WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. VS. JEFFREY M. BISCHOFF(F-018494-14, BERGEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2017 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court."
Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the
parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R.1:36-3.
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-2294-15T1
WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
JEFFREY M. BISCHOFF and
CINDY PERLUMUTTER a/k/a CINDY
BISCHOFF, wife of JEFFREY
M. BISCHOFF; and MR. PERLUMUTTER,
husband of CINDY PERLUMUTTER,
Defendants-Appellants.
_____________________________
Submitted August 22, 2017 – Decided August 30, 2017
Before Judges Manahan and Gilson.
On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey,
Chancery Division, Bergen County, Docket No.
F-018494-14.
Jeffrey M. Bischoff, appellant pro se.
Reed Smith, LLP, attorneys for respondent
(Henry F. Reichner, of counsel and on the
brief).
PER CURIAM
In this mortgage foreclosure action, defendant Jeffrey M.
Bischoff appeals from a September 22, 2015 order denying his motion
to dismiss the complaint and an October 28, 2015 final judgment
of foreclosure. We affirm.
In 2001, Bischoff and his wife, Cindy Perlumutter, borrowed
1
$300,000 from Wells Fargo Bank West, N.A. (Wells Fargo West). In
connection with that loan, Bischoff and Perlumutter (collectively
defendants) signed a promissory note and gave a mortgage on a home
they owned in Bergenfield, New Jersey. In 2003, Wells Fargo West
was consolidated into, and became part of, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
(Wells Fargo). Thus, Wells Fargo became the holder of defendants'
note and mortgage.
In January 2012, defendants failed to pay the monthly
installment payment due on the loan and, thereafter, defendants
have been in default on the loan. Wells Fargo sent defendants a
notice of its intent to foreclose in September 2013, but defendants
failed to cure the default or respond to the notice. Thus, on May
8, 2014, Wells Fargo filed a complaint in foreclosure against
defendants.
Defendants were served with the foreclosure complaint on
March 12, 2015, but they failed to respond. Accordingly, a default
1
Cindy Perlumutter also uses the name Cindy Bischoff.
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was entered on May 18, 2015. Wells Fargo then sent defendants a
notice of entry of default and a notice in accordance with Section
6 of the New Jersey Fair Foreclosure Act (Act), N.J.S.A. 2A:50-53
to -68. Defendants did not respond to those notices.
In July 2015, Wells Fargo filed, and sent to defendants, a
certification of diligent inquiry and accuracy of foreclosure
documents and factual assertions in compliance with Rule 4:64-2(d)
and Rule 1:4-8(a). Thereafter, Wells Fargo moved for entry of a
judgment. The following month, Bischoff filed opposition to the
motion for entry of a judgment and cross-moved to "dismiss" Wells
Fargo's complaint.2
The Chancery Division denied Bischoff's motion in an order
entered on September 22, 2015. In an accompanying written
statement of reasons, the Chancery court explained that it was
treating Bischoff's motion as a motion to vacate a default, which
it denied because Bischoff failed to show good cause to vacate the
default.
2
Bischoff filed his motion on August 25, 2015, but Wells Fargo
did not file its motion for entry of judgment until September 9,
2015. This discrepancy in timing apparently resulted from the
fact that Wells Fargo gave notice of its intent to move for entry
of judgment before it actually filed the motion with the court.
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Thereafter, on October 28, 2015, a final judgment of
foreclosure was entered. Bischoff now appeals from the denial of
his motion and the entry of the final judgment.
On appeal, Bischoff, who is self-represented, makes a number
of arguments. Although he phrases his arguments in different
ways, Bischoff is really making one contention: He claims that
Wells Fargo did not have standing to sue because it did not own
the note or possess the mortgage when it filed the foreclosure
complaint. Having reviewed the record, we find no merit in this
argument and we thus affirm.
To bring an action in foreclosure, a plaintiff must possess
either the note or an assignment of the mortgage. Deutsche Bank
Trust Co. Am. v. Angeles, 428 N.J. Super. 315, 319-20 (App. Div.
2012). Here, Wells Fargo filed papers establishing that defendants
executed a promissory note and mortgage in favor of Wells Fargo
West. In 2003, Wells Fargo West was consolidated into, and became
part of, Wells Fargo. Consequently, Wells Fargo stands in the
shoes of Wells Fargo West with regard to both the note and the
mortgage and has the right to enforce the mortgage. See Suser v.
Wachovia Mortg., FSB, 433 N.J. Super. 317, 321 (App. Div. 2013)
(explaining that the right to enforce a mortgage can arise from
the ownership of assets acquired through merger and acquisition).
Accordingly, Bischoff's standing argument lacks merit.
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Bischoff makes reference to a number of other arguments,
including contentions concerning unjust results under the Act,
what federal courts have done in foreclosure actions, and various
court rules. None of those arguments is supported by recognized
legal authority as applied to the facts in this case. Moreover,
none of those arguments has sufficient merit to warrant discussion
in a written opinion. R. 2:11-3(e)(1)(E).
Affirmed.
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