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.

Representative Appellate Matters

• Deutsche Bank, as Trustee v. LaPorte, et al.– the 2nd Department affirmed the trial court’s denial of borrower’s motion to vacate restoration of the institutional investor’s foreclosure. In its decision, the Court found that the trial court properly denied that branch of borrower’s motion which was to dismiss the complaint as time-barred, holding that “a defendant in default is not entitled to affirmative relief of a nonjurisdictional nature absent vacatur of his or her default.”
• Deutsche Bank, as Trustee v. Light, et al.– In appeal by borrowers seeking to overturn summary judgment based on summary judgment challenges, the 2nd Department affirmed the merits of the foreclosure and remanded the case to the trial court. The Court found that borrowers waived summary judgment challenges, when it allowed a prior appeal to be dismissed, based on the same issues. In its decision, the Court held that “[a]s a general rule, [the Appellate Division] does not consider an issue on a subsequent appeal that was raised or could have been raised on an earlier appeal which was dismissed for failure to perfect.”
• Reinman v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee, et al.– In a 2nd Department decision, the Court affirmed the dismissal of a quiet title action by a third party seeking to void an institutional investor’s valid first position lien, based on statute of limitations. This was one of the first post-Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act appellate decisions, to affirm that lack of standing in a prior foreclosure action remains valid as a defense to statute of limitations, in a subsequent foreclosure.
• US Bank, as Trustee v. Narain, et al.– The 2nd Department reversed dismissal of an institutional investor’s foreclosure action, finding that the trial court did not have the inherent authority to dismiss the action.
• Baldeo v. HSBC, as Trustee, et al.– In a 2nd Department appeal, successfully reversed the trial court’s granting of summary judgment in an Article 15 lien priority case, where a judgment creditor sought priority over the institutional investor’s mortgage based on fraud, inter alia. In the decision, the Court found that any inquiry notice of fraud must meet a very high evidentiary burden under New York law, which the judgment creditor did not meet.
• 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