Foreclosure Changes Insurable Interest from Borrower to Lender
Barry Zalma
Dec 12, 2023
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Post 4787
In this contested residential mortgage foreclosure, defendants Mitchell and Deanna Minchello appealed from the entry of summary judgment. Defendants contended that plaintiff violated the covenant of good faith and fair dealing by “refusing to disburse defendants’ insurance proceeds and forcing defendants’ home to remain in disrepair” and that the trial court applied an improper standard.
In Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, d/b/a Christiana Trust, as owner trustee of the Residential Credit Opportunities Trust V v. Mitchell Minchello and Deanna Minchello, and J Hofert Company, FIA Card Services NA, Schumann Hanlon LLC, Discover Bank, Vanz LLC-December 10 Series01, Mri-West Morris Associates, and State Of New Jersey, No. A-3522-21, Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division (December 8, 2023) the issues were resolved.
FACTS
The essential facts were undisputed. Defendants borrowed $522,000 in January 2007, secured by a thirty-year purchase money mortgage on their home in Mt. Arlington. Defendants stopped making their loan payments in 2010, and in 2012 they stopped paying the taxes and insurance on the property. In 2014 the lenders asserted its rights by suing for foreclosure in March 2015.
Defendants filed a bankruptcy petition under Chapter 13. The following day, December 7, defendant Deanna Minchello drove her car into defendants’ home, resulting in structural damage. The only insurance was forced placed insurance in the name of the lender.
ANALYSIS
The trial judge granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment. The judge found no dispute over the validity of the note and mortgage, defendants’ default in 2010 and plaintiff’s standing to foreclose the mortgage. Whether the lender allowed the insurance money to go to repair the structure was irrelevant since the foreclosure put the insurable interest in the lender and the lender was the only person insured.
Although the procedural history is long and complicated with the parties’ appendices exceeding 800 pages, the legal issues are straightforward, and the Court of Appeals had no hesitation in holding plaintiff established its entitlement to both summary judgment.
CONCLUSION
The trial court’s orders that plaintiff established its right to foreclose the mortgage, that defendants did not succeed in establishing plaintiff should be barred from asserting that equitable remedy, and that final judgment of foreclosure was properly entered against defendants.
ZALMA OPINION
When borrowers fail to pay mortgage payments, insurance premiums and taxes they have no insurance in their name, only the insurance acquired by the lender to protect its interests. The lender can apply the insurance to repair or simply apply it to reduce the debt. It took unmitigated gall to sue the lenders in this after defaulting in every obligation owed by a property owner that pledged the property as security for the loan. The court found it necessary to read and analyze all 800 pages and still found the trial court’s judgment in favor of the lender to be appropriate. Why the court did not sanction the borrowers and their attorneys is confusing to me.
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The proponent of expert testimony must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that an expert is qualified and that the opinions are helpful, sufficiently grounded, and reliably derived and applied. Experience-based opinions must explain how the...
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Post 4846
Posted on September 17, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/g8rh3JBX and https://lnkd.in/gmkdy-9C, In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS
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Post 5489
Posted on September 14, 2026 by Barry Zalma
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Is Exhaustion Required to Seek Declaratory Relief From an Excess Insurer?
Post 4578
Posted on November 9, 2026 by Barry Zalma
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Exhaustion
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Post 4576
Posted on November 5, 2026 by Barry Zalma
To Restore Voting Rights The Felon Must Pay Fines of $546.00
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To: [redacted] We received your request for an advisory opinion. You indicate that you have one or more felony convictions and request whether you are eligible to vote, including whether you have any outstanding legal financial obligations under section 98.0751, Florida Statutes, and, if so, a statement of the amount that must be paid to make you eligible to vote, and an explanation of how the amount was calculated.
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Administrative Review Permits the Agency to Apply its Expertise
Post 4574
In Erwin Jordan Castro Valdez v. Warden, Otay Mesa Detention Center, No. 26-cv-06147-BAS-JLB, United States District Court, S.D. California (October 30, 2026) Castro Valdez, a Cuban national paroled into the United States, was arrested on June 23, 2026, for alleged insurance fraud, grand theft, and making a false report to law enforcement. In his first habeas action, the district court ordered a bond hearing within fourteen days to determine whether the changed circumstances justified revoking his parole.
An Immigration Judge subsequently denied bond because of his pending state criminal case. Castro Valdez filed a second petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, challenging that determination and requesting immediate release without first appealing to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
LAW
According to the supplied text, § 2241 does not expressly require administrative exhaustion, but courts impose exhaustion as a prudential requirement. ...
