On September 30, 2026, the Second Department issued a decision in Flagstar Bank, FSB v. Roberts, 2026 NY Slip Op. 05519, holding that requesting a foreclosure settlement conference met the requirement for moving for a default judgment, explaining:
CPLR 3215(c) provides, in relevant part, that if the plaintiff fails to take proceedings for the entry of judgment within one year after the default, the court shall not enter judgment but shall dismiss the complaint as abandoned, without costs, upon its own initiative or on motion, unless sufficient cause is shown why the complaint should not be dismissed. The language of CPLR 3215(c) is not, in the first instance, discretionary, but mandatory, inasmuch as courts shall dismiss claims for which default judgments are not sought within the requisite one-year period, as those claims are then deemed abandoned.
Here, the plaintiff filed a request for judicial intervention and requested a foreclosure settlement conference as mandated by CPLR 3408 within one year of the defendant’s default. Such formal requests generally constitute proceedings to bring the case to a judgment, thereby negating any intent to abandon the action. The defendant’s specific contention that a prior version of CPLR 3408, which was in effect at the time this action was commenced, did not require a settlement conference to be held is improperly raised for the first time on appeal.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).