Judge Telesca
http://nycourts.law.com/CourtDocumentViewer.asp?view=Document&docID=118617
DEFENDANT stipulated to a $111,000 judgment, and the government’s initiation of foreclosure proceedings against his interest in his marital home—owned as a joint tenant by the entirety with his wife—in the government’s effort to collect debts. Under 26 USC § 7403 the government, citing United States v. Rogers, sought foreclosure, default judgment and a receiver. Defendant contended the government could foreclose only on his tenancy interest—not the property in its entirety—leaving his wife’s ability to live in the home undisturbed. The court denied the government’s motion for default judgment, and required the wife to answer the complaint. After her answer is filed the government could move for summary judgment seeking foreclosure. The government’s retained authority to foreclose, sell the home for fee simple, and compensate defendant’s wife for her 50 percent interest therein, was not without limits. From the record the court was unable to determine whether any Rogers factors militated against the government’s foreclosure of the property in its entirety. Granting the government’s default motion and displacing the wife from her home of 40 years may not serve the interests of justice.
