SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF RICHMOND SUPPLEMENTAL Federal National Mortgage Association, AFFIRMATION OF SERVICES RENDERED Plaintiff, Index No. 135924/2015 -against- Gaetano Paccione; The Board of Managers of Kings Walk Condominium II Homeowners Association; Park Village Residents Association, Inc.; City of New York Environmental Control Board; City of New York Parking Violations Bureau; City of New York Transit Adjudication Bureau; Dianna Paccione, Defendants. I, Bridget M. Dehmler, an attorney duly admitted to the practice of law in the State of New York, hereby affirm pursuant to CPLR 2106 that: 1. I am an attorney at law admitted to the practice of law in the State of New York, and am an associate attorney at Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC, the attorneys for the Plaintiff in the above referenced action. This Supplemental Attorney Affirmation is intended to supplement plaintiff's pending motion for a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale. 2. This affirmation is made in support of this Court granting reasonable attorneys' fees as allowed for in paragraph 22 of the mortgage being foreclosed. 3. While this office generally charges a flat fee to perform uncontested foreclosure work, this office maintains digital records of the date each step and task are completed on each file. The dates on which the core steps of this case were performed are as follows: i. Receipt of referral: May 4, 2015, at which time we enter all information into law firm's file tracking systems; obtain and review title search, tax search and loan documentation as well as preforeclosure notices. 15-043253 Affirmation Page] of 5 1 of 5
ii. Summons, Complaint and Notice of Pendency, drafted, reviewed, signed and filed on October 2, 2015 iii. Notice of Motion and Motion for Order of Reference drafted and signed April 26, 2017 by Lissa Palermo, Esq. iv. Receipt and review of Order of Reference filed on October 3, 2017; v. Sent proposed oath and report to Referee for review October 5, 2017; vi. Prepare motion for Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and supporting papers, submitted by Alexander Phengsiaroun, Esq. October 26, 2017; The following steps will be required to complete this foreclosure action: vii. Review the granted Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and correspond with Referee to determine the sale date; viii. Preparation for sale: HUD occupancy letter (if applicable) sent out. Arrange for publication, notice of sale. Order updated tax search. Prepare bid calculations-forward to client and await bidding instructions. Preparation of terms of sale and memorandum of sale. Prepare deed package for Referee to sign. Forward bid to sale representative. Obtain sale results and forward to client. ix. Post sale activity: Preparation of report of sale; obtain proofs of publication and affidavit of posting; file report of sale. Record Referee's deed; invoicing. x. Imaging: all documents are imaged. xi. Correspondence, communications with the Plaintiff, and telephone calls. 4. Schedule "A", annexed hereto for the court's review and reference, is a breakdown of the fee schedule based on each stage of the foreclosure process. This fee 15-043253 Affirmation Page2of5 2 of 5
schedule was devised in such a manner so as to accurately reflect the hours our firm would spend on an uncontested foreclosure matter. Schedule "A" contemplates that a completed, typical foreclosure action, will reasonably have taken forty-one and one quarter (41.25) hours of legal time. At an hourly rate of $250.00/hour for attorneys and $100.00/hour for paralegals, a reasonable estimated fee for these services would be $6,337.50. However, we request that our fee be set at $2,400.00, which are the legal fees billed to and recoverable by our client in this action. 5. Affiant submits that, upon information and belief, the hourly rate referenced herein and sought herein by plaintiff's counsel is below the customary average hourly rate charged by counsel in the New York City area. As reported in the American Bar Association Journal on July 15, 2013, by Debra Cassens Weiss (http://www.abajournal.com/authors/4 / ), the average 2012 hourly billing rate was about $546 for law firm partners and $370 for associates, according to an analysis by TyMetrix Legal Analytics and CEB (http://www.law.com/corporatecounsel/pubarticlecc.jsp?=1202610741068).. 6. Affiant was admitted to the practice of law in the State of New York in February, 1997 and has been providing representation to lenders in the area of mortgage foreclosure since December, 1998. It is my belief, based upon prior experience in this area, that the attorney's fees sought by plaintiff in this matter are reasonable and customary in this field for this type of work. 7. It is respectfully submitted that, based upon the time spent by counsel, the extent of services provided to the Plaintiff, the experience and skill of counsel in the area of foreclosures, the questions involved, and the customary fee charged for matters of this type, the fee requested is both fair and reasonable. Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak LLC has been providing representation to foreclosing lenders and servicers for over twenty five (25) years. The attorneys identified in this affirmation that have performed work on this matter have years of 15-043253 Affirmation Page 3 of 5 3 of 5
