Goldstein v. Thirlex Realty, Inc.

In this action to foreclose on a mortgage, plaintiffs move for summary judgment dismissing defendant Thirlex Realty, Inc.’s answer. The sole defense raised in opposition to the motion is that plaintiffs are attorneys and their taking of an assignment of the mortgage herein was champertous and in violation of section 488 of the Judiciary Law. That section provides that an attorney shall not take an assignment of a thing in action "with the intent and for the purpose of bringing an action thereon.” (Judiciary Law, § 488, subd 1.) In the instant case, plaintiffs, who are a father and his two…