MTGLQ INVESTORS, L.P. VS. RAHMAN GABR (F-033404-16, PASSAIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2021 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the
internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-1557-19
MTGLQ INVESTORS, L.P.,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
RAHMAN GABR,
Defendant-Appellant,
and
MANAL GABR and
AMERICAN EXPRESS BANK,
FSB,
Defendants.
____________________________
Submitted January 4, 2021 – Decided May 5, 2021
Before Judges Hoffman and Suter.
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey,
Chancery Division, Passaic County, Docket No.
F-033404-16.
Rahman Gabr, appellant pro se.
Pluese, Becker, & Saltzman, LLC, attorneys for
respondent (Stuart H. West, on the brief).
PER CURIAM
Defendant Rahman Gabr appeals from a final judgment of foreclosure
entered by the Chancery Division on December 4, 2019, contending plaintiff
MTGLQ Investors, L.P. (MTGLQ) lacked standing to foreclose. We affirm.
I.
We derive the following facts and procedural history from the record. On
August 11, 2003, defendant executed a promissory note in the amount of
$302,500 to LoanCity.com as part of a mortgage loan transaction. To secure
payment, defendant also executed to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems,
Inc. (MERS) a mortgage on property he owned on Greendale Road in Clifton.
MERS assigned the Mortgage to CitiMortgage, Inc. on March 29, 2011.
On February 29, 2016, Citi Mortgage, Inc. assigned the Mortgage to the Federal
National Mortgage Association (FNMA). Both assignments were duly recorded
in the Passaic County Clerk's Office.
On October 1, 2015, defendant failed to make the monthly payment and
defaulted on the loan. Accordingly, FNMA sent defendant a notice of intention
to foreclose in accordance with the Fair Foreclosure Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:50-53 to
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-68. On December 15, 2016, FNMA filed a foreclosure complaint and defendant
soon thereafter filed a contesting answer.
On July 6, 2017, FNMA assigned the Mortgage to MTGLQ, which duly
recorded the assignment in the Passaic County Clerk's Office the following day.
FNMA then filed a motion for summary judgment and a motion to substitute
MTGLQ as plaintiff in the matter on August 17, 2017. Defendant did not oppose
the motions.
On September 20, 2017, the trial court issued an order granting summary
judgment, striking defendant's answer, substituting MTGLQ as plaintiff, and
returning the matter to the Office of Foreclosure to proceed as an uncontested
foreclosure. Between October 20, 2017 and December 4, 2019, defendant filed
a series of five reconsideration motions arguing, among other things, that
MTGLQ lacked standing. The trial court denied each motion, citing its finding
on summary judgment that FNMA properly assigned the Mortgage to MTGLQ
and substituted MTGLQ as plaintiff. On December 4, 2019, the Chancery
Division entered final judgment in the amount of $410,108.66. This appeal
followed.
On appeal, defendant argues:
THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT MTGLQ
INVESTORS, L.P. OWNED THE NOTE OR THE
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MORTGAGE AND THERE WAS NO JUDGE’S
DECISION SUPPORTED BY COMPETENT,
RELEVANT AND CREDIBLE EVIDENCE TO
PROVE MTGLQ INVESTORS, L.P. WAS A
"HOLDER" OF THE ORIGINAL NOTE ENDORSED
IN BLANK WITH MORTGAGE AT SUMMARY
JUDGMENT STAGE AND AT THE TIME FINAL
JUDGMENT RESPECTFULLY RECOMMENDED R.
1:34-6.
II.
We review an order granting summary judgment de novo and a trial court's
ruling is owed no special deference. Templo Fuente De Vida Corp. v. Nat'l
Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, 224 N.J. 189, 199 (2016).
"'As a general proposition, a party seeking to foreclose a mortgage must
own or control the underlying debt as of the date of the filing of the complaint.'"
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Ford, 418 N.J. Super. 592, 597 (App. Div. 2011)
(quoting Bank of N.Y. v. Raftogianis, 418 N.J. Super. 323, 327-28 (Ch. Div.
2010)). "In the absence of a showing of such ownership or control, the plaintiff
lacks standing to proceed with the foreclosure action and the complaint must be
dismissed." Ibid.Here, MTGLQ established standing to foreclose with the certification of
Wilma Colon, who averred that the February 29, 2016 assignment from
CitiMortgage, Inc. to FNMA predated the December 15, 2016 filing of the
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foreclosure complaint. Colon also certified that FNMA assigned the Mortgage
to MTGLQ, which duly recorded the assignment. Colon authenticated and
attached to her certification a copy of the original note, the Mortgage, and
assignment documents establishing the series of assignments from MERS to
MTGLQ.
Upon the assignment from CitiMortgage, Inc. to FNMA, FNMA became
the assignee of the Mortgage and had standing to foreclose. See Deutsche Bank
National Trust Co. v. Mitchell, 422 N.J. Super. 214, 225 (App. Div. 2011)
(holding that an assignment of the mortgage predating the original complaint
conferred standing on the plaintiff). When FNMA then assigned the Mortgage
to MTGLQ and substituted MTGLQ as plaintiff, MTGLQ stood in the shoes of
FNMA and assumed its rights regarding the Mortgage. MTGLQ, therefore, had
standing to enforce the Mortgage and final judgment was appropriately entered.
Affirm.
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