Motion to Foreclose Mortgage Denied as No Admissible Evidence Shows FNMA Owned Note....

• Citimortgage, Inc., Plaintiff v. Gene Burshtein et al.

• Citimortgage sued to foreclosure the subject mortgage on certain real property. The court noted when an affiant relied on documents, said documents relied upon must be annexed, and the affiant must establish an adequate evidentiary basis for them. The court ruled mere submissions of documents without any identification or authentication was inadequate. The court noted movant's motion papers consisted of, among other things, exhibits labeled A through C. Citimortgage's counsel described exhibits A and B, but failed to explain exhibit C, and it was disregarded. Also, the court found movant's motion papers ambiguous and "apparently incomplete," noting it was unclear if movant sought to substitute Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) as plaintiff because it was the owner of the note and mortgage or because it was the servicer of the owner. The court maintained that while movant annexed an assignment evidencing the mortgage was assigned by Citimortgage to FNMA, it proffered no admissible evidence that FNMA owned the note. Further, it stated there was no evidence showing FNMA had authority to act as servicer of the note. Hence, the motion was denied.

The full decision can be found here: http://www.newyorklawjournal.com