New York Appellate Division, Second Dept.
Borrower Fails to Thwart Bank’s Unrecorded Mortgage.  Bank loaned 1.5M to defendant but the mortgage was mishandled and never got recorded.  Bank tried to record a copy (presumably a copy bearing original signatures) but the county clerk refused to record because it was not in recordable form.  Bank lost a prior action to compel the clerk to record the copy, and brought the instant request for an order to restrain borrower from transferring the property incidental to bank’s pursuit of breach of contract and specific performance of a modification agreement.  The Supreme Court, Suffolk County, granted for bank and denied defendant’s motion to dismiss that was based on limitations.  The Second Dept. sustained.  The modification agreement contains language requiring the borrower to re-execute the mortgage within 10 days of bank’s demand- ”’execute, acknowledge, initial, and deliver to the Lender any documentation the Lender deems necessary to replace or correct the lost, misplaced, misstated or inaccurate document(s).”’  The bank produced evidence that it had made such a demand and that borrower failed to re-execute the mortgage.  The bank commenced this action three days after the breach (defendant’s failure to re-execute within 10 days) which was well within the six year period of limitations for breach of contract.   JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. v Mbanefo, 2018 NY Slip Op 07709, Appellate Division, Second Department, November 14, 2018 
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New York Appellate Division, Second Dept.
Administrator Loses Bid to Set Aside Deed From Heirs.  Decedent died intestate and eight heirs conveyed property to defendant’s predecessor.  Thereafter, decedent’s administrator sought to invalidate the deeds and administer the property through the estate.  The Surrogate’s Court, Kings County ruled in favor of the administrator but the Second Dept. reversed.  The Court stated that property vests in a decedent’s heirs at the moment of decedent’s death and that here, insofar as the heirs were actually the decendents heirs, the deeds effectuated a conveyance of their interests.  Matter of Blango, 2018 NY Slip Op 07721, Appellate Division, Second Department, November 14, 2018 
opinion