COURTS OF EQUITY HAVE BROAD POWERS TO ACT IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE, FORECLOSURE IS EQUITABLE IN NATURE, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED.

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that defendant’s motion to vacate a default judgment in this foreclosure action should have been granted in the interest of justice. The court explained the “interest of justice” powers in this context:

“In addition to the grounds set forth in section 5015(a), a court may vacate its own judgment for sufficient reason and in the interests of substantial justice” … . Moreover, “[a] foreclosure action is equitable in nature and triggers the equitable powers of the court … . “Once equity is invoked, the court’s power is as broad as equity and justice require” … . Thus, a court may rely on “its inherent authority to vacate [a judgment] in the interest of substantial justice, rather than its statutory authority under CPLR 5015(a),” as the “statutory grounds are subsumed by the court’s broader inherent authority” … . U.S. Bank Natl. Assn. v Losner, 2016 NY Slip Op 08560, 2nd Dept 12-21-16

CIVIL PROCEDURE (COURTS OF EQUITY HAVE BROAD POWERS TO ACT IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE, FORECLOSURE IS EQUITABLE IN NATURE, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED)/FORECLOSURE (COURTS OF EQUITY HAVE BROAD POWERS TO ACT IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE, FORECLOSURE IS EQUITABLE IN NATURE, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED)/EQUITY (COURTS OF EQUITY HAVE BROAD POWERS TO ACT IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE, FORECLOSURE IS EQUITABLE IN NATURE, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED)/DEFAULT, MOTION TO VACATE (FORECLOSURE, COURTS OF EQUITY HAVE BROAD POWERS TO ACT IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE, FORECLOSURE IS EQUITABLE IN NATURE, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED)