Justice Thomas Whelan
Plaintiff Everhome Mortgage Company commenced an action to foreclose a September 22, 2000 "Home Equity Conversion Mortgage" given by defendants Arline Sirignano and Virgilio Paul Sirignano to secure an adjustable rate note executed on that same date to BNY Mortgage Company LLC. Everhome alleged that a default occurred under the first mortgage in December 2008, upon the death of Virgilio, who was predeceased by his wife and co-mortgagor by nine months. The event was alleged to have constituted a default under the terms of the reverse mortgage for which the remedy of foreclosure is available to Everhome in this action. Everhome moved for accelerated judgments against the defendants. The court denied the motion, finding that Virgilio died testate rather than intestate and adding that although the mortgage debt is itself considered personalty, authority over the decedent's ownership interest in the mortgaged premises through the exercise of his right of redemption or otherwise presumptively falls within the province of the personal representative of his testate estate rather than his statutory distributee.
