UNITED COMPANIES LENDING CORPORATION v. ROGERS (2007)

Dennis E. Rogers and Roxanne C. Rogers (defendants) appeal from an order denying their motion seeking, inter alia, to vacate a judgment of foreclosure and sale entered upon their default.   Plaintiff commenced this foreclosure action alleging that defendants failed to comply with the conditions of the mortgage issued by plaintiff to defendants, and defendants failed to answer the complaint.   We reject defendants' contention that Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction over this action based on an erroneous description of the property in the mortgage and related foreclosure documents and thus that the default judgment granted by the court is void.   Contrary to defendants' contention, the erroneous description of the property did not deprive the court of jurisdiction over this action inasmuch as the “ pleadings and other papers were sufficiently particular to give notice of the property subject to foreclosure” (American Mtge. Bank v. Matovitz, 208 A.D.2d 788, 788, 618 N.Y.S.2d 391).   Contrary to defendants' further contention, the court properly applied the “doctrine of equitable mortgages” in enforcing the terms of the mortgage despite the erroneous description of the mortgaged property (Sprague v. Cochran, 144 N.Y. 104, 113, 38 N.E. 1000;  see Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Five Star Mgt., 258 A.D.2d 15, 21-22, 692 N.Y.S.2d 69).

It is hereby ORDERED that the order so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimously affirmed without costs.

MEMORANDUM: