FALSE INFORMATION IN ATTORNEY AFFIDAVIT JUSTIFIED DENIAL OF MOTION FOR JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE BUT NOT DISMISSAL.
The Second Department determined false information in the attorney affidavit submitted by the plaintiff bank warranted denial of the motion for a judgment of foreclosure, but did not warrant dismissal of the complaint with prejudice and cancellation of the notice of pendency:
The Administrative Order requires the attorney to attest that the papers “contain no false statements of fact or law” (Administrative Order 548/10). A plaintiff’s failure to file the mandatory attorney affirmation in compliance with the Administrative Order warrants denial of a motion for a judgment of foreclosure and sale … . Here, since the subject affirmation contained an apparently false statement of fact, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in denying the motion for a judgment of foreclosure and sale without prejudice to renew (see CPLR 2001).
However, the Supreme Court erred in, sua sponte, directing the dismissal of the complaint with prejudice and in directing the cancellation of the notice of pendency. “A court’s power to dismiss a complaint, sua sponte, is to be used sparingly and only when extraordinary circumstances exist to warrant dismissal” … . Here, there were no extraordinary circumstances … . Downey Sav. & Loan Assn., F.A. v Trujillo, 2016 NY Slip Op 06058, 2nd Dept 9-21-16
FORECLOSURE (FALSE INFORMATION IN ATTORNEY AFFIDAVIT JUSTIFIED DENIAL OF MOTION FOR JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE BUT NOT DISMISSAL)/ATTORNEYS (FALSE INFORMATION IN ATTORNEY AFFIDAVIT JUSTIFIED DENIAL OF MOTION FOR JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE BUT NOT DISMISSAL)