WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. VS. GLENN R. WORRELLÂ (F-056594-09, MONMOUTH COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2017 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
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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-3823-15T1
WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
GLENN R. WORRELL,
Defendant-Appellant.
_______________________________
Submitted September 25, 2017 - Decided October 11, 2017
Before Judges Accurso and Vernoia.
On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey,
Chancery Division, Monmouth County, Docket
No. F-056594-09.
Joseph C. Lane, attorney for appellant.
Reed Smith LLP, attorneys for respondent
(Henry F. Reichner, of counsel and on the
brief).
PER CURIAM
Defendant Glenn R. Worrell appeals from the entry of a
final judgment of foreclosure, contending plaintiff Wells Fargo
Bank, N.A., failed to prove it owned the note secured by the
mortgage. Specifically, defendant claims Wells Fargo did not
"prove its allegation of mortgage assignment by competent
evidence." Because the bank's proof of ownership did not rest
on assignment, but on merger, and defendant does not dispute the
note and mortgage he signed in 2007 has been in default since
2008, we affirm.
Defendant does not dispute that he borrowed $750,000 from
World Savings Bank, FSB in July 2007, executing a thirty-year
note and a non-purchase money mortgage on his home. He admits
the loan went into default in September 2008. He also does not
dispute that World Savings merged into Wachovia Mortgage, FSB,
which subsequently converted to a national bank and merged into
Wells Fargo in a series of transactions approved by the
Comptroller of the Currency.
Wachovia filed the complaint in this case in 2009, which
defendant admits he failed to answer. While its motion for
final judgment was pending in the foreclosure unit, however, the
Supreme Court issued its moratorium on foreclosure filings and
amended the Rules governing foreclosures. The bank stopped
prosecuting foreclosures until it could come into compliance
with the new procedures, and this case was dismissed without
prejudice in September 2013 for failure to prosecute.
The bank subsequently moved to reinstate the action and
amend the complaint to reflect its new name. Defendant opposed
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the motion, arguing the bank should have to file a new
complaint, or, in the alternative, that he should be permitted
to demonstrate he could qualify for a mortgage modification in
mediation. The court granted the bank's motion to reinstate and
substitute Wells Fargo for Wachovia as plaintiff in September
2014. It denied defendant's motion to vacate the default but
granted his request to enter the mediation program.
Defendant did not pursue mediation, and the bank moved for
final judgment in June 2015. Defendant opposed, arguing he
should be permitted to file an answer and obtain discovery
regarding the bank's standing. The court denied the motion
finding defendant had never put forth a meritorious defense and
offered no specific objection to the bank's proof of amount due.
Final judgment of foreclosure was entered on November 9, 2015.
Defendant appeals, arguing that "Wells Fargo's own proofs
establish" it "is not the holder of the note" as its "claim of
assignment was unsupported by competent evidence." The bank,
however, never claimed it was assigned the note. It bases its
claim to the note on the series of transactions through which it
acquired World Savings, none of which defendant disputed. As we
explained in Suser v. Wachovia Mortg., FSB, 433 N.J. Super. 317,
321 (App. Div. 2013), another matter in which Wells Fargo
asserted its ownership of a mortgage originated by World
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Savings, "Wells Fargo's right to enforce the mortgage arises by
operation of its ownership of the asset through mergers or
acquisitions, not assignment."
Affirmed.
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