THE AFFIDAVIT WHICH PURPORTED TO DEMONSTRATE PLAINTIFF BANK HAD STANDING TO BRING THE FORECLOSURE ACTION REFERRED TO BUSINESS RECORDS WHICH WERE NOT ATTACHED, RENDERING THE AFFIDAVIT INADMISSIBLE HEARSAY (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff bank did not demonstrate standing to bring the foreclosure action. The affidavit which purported to establish standing referred to business records which were not attached:

… [T]he plaintiff failed to attach the business records upon which Delpesche [an employee of the loan servicing company] relied upon in his affidavit. “Although the foundation for . . . admission of a business record [usually is] provided by the testimony of the custodian, [the author or some other witness familiar with the practices and procedures of the particular business,] ‘it is the business record itself, not the foundational affidavit, that serves as proof of the matter asserted'” … . “‘Without submission of the business records, a witness’s testimony as to the contents of the records is inadmissible hearsay'” … . Since the plaintiff failed to attach the business records upon which Delpesche relied in his affidavit, his assertions based upon those records constituted inadmissible hearsay … . Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v Carrington, 2023 NY Slip Op 05632, Second Dept 11-8-23

Practice Point: Where an affidavit refers to and relies on business records which are not attached, the affidavit is inadmissible hearsay.