Towd Point Mortgage v. Clavijo

In a mortgage foreclosure action involving a deceased mortgagor, a beneficiary of the decedent’s estate brought a motion to vacate the judgment of foreclosure and order approving the sale of the home, arguing that she was not properly served. The plaintiff argued that the beneficiary was a permissive, rather than a necessary, defendant. The appellate court affirmed in part and reversed in part, finding that the beneficiary was entitled to have the judgment vacated as to her because she was never properly served but that because she was a non-necessary party and because the estate was properly served, the trial court was properly vested with jurisdiction to foreclose on the mortgage and that the beneficiary failed to demonstrate an interdependence of the parties’ rights such that the judgment must be vacated as to all of them. (ODEN JOHNSON and NAVARRO, concurring)