An action to foreclose a mortgage is subject to a six-year statute of limitations, pursuant to CPLR 213[4]. Even if the mortgage is payable in installments, once a noteholder elects to accelerate the debt, the entire amount is due and the statute of limitations begins to run on the entire deb. In order to be valid, an election to accelerate must be made by an unequivocal overt act that discloses the noteholder's choice, such as the filing of a verified complaint seeking foreclosure and containing a sworn statement that the noteholder is demanding repayment of the entire outstanding debt. Here, the fact that the decedent died prior to commencement of the foreclosure action did not revoke or invalidate, or otherwise destroy, the express invocation of the contractual election to accelerate the debt.
Wilmington Sav. Fund Socy., FSB v. Burgress, NY Slip Op 06002 (2d Dep't November 27, 2024)
