Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. Defeats Borrower’s Satisfaction of Mortgage Claims Providing Victory for Loan Servicer
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., was engaged to protect the lender’s interest in a $1.2 million home mortgage loan against borrowers suing to declare the mortgage null and void. The firm represented the loan servicer, a diversified financial services company based in Jacksonville, Florida, and having over $25 billion in total assets. The plaintiffs, who had taken out a $1.2 million consolidated home mortgage loan during 2004, alleged that the servicer no longer possessed the original mortgage notes and that satisfactions of mortgage had been recorded in 2005, shortly after consolidation. The plaintiffs, unable to refinance without being assessed substantial mortgage taxes, and seeking to take advantage of two mortgage satisfactions that had been mistakenly recorded during 2005, sued for a declaration that they owned the property free and clear of the mortgage.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. mounted the strongest possible defense. The firm’s answer on behalf of the servicer included the original mortgage notes together with counterclaims for declaratory relief, including under the doctrine of equitable mortgage, and attorneys’ fees. The firm also filed a notice of pendency against the plaintiffs’ property, threatening to jeopardize the plaintiffs’ ongoing efforts to refinance or sell the premises.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s tough tactics led quickly to settlement negotiations, in which the firm persuaded the plaintiffs’ counsel to stipulate to a court order that would cancel the mistakenly filed satisfactions and restore the mortgage in the property records. Adam Leitman Bailey’s high-pressure negotiating tactics resulted in a stipulated victory for the servicer, without a dime being paid to the plaintiffs.
Adam Leitman Bailey represented the servicer before the New York Supreme Court for Rockland County.