Intervenor subordinate mortgagee move to dismiss foreclosure of first mortgagee on the basis the plaintiff failed to proceed to judgment within one year of the defendants’ defaults. Appellate Division reversed and dismissed foreclosure complaint. CPLR 3215(c) provides that if the plaintiff fails to take proceedings for the entry of judgment within one year after [a] default, the court shall not enter judgment but shall dismiss the complaint as abandoned, without costs, upon its own initiative or on motion, unless sufficient cause is shown why the complaint should not be dismissed. It is not necessary for a plaintiff to actually obtain a default judgment within one year of the default in order to avoid dismissal pursuant to CPLR 3215 (c). However the plaintiff failed to timely take the preliminary step toward obtaining a default judgment of foreclosure and sale by moving for an order of reference to establish that it initiated proceedings for entry of a judgment within one year of the defaults for the purposes of satisfying CPLR 3215(c)

Defendant judgment creditor’s claim to pierce the corporate veil of the plaintiff dismissed on the basis the Federal Court should abstain from abstain in favor of an ancillary proceeding in the North Carolina State court.

Landmark decision where the First Department affirmed lower court’s summary judgment declaring plaintiff’s was on constructive notice of easement recorded against the master, base lot despite the County Clerk’s failure to re-index the easement against plaintiff’s subsequently sub-divided lot. The plaintiff was under the obligation to search the chain of title back to the master lot and was not excused by the County Clerk’s failure to re-index the easement.