The buyer of a mortgage that is already in default cannot foreclose on the mortgage because it does not have personal knowledge of the default, a state judge has ruled, though the buyer may be able to remedy that if it can get an affidavit from the mortgage’s previous owner.

In a Feb. 14 order in FTBK Investor II v. Joshua Management, 810164/11, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Paul Wooten also rejected several other arguments put forward by the mortgage borrower attempting to avoid default.