Kathleen M. Massimo is Partner in Houser LLP’s New York and New Jersey offices. Ms. Massimo represents corporations, financial institutions, corporate directors and officers and other institutional clients. She has tried cases in both New York and New Jersey and successfully argued before the state appellate courts and the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. She graduated, with honors, from Southern Methodist University with a degree in finance and obtained her Juris Doctorate from Rutgers School of Law. While at Rutgers, Ms. Massimo was the Managing Research Editor of Rutgers Journal of Law and Public Policy and a selected oralist for the Vis International Arbitration Moot Court team. Prior to law school, Ms. Massimo worked for Merrill Lynch as a commercial real estate underwriter.

Before joining Houser LLP, Ms. Massimo clerked for the Honorable Joseph L. Yannotti of the New Jersey Appellate Division and later worked as a litigation associate for a large New York firm. Ms. Massimo is a member of the New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania state bars and she admitted to practice before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts in New York and New Jersey.

Experience:

Appellate Victories

• Deswal v. US National Association, as Trustee, et al.– Prevailed at a motion to dismiss in the District of New York, which was affirmed in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit of an affirmative suit raising TILA, RESPA claims.
• Bank of N.Y. Mellon v. Gales, et al.– Obtained first decision in the 2^nd Appellate Department holding borrowers do not have standing to assert noncompliance with the lender’s pooling service agreement.
• Calizaire v. MERS, et al.– Prevailed at a motion to dismiss in the District of New York, and was affirmed in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit of an affirmative suit raising TILA, RESPA claims.
• Citibank, N.A. v. Kallman, et al.– Obtained affirmance of underlying judgment of foreclosure for institutional investor in the 1^st Appellate Department
• Cenlar v. Lanzbom, et al. – Successfully obtained reversal of the underlying trial court’s decision dismissing the client’s affirmative suit to restore their lien in the 2^nd Appellate Department.
• Carrington v. Crismali, et al.– Obtained affirmance of underlying summary judgment in favor of institutional investor in the New Jersey Appellate Division.
• Wood v. Deutsche Bank, as Trustee, et al.– Prevailed at a motion to dismiss in the state court, and was affirmed in the 2^nd Appellate Department successfully dismissing action to quiet title the client’s lien.
• Deutsche Bank, as Trustee v. Gambino, et al.-2^nd Appellate Department decision successfully reversing a trial court’s decision denying restoration of a prior action, where the trial court failed to comply with CPLR 3216 and no other procedural rule or statute allowed the trial court to dismiss.
• HSBC, as Trustee v. Carchi, et al.- Obtained affirmance of the trial court’s decision denying borrower’s motion to dismiss the institutional investor’s foreclosure.
• HSBC, as Trustee v. Devaney, et al.- Obtained affirmance of underlying judgment in favor of institutional investor in the New Jersey Appellate Division, where borrower sought to vacate foreclosure judgment and reverse the subsequent third-party sale.
• Cenlar v. Shenker, et al.-  Obtained affirmance of the trial court’s judgment in favor of institutional investor, after an evidentiary hearing on service where borrower also sought dismissal because the judgment was sought outside their statutory one-year deadline.

Honors

• New York Super Lawyers “Rising Star” Selectee 2015-2019
• Outstanding Young Women Lawyers In The New York Metro Area Selectee 2019-2020

· New York Bar
· New Jersey Bar
· Pennsylvania Bar
· 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals
· Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of New York
· District of New Jersey