JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Assn. v. Lakner

Citations

• 347 Conn. 476

Syllabus

The initial plaintiff, J Co., sought to foreclose a mortgage on certain real property owned by the defendant. J Co. alleged that the defendant was in default because he had failed to pay certain monthly installments of principal and interest. The defendant filed an answer and special defense in which he denied that he was in default, arguing that he had submitted all the required payments. After M Co. was substituted for J Co. as the plaintiff, the defendant issued a notice requesting that M Co. produce The Superior Court clerk is directed to amend the official case caption as set forth above. 347 Conn. 476 AUGUST, 2023 477 JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Assn. v. Lakner its complete mortgage file relating to the defendant's mortgage, including all mortgage payment records. In response, M Co. filed a motion for a protective order, requesting that the trial court disallow discovery as to all the documents sought by the defendant. The trial court granted the motion on the grounds that the defendant's request was overly broad and would not lead to the admission of material evidence. Subsequently, at trial, M Co. introduced into evidence an exhibit containing a summary of the loan and payment history of the defendant's account to prove the debt. The defendant's counsel objected, arguing that the defendant was prejudiced because counsel did not have an opportunity to review that exhibit, which was never produced in discovery, or to locate specific documents to contradict the information in the exhibit. The trial court admitted the exhibit, declining to revisit another judge's decision to grant the motion for the protective order. Throughout trial, the defendant's counsel questioned M Co.'s witness, R, a representative of M Co.'s loan servicer, in order to gain an understanding of the basis for the alleged default and to resolve certain discrepancies between the testimony of R and that of the defendant. R testified that the defendant's default had started in 2002 and that t