Hibernia Savings Bank v. Bomba
Hibernia Savings Bank v. Bomba
Opinion of the Court
As the holder of a promissory note of the defendants, secured by a mortgage of a unit in the Sherburne Village Condominium in Tyngsborough, the plaintiff, The Hibernia Savings Bank (Hibernia), brought this action in the District Court against the defendant mortgagors. The amount alleged to be due was $59,210.79, plus accrued interest, costs, and attorney’s fees. After a hearing on Hibernia’s motion to secure a real estate attachment against the defendants’ property, the judge, sua sponte, dismissed Hibernia’s
Our facts are taken from the report (and exhibits
“To the best of my knowledge, Defendants have no valid defense to the amount claimed hereunder, and there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plaintiff will recover judgment, including costs and attorneys fees, in the amount equal to or greater than the amount of the attachment over and above any liability insurance shown by the Defendants to be available to satisfy the judgment.”
The defendants filed an opposition to Hibernia’s motion for attachment to which was appended, among other material, (1) an affidavit of Ruth Moss, an owner of two units in the Sherburne Village Condominium who had given separate mortgages on each unit; (2) a letter to the defendants from Hibernia dated November 9, 1989, informing them that Hibernia was assuming the servicing of the loan that was then being serviced by First American; and (3) a verified complaint dated February 14, 1990, filed by Hibernia in the Superior Court against First American, to which was attached a document entitled “Adjustable Loan Sale and Servicing Agreement.”
Because her only contacts had been with First American, the bank servicing the loans, Moss believed that the October, 1989 financing proposal came from the bank that held her notes. The first notification to her that Hibernia held one of the notes was its letter to her dated November 9, 1989. Subsequently, Hibernia informed her that it would not abide by the terms offered by First American. First American, which also holds one of Moss’s notes, has honored the proposal and has made no demand for payment on the note held by it.
As indicated, the defendants’ opposition to Hibernia’s motion for attachment also included Hibernia’s sworn complaint against First American. Dated February 27, 1990, and filed in the Superior Court approximately two weeks prior to the filing of the complaint against the defendants in this action, the complaint against First American alleged that in April,
Paragraphs 31 and 32 of the complaint read as follows:
“31. On or about October 18, 1989, First American represented to Hibernia that there had not been any discussions between First American and unit owners concerning reduced interest rates on the mortgages or deferred payments of the mortgage debt. However, unbeknownst to Hibernia, First American had allowed unit owners to remain delinquent on loans, held by Hibernia, despite Hibernia’s instruction to foreclose. Moreover, First American had represented to the unit owners that if the Condominium were closed, there would be a moratorium on mortgage payments until the Septic System was repaired.
“32. On or about November 10, 1989, First American transferred the servicing of the Hibernia Mortgages to Hibernia. Prior to the transfer of servicing, First American negotiated and approved waiver of payment agreements with Hibernia’s mortgagors without advising or receiving the consent of Hibernia and without*383 ever informing the mortgagors that Hibernia, not First American, held their loans.” (Emphasis supplied.)
The servicing agreement provided that First American was to collect all payments, adjust interest rates on the loans (the loans did not have fixed interest rates), and perform other customary duties undertaken in servicing agreements.
The complaint in Hibernia’s action against First American asserted several claims for relief: misrepresentation in connection with the execution of the agreement between Hibernia and First American, misrepresentation and concealment after the execution of the servicing agreement (e.g., First American concealed its representations to unit owners that no mortgage payments would be due until the septic system was repaired and also concealed its plan to close the condominium), breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and violation of c. 93A.
Presented with these documents, the judge held a hearing. Counsel for the defendants pointed to the servicing agreement as showing that Hibernia was an undisclosed principal and therefore bound by First American’s actions in agreeing to a moratorium on mortgage payments. See Nalbandian v. Hanson Restaurant & Lounge, Inc., 369 Mass. 150, 153 (1975). While Hibernia argued that there was a question of fact as to whether the notes were due, it did not suggest that any evidence existed to counter the allegations it had made in its complaint filed in the Superior Court. As set forth in the report to the Appellate Division, the judge ruled that Hibernia had, in its complaint against First American, made the following judicial admissions:
“1. The plaintiff holder of the notes [Hibernia] through its authorized agent [First American] agreed that payments would be suspended until the septic system in the subject property was repaired; and
“2. The septic system had not been repaired.”
