THE 2ND DEPARTMENT REVERSED THE AWARD OF SUMMARY JUDGMENT TO THE BANK BECAUSE ONE OF TWO BORROWERS WAS NOT NAMED IN THE RPAPL 1306 FILING; THIS RULING MAY NOT HOLD UP BECAUSE, ON MARCH 30, 2021, THE COURT OF APPEALS HELD ONLY ONE BORROWER NEED BE NAMED IN THE RPAPL 1306 FILING (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff bank’s motion for summary judgment in this foreclosure action should not have been granted because an apparent borrower, Kosin, was not named in the bank’s electronic filing required by RPAPL 1306. [Note that the Court of Appeals, on March 30, 2021, held that the bank need only name one borrower in the RPAPL 1306 notice. That holding may or may not apply to this case, which has slightly different facts in that it was not certain Kosin was, in fact, a borrower. See CIT Bank N.A. v Schiffman, 2021 NY Slip Op 01933, CtApp 3-30-21.]:

… [T]he plaintiff’s noncompliance with RPAPL 1306 by establishing that the plaintiff only made an RPAPL 1306 filing with respect to [defendant borrower] Hollien, but did not make any such filing with respect to Kosin. In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to its compliance with this necessary precondition to commencement of a foreclosure action … . Contrary to the plaintiff’s contention, it was still required to comply with RPAPL 1304 and 1306 with respect to Kosin because, although Kosin was not listed as a “borrower” on the note, he was defined as a “borrower” on the mortgage agreement. Since the mortgage agreement refers to Kosin as a “borrower” on both the first page and the signature page, Kosin is a “borrower” for purposes of RPAPL 1304 and 1306 … . Although there is some ambiguity in the language of the mortgage agreement, any ambiguities in the language of the document must be construed against the plaintiff, as the plaintiff is the party who supplied the document … . Federal Natl. Mtge. Assn. v Hollien, 2021 NY Slip Op 01963, Second Dept 3-31-21