Opinion
13038 Index No. 380414/10 Case No. 2020-03249
02-04-2021
In the Matter of CIT BANK, N.A. formally known as Onewest Bank, N.A., Petitioner–Respondent, v. Bonnie GOULD, Public Administrator for the Estate of Floree Bilotti, also known as Floree Bresnihan et al., Defendants. Norma Bresnihan Smith, Defendant–Appellant, v. George G. Bresnihan et al., Defendants.
Shiryak Bowman Anderson Gill & Kadochnikov LLP, Kew Gardens (Andreas E. Christou of counsel), for appellant. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, New York (Elizabeth Goldberg of counsel), for respondent.
Shiryak Bowman Anderson Gill & Kadochnikov LLP, Kew Gardens (Andreas E. Christou of counsel), for appellant.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, New York (Elizabeth Goldberg of counsel), for respondent.
Kapnick, J.P., Mazzarelli, Moulton, Shulman, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County ( Doris M. Gonzalez, J.), entered January 16, 2020, which denied the motion of defendant Norma Bresnihan Smith to dismiss the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
While the action was a nullity as to the deceased mortgagor (see Rocha v. Figueiredo, 50 A.D.3d 876, 877, 855 N.Y.S.2d 903 [2d Dept. 2008] ), it was properly commenced against defendant Norma Bresnihan Smith, as a Jane Doe defendant, described in the complaint as having an interest in the subject property, who is an heir and distributee of the decedent (see U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. v. Gedeon, 181 A.D.3d 745, 121 N.Y.S.3d 276 [2d Dept. 2020] ; see also Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp. v. Rose, 64 A.D.3d 539, 883 N.Y.S.2d 546 [2d Dept. 2009] ). The infirmities in the notice of appeal are not jurisdictional, and can be remedied.