THE DEFENSE OF LACK OF STANDING WAS NOT RAISED IN THE ANSWER AND WAS THEREFORE WAIVED, JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE, SUA SPONTE, DISMISSED THE COMPLAINT ON THAT GROUND (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s motion for a default judgment and an order of reference should have been granted. By not raising lack of standing as a defense in the answer, the defense was waived. Supreme Court did not have the authority to, sua sponte, deny plaintiff’s motion on that ground:
… [U]nder this Court’s well-established precedent, as articulated in Wells Fargo Bank Minn., N.A. v Mastropaolo (42 AD3d 239), the defense of lack of standing is waived if not raised by the defendant in an answer or pre-answer motion to dismiss. Accordingly, by failing to answer the complaint or to make a pre-answer motion to dismiss the complaint, the defendants waived the defense of lack of standing … . Under the circumstances of this case, we remit the matter to the Supreme Court, Kings County, for further proceedings before a different Justice. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v Halberstam, 2018 NY Slip Op 07485, Second Dept 11-7-18
FORECLOSURE (THE DEFENSE OF LACK OF STANDING WAS NOT RAISED IN THE ANSWER AND WAS THEREFORE WAIVED, JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE, SUA SPONTE, DISMISSED THE COMPLAINT ON THAT GROUND (SECOND DEPT))/STANDING (FORECLOSURE, THE DEFENSE OF LACK OF STANDING WAS NOT RAISED IN THE ANSWER AND WAS THEREFORE WAIVED, JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE, SUA SPONTE, DISMISSED THE COMPLAINT ON THAT GROUND (SECOND DEPT))/CIVIL PROCEDURE (FORECLOSURE, STANDING, THE DEFENSE OF LACK OF STANDING WAS NOT RAISED IN THE ANSWER AND WAS THEREFORE WAIVED, JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE, SUA SPONTE, DISMISSED THE COMPLAINT ON THAT GROUND (SECOND DEPT))/JUDGES (SUA SPONTE DISMISSAL, FORECLOSURE, THE DEFENSE OF LACK OF STANDING WAS NOT RAISED IN THE ANSWER AND WAS THEREFORE WAIVED, JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE, SUA SPONTE, DISMISSED THE COMPLAINT ON THAT GROUND (SECOND DEPT))/SUA SPONTE (THE DEFENSE OF LACK OF STANDING WAS NOT RAISED IN THE ANSWER AND WAS THEREFORE WAIVED, JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE, SUA SPONTE, DISMISSED THE COMPLAINT ON THAT GROUND (SECOND DEPT))
