JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Assn. v. Virgulak

Citations

• 341 Conn. 750

Syllabus

The plaintiff bank, J Co., sought to foreclose a mortgage on certain real property owned by the defendant T. T's husband, R, had executed and delivered to J Co. a promissory note for a loan on December 11, 2006. T was not a signatory on the note. On the same date, T signed a mortgage deed for her property, which recited that it was given to secure a note dated December 11, 2006, that was signed by T as the borrower. The mortgage deed did not reference R. J Co. commenced its foreclosure action after the note went into default. J Co. subsequently withdrew the foreclosure action as to R, as he had been granted an unconditional discharge of the debt associated with the note in a separate bankruptcy proceeding. Thereafter, another bank, M Co., was substituted as the plaintiff, and it filed an amended complaint in which it sought, inter alia, a judgment of foreclosure and equitable reformation. The trial court rendered judgment for T on M Co.'s foreclosure and reformation claims, concluding that M Co. did not sustain its burden of proving, by clear 341 Conn. 750 FEBRUARY, 2022 751 JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Assn. v. Virgulak and convincing evidence, that it was entitled to the equitable remedy of reformation of the mortgage deed. M Co. appealed to the Appellate Court, which affirmed the trial court's judgment. On the granting of certification, M Co. appealed to this court. Held: 1. The Appellate Court properly upheld the trial court's decision declining M Co.'s request to reform the mortgage deed executed by T to reference the fact that it was given to secure a note executed by R, as this court could not conclude that the absence of a finding by the trial court that the parties intended the mortgage deed signed by T to secure R's note was clearly erroneous: the language of the mortgage deed, the circumstances surrounding the negotiation of the mortgage, and the conduct of the parties in relation to the mortgage deed and the note did not necessarily support M Co.'s clai