AC45109 - JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Assn. v. Essaghof ("This foreclosure action returns to us on remand from the Supreme Court. In our prior opinion, this court rejected the various claims raised by the defendants, Roger Essaghof and Katherine Marr-Essaghof, who had appealed from the judgment of the trial court granting the motion of the plaintiff, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, to reset the law days in accordance with a previous remand order of our Supreme Court. See JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Assn. v. Essaghof, 217 Conn. App. 93, 95, 287 A.3d 1124 (2022), vacated, 346 Conn. 909, 288 A.3d 1031 (2023). The defendants thereafter filed a petition for certification with the Supreme Court, in which they challenged only this court’s conclusion that the trial court properly had denied their motion to dismiss predicated on the plaintiff’s alleged noncompliance with the notice requirement of the Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMAP) set forth in General Statutes § 8- 265ee (a).

By order dated February 16, 2023, our Supreme Court granted that petition, vacated the judgment of this court, and remanded the case to us ‘with direction to reconsider in light of [its] decision in Bank of New York Mellon v. Tope, 345 Conn. 662, 286 A.3d 891 (2022).’ See JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Assn. v. Essaghof, 346 Conn. 909, 288 A.3d 1031 (2023). This court then ordered the parties to file supplemental briefs on the impact of that decision on the present appeal and heard argument from the parties on April 25, 2023. On August 1, 2023, our Supreme Court released its decision in KeyBank, N.A. v. Yazar, 347 Conn. 381, 297 A.3d 968 (2023), which concerns the proper statutory construction of the EMAP notice requirement codified in § 8- 265ee (a). Accordingly, this court ordered the parties to file supplemental briefs on the impact of KeyBank, N.A. v. Yazar, supra, 381, on this appeal. Having considered the defendants’ claim in light of the foregoing, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

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AC45036 - Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Amelio ("The defendant Carmine Amelio appeals from the judgment of strict foreclosure rendered by the trial court in favor of the plaintiff, Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee for Residential Asset Securitization Trust 2007-A6 Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Series 2007-F. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly denied his motion for an order to allow inspection of the original promissory note in accordance with Practice Book § 23-18. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

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• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC45332 - GMAT Legal Title Trust 2014-1, U.S. Bank, National Assn. v. Catale ("This residential mortgage foreclosure action returns to this court for a second time. This time, the defendants Vito Catale (Vito) and Maria Catale appeal from the judgment of strict foreclosure rendered by the trial court in favor of the substitute plaintiff RMS Series Trust 2020-1. They claim that the judgment of strict foreclosure must be reversed because (1) the plaintiff did not 'lay the foundation required to rely on the hearsay evidence of the loan's history provided by the plaintiff's predecessors in interest' and, therefore, the judgment is premised entirely on inadmissible evidence, and (2) the court improperly struck their 'key special defenses,' including, inter alia, their defenses of unclean hands, bad faith settlement practices, and the inapplicability of the accidental failure of suit statute. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the judgment of the trial court only with respect to the granting of the motion to strike the defendants' special defense claiming the inapplicability of the accidental failure of suit statute because that special defense was not ripe for adjudication. We affirm the judgment in all other respects.")

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• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

SC20715 - JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Assn. v. Lakner ("The sole issue in this foreclosure appeal is whether the trial court properly granted a motion for a protective order in favor of the plaintiff mortgagee, thereby resulting in the denial of all document discovery sought by the defendant mortgagor. The defendant, George S. Lakner, appeals from the judgment of the trial court in favor of the substitute plaintiff, MTGLQ Investors, L.P. On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court improperly granted MTGLQ's motion for a protective order regarding the production of MTGLQ's mortgage file. We agree with the defendant.")

