Beneficial Maine Inc. v. Carter

25 A.3d 96 (2011)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P filed a complaint for foreclosure against Ds. P alleged that Ds had defaulted in payment on their promissory note to P, which was secured by a mortgage on certain real property owned by Ds. P moved for summary judgment and submitted a statement of material facts. P offered two affidavits-one from P's attorney, which clarified the priority of the Ds' creditors, and one from Shana Richmond, Vice President of Administrative Services for HSBC Consumer Lending Mortgage Servicing, described in the affidavit as P's 'servicer.' P cited Richmond's affidavit as the sole evidentiary support for its allegations of its ownership of the note and mortgage, Ds' obligation on the note, Ds' default, and the amount that Ds owed. P offered two affidavits-one from P's attorney, which clarified the priority of the Ds' creditors, and one from Shana Richmond, Vice President of Administrative Services for HSBC Consumer Lending Mortgage Servicing, described in the affidavit as P's 'servicer.' Richmond's affidavit states: D is the holder of the note and mortgage . . . . I have access to the records relating to the mortgage transactions with respect to said note and mortgage. My knowledge as to the facts set forth in this affidavit is derived from my personal knowledge of this account and of the records of this account, which are kept in the ordinary course of business by the Bank and which were made at or near the time of the transactions by, or from information transmitted by, a person with knowledge of the facts set forth in said records. These records are kept in the ordinary course of business, pursuant to the company's regular practice of making such records. The exhibits attached hereto are true copies of the original documents. Ds objected to the admissibility in that P had not established a foundation for application of the business records exception. The court entered summary judgment for P. Ds appealed.