Goshen Mortgage, LLC v. Androulidakis

Citations

• 205 Conn. App. 15

Syllabus

The plaintiff G Co. sought to foreclosure a mortgage on certain real property owned by the defendant J. The defendant A, J's now former husband, had executed a note for a loan that was used to purchase the property that secured the mortgage, and that loan was now in default. Prior to the commencement of the foreclosure action, A quitclaimed his interest in the property to J as part of a separation agreement. G Co. alleged in its complaint that it was the holder of the note and mortgage. G Co. thereafter filed a motion to substitute T Co. as the plaintiff, explaining that, since the commencement of the action, it had assigned the note and mortgage to T Co. Four days prior to commencing the foreclosure action, however, G Co. assigned the mortgage to T Co. J objected to the motion, claiming that G Co. lacked standing to litigate the action because it had not proven that it was the holder of the note at the time it commenced the action. The trial court granted the motion to substitute. Thereafter, J filed two motions to dismiss arguing that G Co. lacked standing to initiate the foreclosure because the note and mortgage had been assigned before the commencement of the action, which the court denied. Subsequently, T Co. filed a motion for summary judgment as to liability only, which the court granted, and, thereafter, the court rendered a judgment of strict foreclosure. J filed a motion to open the judgment, which the court denied, and J appealed to this court. Held: 1. This court found unavailing J's claim that G Co. lacked standing to initiate the foreclosure action: G Co. was in possession of the note, endorsed in blank, when it commenced the action and, therefore, had standing to do so; the trial court correctly determined that the note was endorsed in blank, and G Co. alleged in its complaint that it was the holder of the note and, although the mortgage was assigned prior to the com- mencement of the action, there is no indication in the record that the note itself c