GRACE S. WONG VS. VALLEY NATIONAL BANK (C-000324-18, BERGEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE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-2396-18T3
GRACE S. WONG,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
VALLEY NATIONAL BANK,
Defendant-Respondent,
and
ROBERT G. SCHROEDER
and 561 BROADWAY, LLC,
Defendants.
__________________________
Submitted March 4, 2020 – Decided March 19, 2020
Before Judges Haas and Enright.
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey,
Chancery Division, Bergen County, Docket No. C-
000324-18.
Grace S. Wong, appellant pro se.
Saiber LLC, attorneys for respondent (James Henry
Forte and John M. Losinger, on the brief).
PER CURIAM
Plaintiff Grace S. Wong appeals from the Chancery Division's January 31,
2019 order granting defendant Valley National Bank's motion to dismiss her
complaint in which she again attempted to challenge the priority of defendant's
purchase money mortgage in a related, and completed, foreclosure action. We
affirm.
The parties are fully familiar with the lengthy procedural history of this
matter that is summarized in our earlier decision in Valley Nat'l Bank v. 561
Broadway, LLC, Docket Nos. A-1664-16 and A-4203-16 (App. Div. Oct. 24,
2018) (slip op. at 1-5). In that appeal, we affirmed the Chancery Division's
determination that defendant's mortgage on the subject property had first priority
over plaintiff's subsequent filed lien in the foreclosure action defendant brought
against 561 Broadway LLC. Id. at 5. In doing so, we rejected plaintiff's repeated
contentions, brought both during the foreclosure action and in subsequent,
unsuccessful motions for reconsideration, that defendant obtained its mortgage
by fraud, and that its loan was not secured by a purchase money mortgage
because defendant allegedly did not provide any funds to the seller. Id. at 5-7.
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Following our decision, defendant sold the property to a third party at a
December 7, 2018 sheriff's sale. That same day, plaintiff filed a new complaint
against defendant in the Chancery Division asserting that defendant materially
misrepresented the nature of the mortgage in the foreclosure action, and should
not have been granted first priority over plaintiff's later filed lien.
Because these contentions were identical to those raised by plaintiff in the
foreclosure action, defendant filed a motion to dismiss the complaint based upon
the doctrines of collateral estoppel and res judicata. Following oral argument,
Judge James J. DeLuca granted defendant's motion and dismissed plaintiff's
complaint with prejudice. In his comprehensive written opinion, Judge DeLuca
explained that plaintiff's
[c]omplaint is the eighth iteration . . . of either a motion
for reconsideration or appeal stemming from the
[orders entered in the foreclosure action. Plaintiff] has
unsuccessfully asserted the same set of repackaged
claims in each of the aforementioned actions. She has
had ample opportunity to prove and plead her claims at
every level of the New Jersey judicial system, and the
claims have been determined to be without merit. No
further discovery will provide [plaintiff] with evidence
to prove her claims. Therefore, dismissal, with
prejudice, is the appropriate remedy.
On appeal, plaintiff repeats the same contentions she unsuccessfully
raised in the Chancery Division. Having considered these arguments in light of
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the record and applicable legal principles, we conclude they are without
sufficient merit to warrant discussion in a written opinion. R. 2:11-3(e)(1)(E).
As Judge DeLuca found, plaintiff's claims were clearly barred by the doctrines
of collateral estoppel and res judicata. Therefore, we affirm substantially for
the reasons expressed by Judge DeLuca in his thoughtful written decision that
thoroughly addressed plaintiff's arguments.
Affirmed.
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