You can, but the challenge has to be backed by evidence and a complete record. In this case the Appeals Court affirmed a judgment for possession against former homeowners who argued the chain of mortgage assignments was broken. The court found the chain was unbroken, and it could not review other arguments because the homeowners did not put the needed papers and transcripts in the appeal record. This is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0. Courts may cite it as persuasive, but it is not binding precedent.
What happened
The homeowners signed a note and mortgage on a house in Springfield in 2006. The mortgage was assigned twice, in 2009 and in 2017, and the final holder foreclosed by auction in 2018. The company that received the foreclosure deed brought a summary process case in the Housing Court to evict the former owners. The homeowners, who represented themselves, argued that the company had no standing because the assignments were defective. The judge first denied summary judgment because the chain was unclear, then granted it on a second motion and later set use and occupancy.
What the court decided
In Phoenix Development, Inc. v. Golphin, No. 24-P-693 (Mass. App. Ct. January 14, 2026) (Rule 23.0 decision), the Appeals Court affirmed.
The record controls the appeal. The homeowners did not file transcripts of the hearings on their motions to dismiss, and they did not include their opposition to the second summary judgment motion. An appellate court does not have to look beyond the record appendix for a missing document. Chokel v. Genzyme Corp., 449 Mass. 272, 279 (2007). So the court could not review the motion to dismiss rulings, and it limited its review to the one argument it could see: that an assignment was void.
The buyer made its case. A buyer after foreclosure can make a prima facie showing of its right to possession with the recorded foreclosure deed and an affidavit of sale under G.L. c. 244, § 15. Federal Nat’l Mtge. Ass’n v. Hendricks, 463 Mass. 635, 637 (2012). The homeowner must then show at least a genuine issue of material fact. Id. at 642. Here the record also showed the default and right to cure notice and the required statutory affidavits.
The chain of assignments was unbroken. Each assignment was notarized, signed by an authorized signatory, and recorded, as G.L. c. 183, § 54B contemplates. A homeowner in default can attack an assignment only by showing it is void, not merely voidable. Bank of N.Y. Mellon Corp. v. Wain, 85 Mass. App. Ct. 498, 502-503 (2014). A bare claim that one trustee was a “non-existent entity,” with no evidence, was not enough.
The homeowners also pointed to a 2011 “confirmatory assignment” that named a different assignee. The court held it changed nothing. The original lender’s nominee had already assigned the mortgage in 2009, so it had nothing left to transfer. An assignment must come from a party that itself holds the mortgage. See U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n v. Ibanez, 458 Mass. 637, 651 (2011). Because the valid chain was intact, the homeowners also lacked standing to raise other alleged defects, such as a blank endorsement on the note, and they had not preserved those arguments in any event.
What this means for you
This is a loss for the former owners, and it holds two lessons.
First, a foreclosure defense needs proof, not suspicion. Ibanez shows that a broken chain can defeat a foreclosure. But if each assignment is notarized, signed by an authorized person and recorded, a court will usually treat it as valid. Saying that a bank did not exist, or that signatures were not in wet ink, will not stop summary judgment without facts to back it up.
Second, an appeal is decided on the record you build. If you lose in the Housing Court, the Appeals Court will not search for your arguments. You must order the transcripts and put your motions, oppositions and exhibits in the record appendix. These homeowners ordered a transcript but did not include it. That cost them review of several arguments.
What to do now
- Get certified copies of every recorded assignment, the foreclosure deed and the affidavit of sale from the registry of deeds.
- Check each assignment: who signed, in what role, whether it was notarized, and whether the assignor still held the mortgage.
- Answer a summary judgment motion with an affidavit stating specific facts, not general objections.
- If you appeal, order every hearing transcript and include all key filings in the record appendix.
- Keep paying use and occupancy if the court orders it while the case is pending.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Housing Court deadlines are short.
