Caliber Home Loans, Inc. v. Zeller

Citations

• 205 Conn. App. 642

Syllabus

The plaintiff sought to foreclose a mortgage on certain real property owned by the defendant C Co. The defendant Z had executed a note for a loan that was used to purchase the property that was secured by the mortgage, and that loan was now in default. Prior to the commencement of the foreclosure action, Z quitclaimed his interest in the property to C Co. The plaintiff alleged in its complaint that it was the holder of the note and mortgage. The plaintiff thereafter filed a motion to substitute S Co. as the plaintiff, explaining that, since the commencement of the action, it had assigned the mortgage and note to S Co. The trial court granted the motion to substitute and thereafter the matter was tried to the court. The court concluded that S Co. had been assigned the mortgage and was in possession of the note, endorsed in blank, that C Co. lacked standing to challenge the adequacy of the notice of acceleration and default under the note because it was not a party to the note and mortgage, and rejected C Co.'s special defenses. From the judgment of strict foreclosure, C Co. appealed to this court. Held: 1. The trial court's finding that S Co. was in possession of the note, endorsed in blank and, therefore, was the rightful owner of the debt entitled to foreclose on the mortgage was not clearly erroneous, as the record contained evidence that supported the court's finding; S Co. produced the original note, endorsed in blank, and mortgage at trial and presented testimony regarding the history of the documents and how they came to be in S Co.'s possession, testimony which the court was free to credit. 2. The trial court properly determined that C Co. lacked standing to challenge the adequacy of the notice of acceleration and default under the note: contrary to its claim, C Co. was not a foreseeable interested party, the transfer of interest in the property by quitclaim deed from Z to C Co. did not transfer any rights or obligations in the underlying note and mortgage to