DESPITE LOSS OF THE NOTE, THE BANK CAN DEMONSTRATE STANDING WITH A LOST NOTE AFFIDAVIT WHICH MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OF UCC 3-803 (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined plaintiff bank properly established standing in this foreclosure proceeding, despite the note having been lost, with a lost note affidavit which met the requirements of UCC 3-803:

… “[P]ursuant to UCC 3-804, the owner of a lost note may maintain an action upon due proof of [1] his [or her] ownership, [2] the facts which prevent his [or her] production of the instrument and [3] its terms'” … . Accordingly, we agree with the referee that, as long as the affidavit of lost note meets the requirements of UCC 3-804, a mortgagee may establish standing based on its possession of the note, even where the original note has been lost. Here, the parties stipulated that “the factual criteria for the application of § 3-804 ha[ve] been satisfied.” Moreover, while ownership of the note may be easier to establish where there is a valid assignment of the note and mortgage … , due proof of the plaintiff’s ownership may also be provided by an affidavit of lost note setting forth details such as who acquired possession of the note and “when the search for the note occurred, who conducted the search, the steps taken in the search for the note, or when or how the note was lost” … . Bank of N.Y. Mellon v Hardt, 2019 NY Slip Op 05100, Second Dept 6-27-29