plaintiff, purchaser of defendant’s credit card debt, sought court approval to settle the case. The court scheduled a conference to determine the fairness of the settlement terms and found that the defendant had been intimidated into signing the settlement agreement. The court decided that plaintiff’s ability to prove its claims…
Defendant denied the amount he owed to American Express. American Express submitted an affidavit of the Custodian of Records to establish the amount due. The court decided that although the affidavit looked “robo-signed, ” it was sufficient to establish that something was owed, but insufficient to establish the amount, especially…
Wells Fargo sought to foreclose on a condominium after its owner defaulted on her mortgage. The court determined that the mortgage documents required that Wells Fargo send the borrower a notice that set forth certain information about the loan and default before finding the borrower to be in default. The…
Bank of America filed a foreclosure action, seeking the foreclosure of a “prime/traditional/conventional loan,” but asserted that a pre-foreclosure notice was sent to the home-owner in compliance with the rules governing subprime loans. In other papers, the bank identified the loan as subprime, but that no notice was sent because…
Suffolk County Judge Arlen Spinner had another foreclosure case on his chopping block recently. Chase filed a foreclosure action claiming that the home-owner signed a mortgage, which was in default. One of Chase’s allegations was that the home-owner signed the mortgage. Examining the mortgage and note, however, indicated that the…
Its hardly news that in today’s market place the Internet plays a significant role in conducting business. The Internet is involved in everything from downloading purchased software to filing trademarks. Even checks are being phased out in favor of electronic transactions. Whether or not the parties realize it, prior to…
During the pendency of a foreclosure action, the bank entered a owner’s home and changed the locks. The bank claimed that the property had been abandoned because the owner was not present, notwithstanding that not only did the owner not abandon his property, but he had informed the bank that…
A recently signed law, parts of which are already effective and parts of which will be effective in the next few weeks, adds significant burdens upon lenders seeking to foreclose residential loans. Notice to Tenants Effective January 14, all tenants in a residential property (even those without written leases) are…