AC 31 LLC v. Santerder Bank, N.A., et al., Defendants. (2024)

Amended order and judgment (one paper), Supreme Court, New York County (Francis A. Kahn, III, J.), entered January 9, 2024, which, to the extent appealed from as limited by the briefs, granted plaintiff's motion for a judgment of foreclosure and sale, to confirm the Referee's report, and for attorneys’ fees, unanimously affirmed, with costs.  Appeal from order and judgment (one paper), same court and Justice, entered December 7, 2023, unanimously dismissed, without costs, as academic.

Supreme Court properly confirmed the Referee report, as the Referee had clearly defined the issues, resolved matters of credibility, and made findings substantially supported by the record (see Rosenbloom v. Gurary, 59 A.D.3d 274, 274, 873 N.Y.S.2d 582 [1st Dept. 2009]).  The Referee's determination that if the premises were to be sold then they should be sold in one parcel was supported by an affidavit from plaintiff's state-certified real estate appraiser, who had experience appraising improved residential property in Manhattan.  The appraiser averred that selling the duplex apartment as four separate parcels would be impractical and economically not feasible, and that the best and most feasible way to maximize plaintiff's recovery was to sell the mortgaged premises in one parcel.  Defendants failed to rebut this evidence with their own appraisal.

We defer to Supreme Court's discretion in awarding reasonable counsel fees, and should not disturb such awards if there was no abuse of discretion (see 542 E. 14th St. LLC v. Lee, 66 A.D.3d 18, 24, 883 N.Y.S.2d 188 [1st Dept. 2009]).  Here, applying the appropriate factors in making its determination (see Jordan v. Freeman, 40 A.D.2d 656, 656, 336 N.Y.S.2d 671 [1st Dept. 1972]), and based on plaintiff's affirmation of legal services with 250 pages of supporting documentation, Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in awarding attorneys’ fees of $218,892.75.  Defendants’ conclusory argument that plaintiff's law firm's billings were excessive is unsupported by specific challenges to the number of hours billed, the tasks performed, or the hourly rates charged (see Banco do Estado de Sao Paulo S.A. v. Mendes Junior Intl. Co., 249 A.D.2d 137, 139, 672 N.Y.S.2d 28 [1st Dept. 1998]).