You are here: / / THE REFEREE’S REPORT WAS BASED UPON BUSINESS RECORDS WHICH WERE NOT...
,

THE REFEREE’S REPORT WAS BASED UPON BUSINESS RECORDS WHICH WERE NOT PRODUCED; PROOF OF DEFENDANT’S DEFAULT WAS BASED UPON BUSINESS RECORDS FOR WHICH NO FOUNDATION WAS LAID; THE MOTION TO CONFIRM THE REFEREE’S REPORT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the referee’s report in this foreclosure action should not have been confirmed because the report was based upon business records which were not produced. In addition defendant’s default was based upon records for which no foundation was laid:

“The report of a referee should be confirmed whenever the findings are substantially supported by the record, and the record has clearly defined the issues and resolved matters of credibility” … . “However, computations based on the review of unidentified and unproduced business records . . . constitute[ ] inadmissible hearsay and lack[ ] probative value” … .

Here, the referee’s report was improperly premised upon unproduced business records.

… [P]laintiff’s submissions reflected that Chase was not the loan servicer at the time of the default, which allegedly occurred in 2008. Since Chase’s employee, Brunton, did not state that the records of any other relevant entity, such as a prior loan servicer or the plaintiff, were provided to Chase and incorporated into Chase’s own records, that Chase routinely relied upon such records in its business, or that he had personal knowledge of the business practices and procedures of any other relevant entity, Brunton failed to lay a proper foundation for the admission of any records reflecting the defendant’s alleged default in 2008 … . Citimortgage, Inc. v Hassanin, 2025 NY Slip Op 05935, Second Dept 10-29-25

Practice Point: Consult this decision for insight into the proof necessary to confirm a referee’s report in a foreclosure action, as well as the necessary foundation for business records created by a prior loan servicer.

 

You might also like
Defendant in Medical Malpractice Action Should Have Been Allowed to Amend His Answer to Add Statute of Limitations Affirmative Defense
Upward Departure from Level One to Three Not Warranted by the Evidence
PLAINTIFF’S FAILURE TO AFFIRMATIVELY DEMONSTRATE THE ABSENCE OF COMPARATIVE FAULT IN THIS CAR ACCIDENT CASE REQUIRED DENIAL OF SUMMARY JUDGMENT WITHOUT REGARD TO OPPOSING PAPERS.
PROOF AT DARDEN HEARING DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THAT THE PURPORTED CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT EXISTED AND PROVIDED SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO SUPPORT THE ISSUANCE OF A SEARCH WARRANT (SECOND DEPT).
Injury Caused by Lifting a Heavy Beam Not Covered by Labor Law 240(1), Despite the Fact the Beam Was Resting on an Elevated Scaffold
Questions of Fact About Whether Amusement Ride On Sidewalk Created an Inherently Dangerous Condition and Whether the Hazard Was Latent or Open and Obvious
Abuse Finding, Based Upon an Unsatisfactory Explanation for the Child’s Injury, Reversed Based Upon the Testimony of Petitioner’s Medical Witness Who Stated the Injury Could Have Been Caused by a Fall and Described the Child as Basically Asymptomatic and Happy at the Hospital
THE JUDGE DID NOT PRONOUNCE THE LENGTH OF THE TERM OF PROBATION, SENTENCE VACATED AND MATTER REMITTED (SECOND DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

THE PROCESS SERVER KNEW WHERE DEFENDANT LIVED AND WORKED AND MADE SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL... THE WAS NO PROOF DEFENDANT VOLUNTARILY WAIVED HIS RIGHT TO BE PRESENT AT THE...