Bank of New York v. Bell
Bank of New York v. Bell
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff, Bank of New York, as trustee for BS ALT A 2005-9, appeals from the judgment of the trial court holding the plaintiff in contempt for its failure to comply with discovery orders issued in response to the discovery requests filed by the defendants Sonja V. Bell and Johnathan S. Bell.
The following facts set forth the relevant background of this appeal. On December 16, 2010, the trial court held the plaintiff in contempt, specifically finding that the failure of the plaintiff to respond fully to the defendants’ interrogatories and requests for production over a period of more than a year constituted a wilful violation of the court’s prior orders. The court stated that its orders met the requirements set by our Supreme Court in Millbrook Owners Assn., Inc. v. Hamilton Standard, 257 Conn. 1, 17-18, 776 A.2d 1115 (2001), of reasonable clarity, a trial court finding based on the record of actual violation and that the sanction imposed was proportional to the violation: “Here, the court’s
The plaintiff filed a motion to reargue the pertinent contempt motion and, on June 29, 2011, the court ruled on that motion in a memorandum of decision. The court stated: “Turning to the merits of the plaintiffs motion for reargument, the plaintiff is right that it did answer all the numbered interrogatories referred to in the defendants’ amended motion for contempt. The plaintiff also explained the omission of certain documents on the grounds that this court sustained the plaintiffs objections to some of the documents being submitted.
“However, in its memorandum of decision of December 16, 2010, the court noted that ‘discovery was not limited to the bundle of assets contained in [BS ALT A 2005-9] because the defendants challenged the entire transaction between JP Morgan Chase and the Bank of New York. Consequently, the defendants were entitled to inquire as to all assets transferred in the transaction.’ As the court further pointed out this put an enormous burden on the plaintiff to provide information and documents requested by the defendants. ‘However, that is a consequence of the complexity of the underlying transaction.’
“The court reiterates its conclusion stated in its December 16,2010 decision, ‘Thus, on its face, the plaintiff has failed to comply with the court’s order.’ The corut has no sympathy for the burden put on the plaintiff to respond to the defendants’ interrogatories and requests for production. It brought it on itself by bringing into play the entire transaction between JP Morgan Chase and Bank of New York. On reargument, the court finds the plaintiff has still not complied with the court’s order and for reasons stated in the December 16, 2010 decision, finds that that noncompliance was wilful. The motion to reargue is granted and after reconsideration, the court reaffirms its holding the plaintiff in contempt, as stated in its decision of December 16, 2010.”
On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to render the judgment of contempt because the plaintiff withdrew the action as of right prior to the court holding the plaintiff in contempt. The plaintiff also claims that the court had no authority to order the plaintiff to respond to discovery requests on behalf of Bank of New York or on behalf of Bank of New York as trustee for trusts other than BS ALT A 2005-9, which trust held the note and mortgage executed by Sonja V. Bell, and that, accordingly, the
With respect to the plaintiffs claim that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction after the plaintiff withdrew its complaint, even if we were to assume, without deciding, that the plaintiff is correct that its action against the defendants was withdrawn as of right immediately upon its filing a withdrawal form, the plaintiff acknowledged in its reply brief that after such withdrawal there remained a counterclaim pending against it. See Practice Book § 10-55.
The plaintiffs second claim on appeal is that the court improperly held it in contempt for violating an order that was overly broad, requiring the plaintiff to respond to discovery requests on behalf of Bank of New York or on behalf of Bank of New York as trustee for trusts other than BS ALT A 2005-9, which trust held the note and mortgage executed by Sonja V. Bell. Specifically, the plaintiff argues that the court’s discovery order procedurally was improper and the court lacked the authority to order compliance.
The plaintiff claims that the court had no authority to order it to turn over documents that belonged to Bank of New York or that belonged to Bank of New York as trustee for any trust other than BS ALT A 2005-9. The plaintiff argues that it is a separate entity from Bank of New York and that the court, therefore, improperly ordered it to turn over documents belonging to that separate entity, which ultimately led to the court’s improper finding of contempt. We agree with the plaintiff.