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AC45065 - Cazenovia Creek Funding I, LLC v. White Eagle Society of Brotherly Help, Inc., Group 315, Polish National Alliance ("The named defendant, The White Eagle Society of Brotherly Help, Inc., Group 315, Polish National Alliance, appeals from the judgment of foreclosure by sale rendered by the trial court in favor of the substitute plaintiff, Benchmark Municipal Tax Services, Ltd. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly (1) rendered summary judgment against it as to liability after determining that the tax liens for the grand lists of 2012 and 2013 properly were assigned to the plaintiff and (2) found that the debt was due to the plaintiff. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC45473 - U.S. Bank National Assn. v. Booker ("In this residential mortgage foreclosure action, the defendants Linda Booker and Ulish Booker, Jr., appeal from the trial court’s denial of their motion to open the judgment of strict foreclosure rendered in favor of the plaintiff U.S. Bank National Association as Legal Title Trustee for Truman 2016 SC6 Title Trust. The defendants claim that the court erred in denying their motion to open the judgment because the court improperly decided not to exercise its discretion and afford them relief in connection with the grounds of mistake and fraud raised therein. The plaintiff argues that this court should dismiss the appeal because (1) the defendants’ appeal is moot, as title in the mortgaged property has vested in the plaintiff, and (2) the defendants should not be allowed to raise their claim of error because it could have been raised in the defendants’ prior appeal in this action. The plaintiff also argues that the court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to open. We reject the plaintiff’s jurisdictional and reviewability arguments and conclude that the court properly denied the defendants’ motion to open. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the court.")

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• Foreclosure Law,
• Property Law,
• Recent Opinions

SC20648 - KeyBank, N.A. v. Yazar ("This certified appeal concerns this state's Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMAP), General Statutes §§ 8-265cc through 8-265kk, which is designed to assist homeowners in avoiding foreclosure by providing a mechanism and funding for emergency mortgage and lien assistance payments, among other resources. See General Statutes §§ 8-265dd and 8-265ee. As part of EMAP, § 8-265ee (a) requires mortgagees to provide notice to homeowners to inform them of the resources available under the program. In this appeal, we must consider two questions relating to this notice requirement. First, we have to determine whether the EMAP notice requirement in § 8-265ee (a) is jurisdictional. Second, we must decide whether an EMAP notice sent before the commencement of a prior foreclosure action by the predecessor mortgagee is valid for a subsequent action initiated by the successor mortgagee. We conclude that the EMAP notice requirement in § 8-265ee (a), although a mandatory condition precedent, is not jurisdictional in nature. Second, we conclude that § 8-265ee (a) requires that a mortgagee provide an EMAP notice for each foreclosure action initiated. Therefore, in the present case, the plaintiff, KeyBank, N.A., was required to provide an EMAP notice to the defendant Ozlem Yazar prior to initiating a subsequent foreclosure action after a prior foreclosure action had been dismissed.")

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AC45926 - Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC v. Ishikawa ("In this residential mortgage foreclosure action, the defendant Yoko Ishikawa appeals from the judgment of strict foreclosure rendered by the trial court in favor of the plaintiff, Limosa, LLC. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly granted the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment as to liability only because it erred in determining that there were no genuine issues of material fact as to the defendant's special defense alleging that Robert D. Hackett, the defendant's former spouse and a co-obligor on the underlying note and mortgage, had not been given notice of default and acceleration pursuant to 24 C.F.R. § 201.50. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC45425, AC45426, AC45462 - Pacific Funding Trust 1002 v. Stephenson Residential Services, LLC ("In these three appeals, the named defendant in each case, Stephenson Residential Services, LLC, appeals from the judgments of foreclosure by sale rendered in favor of the plaintiff in the first case, Pacific Funding Trust 1002 (Pacific Funding), and the plaintiff in the second and third cases, PS Funding, Inc. (PS Funding), after the defendant was defaulted in each case. The defendant filed nearly identical appellate briefs and raises the same claims in all three appeals, namely, (1) that the court improperly determined that the defendant's special defenses, as set forth in a pleading it purported to file in each case titled 'defendant's answer, special defenses/matters in avoidance and setoffs' (answer and special defenses), were legally insufficient to present a valid defense to a matured mortgage, and (2) whether the special defenses, even if not properly part of the record, sufficiently apprised the court that the defendant was raising a challenge or objection to the amount of the debt, thereby requiring an evidentiary hearing and precluding the court from determining the amount of the debt by affidavit pursuant to Practice Book § 23-18 (a). We affirm the judgment in each appeal.")

