New York court orders 21st Mortgage to cover borrower’s $100,020 fees

She appealed. In October 2018, the Appellate Division, Second Department, handed her a cleaner result. It canceled and discharged the mortgage, erased the equitable mortgage, and held she could recover her attorneys’ fees under New York’s Real Property Law § 282. The only open question was the amount. 

Answering it took time. A court-appointed referee – a neutral official who weighs the evidence and reports to the judge – held a two-day hearing and recommended a figure. In February 2023, the trial court confirmed it: $100,020. 

21st Mortgage appealed a second time, now over the fees. On August 5, 2026, the court affirmed the award. 

The mechanics are what matter here. Real Property Law § 282 is a reciprocity statute. When a mortgage gives a lender the right to collect its legal fees from a borrower, the law mirrors that right back – a borrower who wins can collect fees from the lender. 

And the contract granted plenty. The note let 21st Mortgage recover “for all of its costs and expenses in enforcing this Note.” The mortgage let it add “all reasonable attorneys’ fees” to the borrower’s balance. That single word, “all,” carried the day.