We must determine whether the court’s judgment of contempt constituted an abuse of discretion. See In re Leah, supra, 284 Conn. 694. To do so, we look at the
On June 29, 2011, the court issued its memorandum of decision on the plaintiffs motion to reargue in which it affirmed its December 16,2010 judgment of contempt. The court stated that “[the plaintiff] did answer all the numbered interrogatories in the defendants’ amended motion for contempt. The plaintiff also explained the omission of certain documents on the grounds that this court sustained the plaintiffs objections to some of the
We agree with the plaintiff that the court’s discovery order required the plaintiff to respond to interrogatories and requests for production as trustee for BS ALT A 2005-9, the sole plaintiff, and on behalf of Bank of New York, an entity not a party to this action. The plaintiff and Bank of New York, however, are separate entities.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., also was named as a defendant but is not a party to this appeal. We therefore refer in this opinion to Sonja V. Bell and Johnathan S. Bell collectively as the defendants, and individually by name where appropriate.
Because we determine the substance of the plaintiff’s appeal on the basis of its second claim which is dispositive, we deem it unnecessary to address the plaintiffs remaining claims. See Tanzman v. Meurer, 128 Conn. App. 405, 407 n.2, 16 A.3d 1265, cert. granted on other grounds, 301 Conn. 930, 23 A.3d 724 (2011); Follacchio v. Follacchio, 124 Conn. App. 371, 373 n.2, 4 A.3d 1251, cert. granted on other grounds, 299 Conn. 914, 10 A.3d 530 (2010).
Practice Book § 10-56 provides in relevant part: “The withdrawal of an action after a counterclaim, whether for legal or equitable relief, has been filed therein shall not impair the right of the defendant to prosecute such counterclaim . ”
Normally, we address the clarity and ambiguity of a court’s order before determining whether the court abused its discretion in issuing a judgment of contempt. In the present case, however, we conclude, without deciding whether the order was clear and unambiguous, that the court exceeded its authority by ordering the plaintiff to turn over documents that belonged to a separate, nonparty entity, and we reverse the judgment of contempt on that basis.
“The trustee is a proper party to assert the claims of a trust for any damages sustained to the trust during the term of the trust, and, as a general rule, the trustee is a proper person to sue or be sued on behalf of a trust. It is within the trustee’s power, and a duty of the trustee, to institute actions and proceedings for the protection of the trust estate and the enforcement of claims and rights belonging to the estate, and to take all steps as are reasonably necessary.” 76 Am. Jur. 2d 636, Trusts § 606 (2005). “A trustee’s duties in connection with his or her office do not include the rights to present an argument pro se in the courts, since in this capacity the trustee would be representing interests of others and would therefore be engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.” Id., § 606, observation, p. 636.
“The trustee is the legal owner of trust property, and as such the trustee is the proper party to actions affecting title to trust property. Thus, a trustee is a necessary party to any suit or proceeding involving a disposition of trust properly or funds, and a trustee may maintain an action in law of equity against a third person to remedy an ir\jury with respect to the trust property as if the trustee held the property free of the trust. Therefore, in actions adverse to a trust, a trustee may sue or defend in the trustee’s own name, so long as that power is vested in the trustee.” Id., § 611, p. 640.
Practice Book § 13-6 (a) provides in relevant part: “In any civil action . . . any party may serve . . . written interrogatories . . . upon any other party to be answered by the party served. . . .”
Practice Book § 13-9 (a) provides in relevant part: “In any civil action . . . any party may serve . . . upon any other party a request to afford the party submitting the request the opportunity to inspect, copy, photograph or otherwise reproduce designated documents ... or to inspect and copy . . . any tangible things in the possession, custody or control of the party upon whom the request is served . . . .”
Reference
- Full Case Name
- BANK OF NEW YORK, AS TRUSTEE (BS ALT A 2005-9) v. SONJA V. BELL
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published