AC45844 - TLOA of CT, LLC v. Taipe ("In this foreclosure action, the defendant Marcelino Taipe appeals from the judgment of foreclosure by sale rendered by the trial court in favor of the plaintiff, TLOA of CT, LLC. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court erred in granting the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment as to liability only and denying his motion for summary judgment. In particular, the defendant contends that the court improperly concluded that the city of Bridgeport (city) complied with General Statutes § 12-144b when it applied the defendant's tax payments to his current taxes owed to the city, rather than to the tax lien at issue in this appeal, which the city had already assigned to the plaintiff's predecessor in interest prior to receiving the payments at issue. We affirm the judgment of the court.")

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SC20662 - JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Assn. v. Malick (“The sole issue in this certified appeal concerns the applicability of the hearsay exception contained in Practice Book § 23-18 (a), which allows a creditor to prove the amount of the debt in a foreclosure action by submitting an affidavit ‘of the plaintiff or other person familiar with the indebtedness,’ rather than through live testimony, ‘where no defense as to the amount of the mortgage debt is interposed . . . .’ The plaintiff, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, appeals from the Appellate Court’s judgment reversing the trial court’s judgment of strict foreclosure rendered against the named defendant, Abu Hashem Malick. The plaintiff claims that the Appellate Court incorrectly held that, because the defendant had objected to the amount of the mortgage debt, § 23-18 (a) did not apply as a matter of law in the present case. Specifically, the plaintiff argues that, because the defendant failed to provide admissible evidence to support his claims that the plaintiff had miscalculated the amount of interest and municipal taxes he owed, the defendant’s objection did not suffice to bar the application of § 23-18 (a), and thus the trial court properly allowed the plaintiff to establish the amount of the debt by affidavit. We disagree with the plaintiff and affirm the Appellate Court’s judgment.”)

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AC45355 - Mirlis v. Yeshiva of New Haven, Inc. (Foreclosure of judgment lien; motion to open judgment of strict foreclosure; motion to reargue; "The defendant, Yeshiva of New Haven, Inc., appeals from the denial of both (1) its renewed motion to open the judgment of strict foreclosure in favor of the plaintiff, Eliyahu Mirlis, for the purpose of extending the law day and to permit the defendant to substitute a cash bond for the judgment lien against real property located at 765 Elm Street in New Haven (property), and (2) its motion to reargue the denial of its renewed motion to open. On appeal, we construe the defendant's claims to assert that it had a right as a matter of law to substitute a cash bond for the judgment lien in the amount of the court's earlier valuation of the property. The defendant thus argues that the court improperly denied its motions because the court (1) failed to give full force and effect to the earlier findings of valuation and, relatedly, improperly required the defendant to have immediate cash on hand in that amount, and (2) ignored new evidence presented on the motion to reargue. We disagree and, accordingly, affirm the judgment.")

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• Foreclosure Law,
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AC45366 - Fiorita, Kornhaas & Co., P.C. v. Vilela ("In this foreclosure action, the defendant Joseph Vilela appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing his counterclaim against the plaintiff, Fiorita, Kornhaas & Company, P.C. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly determined that his failure to comply with the notice provisions of General Statutes § 49-51, which pertains to the discharge of invalid liens, deprived the court of subject matter jurisdiction over his counterclaim seeking to void the mortgage that is central to this appeal. In particular, the defendant argues that § 49-51 applies only to liens and that a mortgage is not a lien for purposes of that statute. The defendant further claims that the court improperly concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider his challenge to the validity of the mortgage on the grounds of fraud and a violation of public policy and that it exceeded the scope of the plaintiff's motion to dismiss by exercising its discretion to conclude, sua sponte, that the defendant's declaratory judgment claim should not be permitted to proceed. We agree with the defendant's first claim and reverse the judgment of the trial court.")