The judge then concluded that, “by virtue of these judicial admissions, no payments are due on the notes and the notes are not in default.” The Appellate Division, as indicated earlier, held that the dismissal was warranted because Hibernia
Hibernia is correct that the allegations in its Superior Court complaint are not judicial admissions, that is, admissions that “conclusively determine an issue [and] relieve the other party of the necessity of presenting evidence on that issue.” General Elec. Co. v. Assessors of Lynn, 393 Mass. 591, 603 n.8 (1984), citing Liacos, Massachusetts Evidence 2 (5th ed. 1981).
While under G. L. c. 231, § 87, as amended by St. 1973, c. 1114, § 190, “pleadings . . . shall bind the party making them,” that provision applies only to the “trial of the case in which the pleadings were filed.” Clarke v. Taylor, 269 Mass. 335, 336 (1929). The statements are admissible “if material to [an] issue” in the trial of another case, but they are not conclusive when used in this manner. Ibid. See also Walcott v. Kimball, 13 Allen 460, 462 (1866); Keown v. Hughes, 233 Mass. 1, 5 (1919). Thus, while the allegations of Hibernia’s complaint against First American were admissible as evidence, they were not binding upon Hibernia.
The defendants, recognizing that the impact of the statements was more limited than stated by the judge, argue that,
There is much force in the defendants’ argument that the judge was correct in treating Hibernia’s action against them as premature. As they point out, Hibernia has not indicated that it has any admissible evidence to counter the fact that it was an undisclosed principal, that First American was its agent, that the latter informed the defendants that they would not have to make mortgage payments until the septic system was repaired, and that the unit holders then voted to close the condominium. Nevertheless, because Hibernia had no notice that summary judgment was a possibility and because the judge did not purport to grant summary judgment, in the interest of giving Hibernia the opportunity to show that it does have a case, we vacate the dismissal of the report. If Hibernia, within thirty days from the date of the re-script, files affidavits or other materials claiming that it has admissible evidence showing the existence of a genuine, material issue of fact in the District Court, a judge of that court shall hold a hearing as to whether summary judgment should be granted in favor of the defendants. If Hibernia does not file such materials within such period (the District Court judge may in his or her discretion extend the period), the judgment of dismissal in the District Court shall stand on the basis that Hibernia’s action against the Bombas is premature.
So ordered.
Hibernia had originally brought seven actions against different mortgagors which were consolidated by the judge. Each of the actions was dismissed. At the time of the second hearing before this court (the first hearing was continued while the parties discussed settlement) only the action against the Bombas remained.
Attached to the report was a representative example of the complaint and other papers filed in the seven actions. See note 2, supra. We obtained from the Quincy District Court the papers that pertained to the individual defendants in this case.
James J. Bomba, Sr., also claimed that he had not signed the note, and an affidavit of a handwriting expert was submitted stating that the signature was not that of James J. Bomba, Sr.
In its brief in this court Hibernia states that its complaint in the Superior Court against First American has been amended and argues that, since pleadings that have been amended are not binding and may not be used as evidence in the same case, Liacos, Massachusetts Evidence 5 (5th ed. 1981), the original, withdrawn pleadings should have no evidentiary effect here. See Fellows, Gamage Co. v. Jackman, 296 Mass. 570, 573 (1937). We need not consider that question since not only were the amended pleadings not before the motion judge but, even more significant, the amended complaints (which the defendants — not Hibernia — have included in an appendix to their brief and of which we can take judicial notice) echo the original complaint in stating that “among the material facts known to First American and intentionally concealed from Hibernia were: . . . the representations made by First American to unit owners that no mortgage payments would be due until the Septic System was repaired.”
Although we agree with the Appellate Division that the aEdavit of Hibernia accompanying the motion for an attachment appears to be highly misleading, we do not consider whether the action should be dismissed on the ground of unreasonable conduct in the absence of a fuller record on this issue. See Monahan v. Washburn, 400 Mass. 126, 128 (1987). Nothing herein, however, is intended to preclude the District Court judge from taking evidence on this issue and imposing sanctions if there are further proceedings in this matter.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.