Milbank LLP successfully represented a pro bono client who was a victim of deed theft, obtaining a default judgment in her quiet title action.
The client, a Bronx County resident in her mid-70s, has owned her home for nearly 50 years since purchasing it with her late-husband in 1974. In 2020, a real estate developer contacted her claiming that it had recently purchased the side yard on her property and intended to begin construction. Investigation of public records revealed that the client’s side yard had been “sold” in 2008 to a third party—purportedly by the same individuals who sold the home to the client in 1974—as part of a broader criminal mortgage fraud scheme that had resulted in multiple convictions. In 2020, the third-party purchaser sold the property to the developer who was threatening to begin construction.
In December 2021, the client filed a quiet title action against the developer and its mortgagee in Bronx County Supreme Court. The client sought an order declaring that she owned her side yard free and clear of any interest by the defendants. In December 2022, the client filed a motion for default judgement based on the defendants’ failure to appear. In June 2023, the court granted the motion, awarding all of the relief the client requested.
The Milbank team was led by associate Joseph Kammerman and overseen by partner Alexander Lees, Practice Group Leader of the Litigation & Arbitration Group.