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• Foreclosure Law,
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AC45043 - U.S. Bank National Assn. v. Weinbaum ("In this foreclosure action, the defendant, Sholeh Weinbaum, appeals from the judgment of foreclosure by sale rendered by the trial court in favor of the plaintiff, U.S. Bank National Association, As Trustee for Structured Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loan Trust, Mortgage Pass Through Certificates, Series 2006-4. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly denied her motion to set aside the default that was entered against her for failing to plead because the plaintiff's motion for judgment was filed prematurely. Alternatively, she makes the related claim that the default was set aside by operation of law when she filed her answer and special defenses. Lastly, she claims that the court abused its discretion when it denied her motion to set aside the default. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Civil Procedure,
• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC44906 - Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas v. Burke ("The defendants Kevin R. Burke and Maura Lee Wahlberg appeal from the judgment of strict foreclosure rendered in favor of the plaintiff, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as trustee for Residential Accredit Loans, Inc., Mortgage Asset-Backed Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2005-QA10.On appeal, the defendants claim that the court improperly rejected their special defense of laches. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

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• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC45055 - Long Manor Owners' Association, Inc. v. Alungbe ("The defendant Gabriel D. Alungbe, a self-represented party, appeals from the judgment of foreclosure by sale rendered in favor of the plaintiff, Long Manor Owners' Association, Inc., arising out of outstanding common charges in connection with the defendant's condominium unit in Long Manor Condominiums in New Britain (complex). The defendant claims that the trial court erred in: (1) denying him his due process rights and the opportunity to present evidence at the trial to determine the amount of the debt; (2) awarding the plaintiff the amount of the debt, as well as attorney's and other fees; (3) appointing David Karat, the property manager of the complex, as receiver of rents; (4) failing to require the plaintiff and Karat to disclose the amount of late fees they charged; (5) granting Karat a receiver fee of $90 per hour; (6) failing to require the plaintiff and Karat to produce evidence regarding water and sewer statements; (7) denying his requests to conduct the trial via alternative means; (8) failing to consider all of the testimony and evidence presented during the trial; and (9) denying his motion to reargue vis-a-vis the foreclosure judgment. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

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• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC45502 - Wells Fargo Bank, National Assn. v. Doreus ("The self-represented defendant, Elita Doreus, appeals from the judgment of strict foreclosure rendered by the trial court in favor of the plaintiff, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Trustee for the Holders of the First Franklin Mortgage Loan Trust 2006-FF17 Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2006-FF17. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly rendered a judgment of strict foreclosure because the action is barred by the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

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• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

SC20660 - Strazza Building & Construction, Inc. v. Harris ("In Girolametti v. Michael Horton Associates, Inc., 332 Conn. 67, 87, 208 A.3d 1223 (2019), this court held that, when a property owner and a general contractor have resolved disputes arising from a construction project by way of binding arbitration, there arises a rebuttable presumption that the general contractor and its subcontractors are in privity for purposes of res judicata in any subsequent litigation. In this certified appeal, we must determine whether the Appellate Court correctly applied Girolametti to the facts of the present case, in which a general contractor had sued the property owner to foreclose two mechanic's liens it served on the owner, claiming unpaid balances for labor and materials stemming from renovations it began on the owner's home. In particular, we consider whether the Appellate Court properly upheld the trial court's denial of the property owner's motion for summary judgment, declining to give preclusive effect to the findings of the trial court in a prior action between the owner and one of the general contractor's subcontractors. We agree with the Appellate Court that the presumption of privity that we held to apply in Girolametti does not apply in the present case, in which a property owner seeks to bind a general contractor to a prior judgment against a subcontractor. We also agree that the trial court correctly denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment because there remains an issue of material fact as to whether the doctrine of res judicata applies to the facts of this case.

. . . The judgment of the Appellate Court is affirmed.")

• Posted in:
• Contract Law,
• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

SC20592 - Bank of New York Mellon v. Tope ("The named defendant, Achyut M. Tope, appeals from the judgment of the Appellate Court, which affirmed the trial court's denial of his motion to open and vacate the judgment of foreclosure by sale rendered by the trial court in favor of the plaintiff, The Bank of New York Mellon. In this certified appeal, the defendant claims that the Appellate Court incorrectly concluded that his motion to open and vacate the judgment of foreclosure by sale constituted a collateral attack on an earlier judgment. The defendant further claims that the trial court improperly denied his motion to open, which alleged that the plaintiff did not have standing to bring the foreclosure action.

