On September 16, 2026, the Second Department issued a decision in U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. v. Dweck, 2026 NY Slip Op. 05342, holding that a foreclosure plaintiff had failed to establish standing because of questions regarding the allonge, explaining:
Generally, a plaintiff moving for summary judgment in a mortgage foreclosure action establishes its prima facie case through the production of the mortgage, the unpaid note, and evidence of default. Where, as here, the plaintiff’s standing has been placed into issue by the defendants, the plaintiff must also prove its standing in order to be entitled to relief. A plaintiff in a mortgage foreclosure action has standing where it is the holder or assignee of the underlying note at the time the action is commenced. An endorsement made on a negotiable instrument, whether a specific endorsement or an endorsement in blank, must be on the instrument or on a paper so ‘firmly affixed thereto as to become a part thereof.
Here, the plaintiff failed to establish, prima facie, its standing to commence this action. Although the plaintiff annexed the note to the summons and complaint, the plaintiff did not demonstrate that the purported allonge containing an endorsement in blank, which was on a piece of paper completely separate from the note, was so firmly affixed thereto as to become a part thereof as required by UCC 3-202(2). Further, an affidavit of the president of the plaintiff’s assignee, submitted by the plaintiff in support of its motion, was insufficient to establish the plaintiff’s standing as the holder of the note at the time the action was commenced.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).