PLAINTIFF IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION DELAYED SIX YEARS BEFORE RESTORING THE ACTION TO THE ACTIVE CALENDAR AND FOUR YEARS BEFORE MOVING FOR LEAVE TO ENTER A DEFAULT JUDGMENT; INTEREST ON THE MORTGAGE DEBT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLLED FOR THOSE PERIODS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that interest on the mortgage debt in this foreclosure action should have been tolled because plaintiff failed to explain a six-year delay in restoring the action to the active calendar and its four-year-delay in moving for leave to enter a default judgment:

… Supreme Court should have granted the defendant’s application to toll the accrual of interest on the note from November 1, 2011, to September 13, 2022. “‘A foreclosure action is equitable in nature and triggers the equitable powers of the court'” … .. “‘Once equity is invoked, the court’s power is as broad as equity and justice require'” … . “‘In an action of an equitable nature, the recovery of interest is within the court’s discretion. The exercise of that discretion will be governed by the particular facts in each case, including any wrongful conduct by either party'” … .

Here, the plaintiff failed to explain its six-year delay in moving to restore the action to the active calendar, and further failed to explain its four-year delay in moving for leave to enter a default judgment against the defendant and for an order of reference after the action was restored to the active calendar. Under the circumstances of this case, since the defendant was prejudiced by these unexplained delays, during which time interest had been accruing, the interest on the note should have been tolled from November 1, 2011, to September 13, 2022 … . Greenpoint Mtge. Funding, Inc. v McFarlane, 2026 NY Slip Op 01945, Second Dept 4-1-26

Practice Point: Foreclosure actions are equitable in nature. Here undue delays by the plaintiff warranted tolling the accrual of interest for more than ten years.