| American Home Mtge. v Villaflor |
| 2011 NY Slip Op 00340 [80 AD3d 637] |
| January 18, 2011 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| American Home Mortgage, Respondent, v Melvin Villafloret al., Appellants, et al., Defendants. |
—[*1] Hogan Lovells US, LLP, New York, N.Y. (Allison J. Schoenthal, Victoria McKenney, andJessica L. Ellsworth of counsel), for respondent.
In an action to foreclose a mortgage, the defendants appeal from an order of the SupremeCourt, Rockland County (Garvey, J.), entered July 17, 2009, which, after a hearing, denied theirmotion to vacate so much of a judgment of foreclosure and sale of the same court dated June 4,2008, as was entered against the defendant Melvin Villaflor upon his failure to appear or answerthe complaint, and to dismiss the complaint insofar as asserted against that defendant for lack ofpersonal jurisdiction.
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
This Court possesses the authority to review a determination rendered after a hearing whichis as broad as that of the hearing court, and may render the judgment it finds warranted by thefacts, taking into account that in a close case, the hearing court had the advantage of seeing thewitnesses (see Northern Westchester Professional Park Assoc. v Town of Bedford, 60NY2d 492, 499 [1983]). Here, the hearing court's determination that the defendant MelvinVillaflor was properly served pursuant to CPLR 308 (1) was supported by the credible testimonyof the process server adduced at the hearing (see King v Gil, 69 AD3d 678 [2010]; Federal Fin. Co. v Public Adm'r, KingsCounty, 47 AD3d 881, 882 [2008]; Ahrens v Chisena, 40 AD3d 787, 788 [2007]), and we discern nobasis for disturbing that determination. Mastro, J.P., Angiolillo, Balkin, Lott and Austin, JJ.,concur.