Plotch v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

Lack of Notice Claim Over Notary's Illegible Signature on Recorded Documents Is Rejected

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OPINION & ORDEROn January 8, 2018, I issued an Opinion and Order (the “January Order”) dismissing plaintiff Adam Plotch’s complaint seeking invalidation of mortgages and loan agreements connected to real property located at 387 Adelphi Street in Brooklyn (“the property”), and declaratory judgements that his rights to the property are superior to those of defendant Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells Fargo”). Plotch now moves, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 1 5(a)(2), to amend his complaint to add claims for invalidation of a 2005 Consolidated, Extension, and Modification Agreement (“2005 CEMA”) and a 2005 Consolidated Mortgage on the property that the previous owner Philip McKenzie (“McKenzie”) executed in favor of Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo opposes the motion on the ground that plaintiff’s Proposed Amended Complaint (“PAC”) would be futile as it fails to state a claim. For the reasons set forth below, plaintiff’s motion is denied.I. BackgroundThe factual allegations of the original complaint are set forth in the January Order, familiarity with which is presumed. The January Order concluded that “the 2005 Consolidated Mortgage supersedes the prior mortgages and is the mortgage critical to the rights of the parties.” January Order, at 7. As plaintiff had not challenged the validity of the 2005 Consolidated Mortgage in his original complaint, I granted defendant’s motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim.Plaintiff now moves to amend his complaint to add claims concerning the 2005 CEMA and 2005 Consolidated Mortgage. As to both, plaintiff argues that, because McKenzie’s signatures on the recorded copies of those documents were “not properly witnessed, notarized, or acknowledged,” those documents “[do] not meet the requirements for recording in [the] Kings County land records,” and therefore cannot be enforced against him. PAC at

Plotch v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

Lack of Notice Claim Over Notary's Illegible Signature on Recorded Documents Is Rejected

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