NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court."
Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the
parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R.1:36-3.
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-5232-15T4
NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE, LLC,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
RODNEY LEE,
Defendant-Appellant,
and
RCL MANAGEMENT,
BLAC WALL STREET, LLC, and
SHIMEESE POSEY,
Defendants.
______________________________
Submitted September 12, 2017 – Decided September 20, 2017
Before Judges Reisner and Gilson.
On appeal from the Superior Court of New
Jersey, Chancery Division, Essex County,
Docket No. F-041820-09.
Rodney Lee, appellant pro se.
Fein, Such, Kahn & Shepard, PC, attorneys for
respondent (Douglas J. McDonough, on the
brief).
PER CURIAM
Defendant Rodney Lee appeals from a June 2, 2016 final
judgment of foreclosure entered in favor of plaintiff Nationstar
Mortgage LLC, and from an August 1, 2016 order denying his motion
to vacate the final judgment.1 We affirm.
Defendant gave Bank of America, N.A. a note and mortgage in
2007, as security for a $192,000 loan. The bank filed a
foreclosure complaint in 2009, alleging that defendant defaulted
on the loan. Defendant did not deny that the loan was in default,
but raised defenses based on the bank's alleged lack of standing.
The trial court granted summary judgment on June 21, 2010, striking
defendant's answer. The court permitted Nationstar to substitute
as plaintiff in 2014, and final judgment was issued on June 2,
2016. On August 1, 2016, the trial court denied defendant's motion
to vacate the final judgment, for reasons set forth in a written
statement accompanying the order.
Points one through five of defendant's appellate brief
challenge the June 21, 2010 summary judgment order. However,
plaintiff did not perfect an appeal from that order, because he
did not file the transcript of Judge Harriet F. Klein's oral
opinion, which the order states was placed on the record on June
18, 2010. See R. 2:5-3(a), (e) (requiring an appellant to order,
1
The remaining defendants are not participating in this appeal.
2 A-5232-15T4
serve and file the transcript of the trial court record). Nor did
defendant file the transcript of Judge Walter Koprowski, Jr.'s
oral statement of his reasons for entering final judgment over
defendant's objections.
Even without the transcripts, however, we are able to conclude
that defendant's standing argument is without merit. Contrary to
defendant's assertion, the bank submitted legally competent
evidence establishing its standing to file the foreclosure
complaint and to obtain the final judgment. Because defendant did
not properly perfect his appeal from the summary judgment order
and the final judgment, we decline to further address his arguments
as to those two orders. See Cipala v. Lincoln Tech. Inst., 179
N.J. 45, 55 (2004).
Turning to the August 1, 2016 order, we find no abuse of
discretion in Judge Koprowski's decision to deny defendant's
motion to vacate the final judgment. See Housing Authority of
Morristown v. Little, 135 N.J. 274, 283 (1994). We affirm the
August 1, 2016 order for the reasons set forth in Judge Koprowski's
written statement annexed to the order. Defendant's arguments as
to the August 1, 2016 order are without sufficient merit to warrant
further discussion. R. 2:11-3(e)(1)(E).
Affirmed.
3 A-5232-15T4
NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE, LLC VS. RODNEY LEEÂ (F-41820-09, ESSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
Combined Opinion