| NYCTL 1999-1 Trust v Chalom |
| 2008 NY Slip Op 00467 [47 AD3d 779] |
| January 22, 2008 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| NYCTL 1999-1 Trust et al., Respondents, v CharlesChalom et al., Defendants, and City of New York et al., Respondents. Far Rockaway Church ofthe Nazarene, Inc., Nonparty Appellant; Queens Community Realty Inc., NonpartyRespondent. |
—[*1] Stein & Sheidlower, LLP, Carle Place, N.Y. (Gerald Roth of counsel), forplaintiffs-respondents. Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel, New York, N.Y. (Vincent D'Orazio and FrancesJ. Henn of counsel), for defendant-respondent City of New York. Salamon, Gruber, Newman & Blaymore, P.C., Roslyn Heights, N.Y. (Sanford Strenger andLeonard Gretah of counsel), for nonparty respondent.
In an action to foreclose on a real property tax lien, the Far Rockaway Church of theNazarene, Inc., appeals from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Kelly,J.), entered June 16, 2006, as, upon reargument, adhered to its original determination in an orderof the same court dated January 18, 2006, denying those branches of its motion which were tovacate a judgment of foreclosure and sale of the same court entered November 25, 2003, and forleave to intervene in the action.
Ordered that the order is reversed insofar as appealed from, on the law, with one bill of costspayable by the respondents appearing separately and filing separate briefs, upon reargument, somuch of the order dated January 18, 2006, as denied those branches of the motion [*2]of the Far Rockaway Church of the Nazarene, Inc., which were tovacate the judgment of foreclosure and sale entered November 25, 2003, and for leave tointervene in the action is vacated, those branches of the motion are granted, and the judgment offoreclosure and sale is vacated; and it is further,
Ordered that the Far Rockaway Church of the Nazarene, Inc., shall serve its answer within 30days of service upon it of a copy of this decision and order.
The only notice of pendency filed in this matter was invalid. It was filed, along with thesummons and complaint, on March 27, 2003. However, the summons and complaint were notserved upon the defendant Charles Chalom, the purported owner of the subject property, within30 days thereof as required by CPLR 6512. Accordingly, there was no valid notice of pendencyfiled at least 20 days prior to the entry of the final judgment in this matter, and thus the judgmentshould have been vacated (see Slutsky v Blooming Grove Inn, 147 AD2d 208, 212-213[1989]; see also Weiner v MKVII-Westchester, 292 AD2d 597, 598-600 [2002]; cf. Merchants Bank of N.Y. v Rosenberg,31 AD3d 507, 508 [2006]). We note that a prior mortgagee, the defendant NationalWestminster Bank, USA, had no interest in the property at the time this action was commenced,as its prior mortgage thereon was satisfied on January 13, 1999.
The Far Rockaway Church of the Nazarene, Inc. (hereinafter the Church), demonstrated thatit may have an ownership interest in the property which would entitle it to intervene in thismatter (see CPLR 1012 [a] [2], [3]). Accordingly, the Church is granted leave tointervene in the action. Crane, J.P., Florio, Angiolillo and Carni, JJ., concur.