Court affirms Wells Fargo foreclosure after borrower challenges default and mailing

Then came the mailing question – and this is the piece servicers will want to read closely. New York’s RPAPL 1304 requires lenders to send borrowers specific notices before filing a foreclosure action. Wells Fargo outsourced that work to COVIUS Holdings LLC, a third-party mailing agent. The vice president attested to familiarity with COVIUS’s mailing practices and explained how those records were maintained, transmitted, and folded into Wells Fargo’s own mortgage files. Copies of the documentation were included. 

The borrower swore he never received the notices. The court was unmoved, citing CIT Bank N.A. v Schiffman, a 2021 Court of Appeals decision holding that a sworn denial of receipt, standing alone, does not create a triable issue of fact. 

Standing was the final challenge. Wells Fargo attached a copy of the note, endorsed to the bank, to the complaint when it filed the action. The court held that was sufficient. The bank also produced records showing it retained possession of the note in 2024, when the action was commenced. 

As for the borrower’s affirmative defenses, the court found them either directly refuted by Wells Fargo’s proof or too conclusory and unsupported to survive. Defenses the borrower failed to address in his opposition papers were deemed abandoned. 

For servicers managing third-party mailing vendors, the practical signal is clear: when agent records are properly maintained, transmitted, and absorbed into the lender’s own business records with attestation from someone familiar with the process, the documentation holds up – even when the borrower swears the mail never arrived.