Practice point: The Appellate Division affirmed the judgment of foreclosure and sale, finding that the defendant failed to show a reasonable excuse for his default and a potentially meritorious defense. As the summons expressly warned that failure to respond could result in a default judgment and the loss of the defendant's home, it is not a reasonable excuse for him to assert that he had been "led to believe," by parties whom he did not name, that he did not have to answer the complaint because he had submitted a loan modification application.
Student note: Since the defendant failed to proffer a reasonable excuse for the default, the Appellate Division did not reach the issue of whether the defendant had demonstrated a potentially meritorious defense.
Case: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Javier, NY Slip Op 06711 (1st Dep't September 26, 2017)
Here is the decision.
