THE CREDIT BID IN THIS UCC FORECLOSURE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW WHAT A COMMERCIALLY REASONABLE BID SHOULD HAVE BEEN PURSUANT TO UCC 9-615 (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Lynch which addresses several issues not summarized here, determined the bid in foreclosure proceedings pursuant to UCC 9-611 was too low:

Taking the position that the business cessation constituted a breach of the security agreement, [plaintiff] terminated the agreement and gave [defendants] notice of its intent to foreclose on the collateral — i.e., the outstanding medical receivables — by holding a public auction pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code (see UCC 9-611). [Plaintiff] was the only bidder at the public auction and purchased the collateral by way of a $50,000 credit bid, which it then credited against the outstanding balance of the loan. * * *

We find that the credit bid was “significantly below” what a commercially reasonable bid should have been under the standard set forth in UCC 9-615 (f) (2) … . It follows that Supreme Court erred in awarding plaintiff damages for breach of contract. Specifin Mgt. LLC v Elhadidy, 2021 NY Slip Op 06578, Third Dept 11-24-21