We agree with the defendant that the Appellate Court incorrectly concluded that his motion to open constituted a collateral attack on an earlier judgment. We also reject the alternative ground that the trial court properly denied the defendant's motion to open, in which he claimed that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Appellate Court and remand the case to that court with direction to remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.")

• Posted in:
• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC45109 - JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Assn. v. Essaghof ("In this foreclosure action, the defendants Roger Essaghof and Katherine Marr-Essaghof appeal from the judgment of the trial court granting the motion of the plaintiff, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, to reset the law days in accordance with a remand order of our Supreme Court. See JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Assn. v. Essaghof, 336 Conn. 633, 653, 249 A.3d 327 (2020). On appeal, the defendants claim that the court improperly (1) construed that remand order in a narrow manner and (2) denied their motion to dismiss predicated on the plaintiff's alleged noncompliance with the Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMAP) notice requirements set forth in General Statutes § 8-265ee (a). We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC45169 - Speer v. Norwich ("In the underlying action, the self-represented plaintiff, Sheri Speer, sought injunctive relief that would effectively prohibit the defendant, the city of Norwich, from proceeding with a tax foreclosure sale of real property she owned. The plaintiff appeals from the trial court's granting of a motion to dismiss in favor of the defendant. The court determined that the issues raised in the action were moot and, thus, it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over her action. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that (1) the court erred in finding that the matter was moot, (2) even if the matter was moot, the collateral consequences doctrine still applies, and (3) the court 'improperly den[ied] [her] due process by not enjoining the tax sale proceedings to which she was not a party and to which were subjected to the impaired functionality and limitations on higher bids imposed [by] COVID-19 restrictions.' We dismiss the appeal as moot.")

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• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC44902 - Speer v. U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. ("The self-represented plaintiff, Sheri Speer, appeals from the judgment of the trial court rendered in favor of the defendant U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. (U.S. Bank). The plaintiff claims on appeal that the trial court (1) erred in granting U.S. Bank's motion to strike dated February 26, 2021, because the motion to strike (a) "did not comply with Practice Book § 10-41" and (b) was not directed to the operative complaint and (2) erred in granting U.S. Bank's motion for judgment dated September 21, 2021, because it was filed while an automatic appellate stay was in effect. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Foreclosure Law,
• Property Law,
• Recent Opinions,
• Tort Law

AC43761 - U.S. Bank National Assn. v. Rago ("This matter returns to us following our decision in U.S. Bank National Assn. v. Rago, 189 Conn. App. 902, 203 A.3d 718 (2019), in which this court, by memorandum decision, affirmed a judgment of strict foreclosure rendered in favor of the plaintiff, U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee for the C-BASS Mortgage Loan Asset-Backed Certificates, Series 2007-MX1, and remanded the case 'for the purpose of setting new law days.' Id. The defendant Frank V. Rago now appeals from the trial court's subsequent judgment of strict foreclosure rendered, on remand, in favor of the plaintiff. On appeal, the defendant claims, inter alia, that the court, in rendering the subsequent judgment of strict foreclosure, improperly exceeded the scope of the remand order in opening the judgment and making updated findings, sua sponte and without providing to the parties adequate notice and an opportunity to be heard, with respect to the fair market value of the property and the amount of the debt at issue. We agree, and, accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.")

AC45020 - Wahba v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("This case returns to us following our decision in Wahba v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 200 Conn. App. 852, 241 A.3d 706 (2020), cert. denied, 336 Conn. 909, 244 A.3d 562 (2021), in which this court, inter alia, affirmed a judgment of strict foreclosure rendered in favor of the defendant, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., on its counterclaim seeking foreclosure, and remanded the case 'solely for the purpose of setting new law days.' Id., 869.The plaintiff, Susanne P. Wahba, now appeals from the trial court's subsequent judgment of strict foreclosure rendered, on remand, in favor of the defendant. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the court, in rendering the subsequent judgment of strict foreclosure, erred in interpreting this court's remand order as prohibiting it from changing the nature of the judgment to a foreclosure by sale. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions