MERCALDO v. Vincent Longobardi, et al., nonparty-appellants. (2008)

In an action to foreclose a mortgage on the undivided one-half interest of certain real property owned by the defendant Luciano A. Navarro, nonparties Vincent Longobardi and Yitta Weiss, the purchasers at the foreclosure sale, appeal, as limited by their brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Kramer, J.), dated May 11, 2007, as granted those branches of Deborah Navarro's motion which were for leave to intervene, in effect, to vacate the default judgment obtained against her ex-husband, the defendant Luciano A. Navarro, to vacate the judgment of foreclosure and sale, revoke the public sale, and set aside the referee's deed conveying the defendant Luciano A. Navarro's interest in the property to them.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.

Contrary to the nonparty-appellants' contentions, Deborah Navarro (hereinafter Navarro) was a necessary party to the foreclosure action by virtue of her co-tenancy ownership interest in the property being foreclosed upon (see Capital Resources Co. v. Prewitt, 266 A.D.2d 176, 176, 697 N.Y.S.2d 320).   The Supreme Court did not err in exercising its inherent powers of equity to grant Navarro leave to intervene, in effect, vacate the default judgment obtained against Navarro's ex-husband, to vacate the judgment of foreclosure and sale, revoke the public sale, and set aside the referee's deed (see Guardian Loan Co. v. Early, 47 N.Y.2d 515, 520-521, 419 N.Y.S.2d 56, 392 N.E.2d 1240;  Alkaifi v. Celestial Church of Christ Calvary Parish, 24 A.D.3d 476, 477, 808 N.Y.S.2d 230;  Fleet Fin. v. Gillerson, 277 A.D.2d 279, 716 N.Y.S.2d 66).