experience practicing law in the Courts of the State of New York and, specifically, in handling mortgage foreclosure proceedings. 8. No other recoverable legal fees have been paid to this firm in this matter. 9. Affiant notes that the award of reasonable attorney's fees lies in the sound discretion of the trial court and that the court may award all or part of the fee requested based upon its own review of the case and the circumstances. Bankers Trust Co. v. Hoovis, 263 A.D.2d 937, 694 N.Y.S. 2d 245 (3d Dept., 1999). Dated: XÙ 2½.44,, 2018 Bridget M. Dehmler, Esq. Associate Attorney SHAPIRO, DICARO & BARAK, LLC Attorneys for Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (585) 247-9000 Fax: (585) 247-7380 bdehmler@logs.com 15-043253 Affirmation Page 4 of 5 4 of 5
SCHEDULE A -;.;SERVICES ERÓICEEREÈGÏEREl.--='.â :.. -'.-...'-':~>.': ".'".-''i-'.'.'~='=-~> -"',j=.=-.~b-'!~<'.".' ''«".~~w->- Received and reviewed client's referral package, verify validity of pre-foreclosure notices, run/review SCRA Searches 1.50 1.00 Open File, Obtain foreclosure Search & copies of necessary documents in chain of title, etc. l.50 0.00 Draft and send pre complaint notices such as Fair Debt Notices and/or Pre-Foreclosure Solicitation letters 1.00 0.50 Review foreclosure search, bankruptcy search, prior title policy, mortgage, note & Assignments of same; clear title 1.00 2.00 problems; determine necessary parties Various telephone conversations with client, attorneys, interested parties, written correspondence, preparation of 2.00 2.00 quotes, letters and loss mitigation requests, update client and case management systems etc. Review statement of review, prepare Certificate of Merit; update system(s); run searches 0.50 0.50 Prepare Summons, Complaint, notice of pendency of action, letter to title company, and assignment, if necessary 2.00 0.00 Review summons, complaint & notice of pendency; verify facts and figures; sign pleadings 0.00 1.00 Prepare and Review Statement of Review for Certificate of Merit; send to client for signatures 0.50 0.00 Review Signed Statement of Review, Prepare/Review Certificate of Merit, Prepare for and file complaint, etc. with 0.50 0.50 County Clerk Prepare and forward Summons and Complaint to process server for service upon defendants; determine addresses for 1.50 0.00 defendants, etc. Prepare and execute RJI, send to process server for filing 0.50 0.25 Review affidavits of Service upon defendants, notices of appearance & answers; 120 rule; validity of lis pendens; 1.00 1.00 requests for 1354 hearings, etc. Prepare and obtain client affidavit 1.00 0.00 Prepare Order of Reference and Aflirmation in Support 1.50 0.00 Review Order and Affirmation; sign Affirmation 0.00 1.00 Prepare proposed Referee's Oath & Report, documentary evidence, and exhibits for Referee and delivered same to 2.0 0.00 Referee Review Referee's Report; compute amount due with client; review history 0.00 0.50 Prepare Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale, affirmation, affidavits, costs & disbursements, etc. 1.00 0.00 Review Judgment, affirmation, costs, etc.; sign affirmation, serve and submit to court 0.50 1.00 Various telephone conversations with client, attorneys, interested parties, written correspondence, court follow up, update 3.00 I.50 client and case management systems, etc. SERVICES NECESSARY TO COMPLETE FORECLOSURE: Enter Judgment; Run SCRA and Bankruptcy 4.00 2.00 Searches, order tax search, obtain Hamp Certification, Coordinate with publication & posting company to Contact Referee to set a Sale date; prepare notice of sale & send to newspaper for publication & posting; send notice to appearing attorneys and owners of property. Compute upset bid, prepare terms of sale, prepare surplus money form, Prepare Sale Certifications, memorandum of sale; various telephone calls from interested parties; attend sale and necessary tax forms; prepare Referee's Report of Sale and Referee's Deed; record Decd and file Referee's Report; send copies to appearing attorneys; obtain final title 1 TOTAL HOURS:.'~,-',',';:-:,-..;-; =,:;;;::..-, -'.'".-;;.'";-,;.::.-'-.'..'.;.'jp~j '-, '&;-g'~26:50'~,'= N<."~:14;75-""'4.;.' COMPUTATION OF FEES: ATTORNEY TIME: $250.00/hr. $3,687.50 PARALEGAL TIME: $100.00/hr. $2,650.00 15-043253 A ffirmation Page 5 of 5 5 of 5