BUSINESS RECORDS SUBMITTED BY A PERSON WHO DOES NOT ALLEGE PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE PARTY’S RECORD-KEEPING PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES CANNOT BE RELIED UPON BY THE REFEREE IN A FORECLOSURE PROCEEDING (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the referee’s report in this foreclosure action should not have been confirmed because relied-upon business records were not incorporated into an affidavit from someone with personal knowledge of the plaintiff’s record-keeping practices and procedures:
… [T]he supplemental business records were not identified by [the affiant] “or otherwise incorporated into[ ] her affidavit. Rather, those records were attached as an exhibit to [a letter] of the plaintiff’s attorney, and the attorney did not allege personal knowledge of the plaintiff’s record-keeping practices and procedures” … . For this reason, the referee’s findings were not substantially supported by the record … . Citimortgage, Inc. v Rooney, 2025 NY Slip Op 04624, Second Dept 8-13-25
Practice Point: Here the referee’s report relied on business records submitted attached to a letter from plaintiff’s attorney. Because the attorney did not allege personal knowledge of the plaintiff’s record-keeping practices and procedures, the records should not have been considered and the referee’s report was not substantially supported by the record.
