Nationstar Mortgage v. Beaver-McKeon, T., 3432 EDA 2015

Background

In 2005 Tracy Beaver-McKeon and Michael McKeon executed a mortgage; Tracy executed the promissory note. The mortgage later passed by assignments to Nationstar Mortgage, LLC.
Appellants stopped making mortgage payments around August 1, 2010; they received statutorily required pre-foreclosure notice but took no action to cure.
U.S. Bank filed a mortgage foreclosure complaint on May 24, 2013 alleging default and an itemized amount due; appellants answered with general denials and demanded strict proof.
The mortgage was assigned to Nationstar, which moved for summary judgment (initially denied without prejudice, later renewed). The trial court granted Nationstar’s renewed motion on October 8, 2015.
Appellants appealed pro se, raising multiple grounds including alleged genuine issues of fact, defects in the note and assignment, lack of standing, evidentiary objections, and unconsidered counterclaims.
The Superior Court affirmed, holding appellants’ general denials amounted to admissions, Nationstar satisfied foreclosure pleading requirements, evidentiary objections were waived, and counterclaims were not properly pled or developed.

Issues

Issue	Nationstar's Argument	Beaver-McKeon/McKeon Argument	Held
Whether summary judgment was improper because genuine issues of material fact existed	Nationstar: no genuine disputes; mortgagors admitted default/amounts by general denials; entitled to judgment as matter of law	Appellants: record shows factual disputes and trial-worthy issues; court applied wrong standard	Court: Affirmed — general denials deemed admissions; no material factual dispute for trial
Whether the promissory note or signature defects defeated foreclosure	Nationstar: mortgage secures the note; mortgage is in default and enforcement in rem is proper even if note-holder chain disputed	Appellants: note lacked Michael McKeon’s signature; originator testified note not genuine	Court: Affirmed — note-signature issue does not block in rem foreclosure; mortgage suffices to foreclose
Whether Nationstar (via U.S. Bank assignment) lacked standing due to defective/"robo-signed" assignment	Nationstar: assignment and pleading met Rule 1147; UCC/standing challenges to chain of possession do not defeat foreclosure in rem	Appellants: assignment was fraudulent/robo-signed; Nationstar is not holder in due course	Court: Affirmed — standing challenge insufficient; debtor cannot avoid in rem foreclosure by attacking chain of possession
Whether evidentiary objections, record-admissibility under Rule 803(6), and unpled counterclaims required reversal	Nationstar: evidence and business records supported motion; appellants failed to raise evidentiary objections below and did not plead counterclaims properly	Appellants: business records unreliable; trial court erred in admitting them and ignored counterclaims	Court: Affirmed — evidentiary objections waived for failure to raise below; counterclaims not pled or developed, thus waived

Key Cases Cited

CitiMortgage, Inc. v. Barbezat, 131 A.3d 65 (Pa. Super. 2016) (summary judgment standard and application in foreclosure actions)
Bank of America, N.A. v. Gibson, 102 A.3d 462 (Pa. Super. 2014) (mortgagee entitled to summary judgment where mortgagor admits default and amount due through ineffective denials)
First Wis. Tr. Co. v. Strausser, 653 A.2d 688 (Pa. Super. 1995) (general denials in foreclosure pleadings deemed admissions because mortgagor uniquely positioned to know amounts owed)
JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Murray, 63 A.3d 1258 (Pa. Super. 2013) (debtor cannot defeat foreclosure by attacking chain of possession of a valid note under the UCC)
New York Guardian Mortg. Corp. v. Dietzel, 524 A.2d 951 (Pa. Super. 1987) (general denial of amounts due is treated as admission)
Cercone v. Cercone, 386 A.2d 1 (Pa. Super. 1978) (demand for proof without reasonable investigation is treated as admission)
Moranko v. Downs Racing LP, 118 A.3d 1111 (Pa. Super. 2015) (issues not raised below are waived on appeal)