THE AFFIDAVIT SUBMITTED TO DEMONSTRATE PLAINTIFF HAD POSSESSION OF THE NOTE PRIOR TO COMMENCING THE FORECLOSURE ACTION WAS HEARSAY (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff did not demonstrate standing in this foreclosure action. The affidavit submitted to demonstrate plaintiff had possession of the note prior to commencing the action was hearsay:
… [T]he plaintiff relied on Harris’s affidavit to demonstrate that it had possession of the note prior to commencing this action. Harris averred, in relevant part, that the plaintiff received physical delivery of the original note on September 5, 2013. As the defendant correctly notes, Harris failed to attach any business record to her affidavit to demonstrate that fact or to aver that she had personal knowledge of the physical delivery of the note. Accordingly, Harris’s averment that the plaintiff had possession of the note prior to the commencement of this action was inadmissible hearsay and insufficient to establish, prima facie, the plaintiff’s standing … . Nationstar Mortage, LLC v Guarino, 2025 NY Slip Op 02925, Second Dept 5-14-25
Practice Point: Whoever submits an affidavit stating the plaintiff in a foreclosure action had possession of the note before the action was commenced must attach a probative business record or demonstrate personal knowledge of the delivery of the note, not the case here.