WILMINGTON TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION v. ARGENTIC REAL ESTATE FINANCE LLC (2024)

Appeal from judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Jennifer G. Schecter, J.), entered on or about November 20, 2023, which required defendant to repurchase the subject loan from plaintiff for a purchase price of $41,623,372.29 plus $9,000,000 prejudgment interest, unanimously dismissed, without costs, as moot.  Appeal from order, Supreme Court, New York County (Jennifer G. Schecter, J.), entered July 19, 2023, which granted plaintiff's motion and denied defendant's motion for summary judgment, unanimously dismissed, without costs, as subsumed in the appeal from the judgment.

Defendant's satisfaction of the judgment of specific performance by repurchasing the subject loan, without so much as seeking a stay of enforcement, renders this appeal moot, as it would be difficult to unwind the repurchase (see Matter of Franco v. Dweck, 165 AD3d 551, 552 [1st Dept 2018], lv denied 33 NY3d 903 [2019];  Molina v. Chladek, 140 AD3d 523, 524 [1st Dept 2016];  North Geddes St. Props., LLC v Iglesia Misionera Monte DeSion, 162 AD3d 1512, 1513 [4th Dept 2018]).  While defendant argues that the repurchase need not be unwound and it may instead be awarded the value or repurchase price of the loan under CPLR 5523, such an award is only available to a “purchaser in good faith and for value.”

Motion to dismiss the appeal granted.