Preview
FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 08/28/2023 09:16 PM INDEX NO. 613881/2023
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 5 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/28/2023
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NASSAU
-----------------------------------------------------------x
ALPINE HILL CAPITAL, LLC,
Index No. _________________
Plaintiff,
AFFIRMATION OF VANESSA
-against- DESTIME IN SUPPORT OF
PLAINTIFF’S APPLICATION FOR
EARL BEECHAM TEMPORARY RESTRAINING
Defendant. ORDER AND PRELIMINARY
INJUNCTION
-----------------------------------------------------------x
I, Vanessa Destime, am an attorney duly admitted to practice in the courts of the State
of New York, and affirm the following under the penalty of perjury pursuant to CPLR § 2106(a).
1. I am a member of Eisner, LLP, attorneys for Plaintiff, Alpine Hill Capital, LLC
(“Alpine”) in the above captioned application for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary
Injunction. I am familiar with the underlying facts of this matter. I respectfully submit this
affirmation in support of Alpine’s urgent application for preliminary injunction and temporary
restraining order.
2. The facts related to the underlying application for preliminary injunction and
temporary restraining order are set out at length in Alpine’s memorandum of law in support of
this application.
3. The urgency of this matter, given Defendant, Earl Beecham’s (“Beecham”) recent
actions, cannot be disputed.
4. Beecham has been the current owner of the Property located at 2514 Riviera
Lane, Bellmore, NY 11710 (“Property”) since 2020.
5. Alpine has had a publicly recorded mortgage lien on the Property since 2018 by
way of a Straight Note secured by a mortgage on the Property between Alpine and non-
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parties, Pembroke Group, LLC (“Pembroke”) and Matthew Krac (“Krac,” collectively
“Pembroke Defendants”).
6. The Straight Note, dated March 14, 2018, provided that the Pembroke Defendants
agreed to pay the sum of $550,00, plus interest, to Alpine no later than September 14, 2018
(“Note”). Interest also accrues on the Note from March 14, 2018, until paid, at the rate of ten
percent (10%) per annum payable on the Maturity Date. Krac executed the Note as “Personal
Guarantor” of Pembroke’s repayment under the Note. A true and correct copy of the Note is
attached as Exhibit 1.
7. As collateral security for the payment of the Note, the Pembroke Defendants
executed, acknowledged, and delivered to Alpine a mortgage dated March 19, 2018, and
recorded in the County of Nassau on June 12, 2018 in Liber 19494 of mortgages, at page 479
(“Mortgage”), to secure the Note. A true and correct copy of the Mortgage is attached as Exhibit
2.
8. The Pembroke Defendants failed to repay the $550,000 plus interest pursuant to
the terms of the Straight Note on September 14, 2018, and continue to be in default of their
payment obligations.
9. On January 22, 2019, Alpine sent the Pembroke Defendants a Demand for
Payment in Full (the “Demand”). The Demand set forth the net total due in the amount of
$609,294.52, made up of (1) the principal balance due of $550,000, (2) interest accrued as of
February 19, 2019 in the amount of $53,794.52, and (3) outstanding fees and/or charges due in
the amount of $5,500. A true and correct copy of the Demand is attached as Exhibit 3. The
Pembroke Defendants failed to satisfy the Demand.
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10. Upon information and belief, in or around March 2020, Pembroke entered into an
agreement to sell the Property for approximately $300,000. Pembroke never sought approval
from Alpine for this short sale. A Satisfaction of Mortgage was never signed by Alpine and
never publicly recorded. A title search of the Property still lists Alpine’s Mortgage as the most
senior mortgage on the Property. See a true and correct copy of the Title Report attached as
Exhibit 4.
11. Upon information and belief, Pembroke sold the Property to 2514 Bellmore, LLC,
who then sold the Property to 349 17th Street LLC, who then sold the Property to the current
owner, Defendant Earl Beecham. Id.
12. On May 28, 2021, Alpine filed a complaint in this court against the Pembroke
Defendants to recover the outstanding amounts due and owing to Alpine in the case entitled:
Alpine Hill Capital, LLC v. Pembroke Group, LLC, et al., Index No. 606798/2021 (the
“Action”). This Action is ongoing.
13. On November 22, 2022, Alpine served 349 17th Street, LLC, an entity believed to
be owned by Beecham, with a subpoena for documents related to the Action.
14. On January 7, 2023, Alpine served Beecham with a subpoena for documents
related to the Action. A few weeks later, on January 27, 2023, Beecham called undersigned
counsel regarding the request for documents and stated that these documents were in storage,
that he intended on getting them that weekend, that he was cooperating, and that he was
requesting an extension of time to respond to the subpoena for documents to the following
Tuesday or Wednesday.
15. Beecham emailed undersigned counsel his responsive documents on February 2,
2023.
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16. Undersigned counsel emailed Beecham again regarding Alpine’s position as
senior lienholder on August 11, 2023 and spoke with Beecham on August 14, 2023. See a true
and correct copy of the email sent to Beecham on August 11, 2023 attached as Exhibit 5.
17. During these discussions, and through the subpoenas, Beecham was informed
about Alpine’s still existing senior mortgage lien on the Property. 1
18. Alpine has recently learned that despite having the knowledge and
communicating with Alpine’s counsel regarding Alpine’s senior lien on the Property, Beecham
is in the process of selling the Property with a pending buyer. Beecham intends to close on this
sale on or around August 30, 2023.
19. On Friday, August 11, 2023, undersigned counsel spoke with the real estate agent
involved with the sale of the Property who stated that she had no knowledge of Alpine’s lien on
the Property. Also, it does not appear that Beecham disclosed the existence of Alpine’s senior
mortgage lien to the prospective buyer.
20. Upon information and belief, Beecham may contend that his title company
cleared title when he purchased the property. If that is the case, the title insurance company
failed to discover Alpine’s senior mortgage lien or failed to conduct a reasonable investigation
that would have revealed that Alpine still had a senior mortgage lien on the Property. The bare
minimum effort would have entailed simply calling Alpine to inquire about the status of the
mortgage but that did not happen. 2
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Beecham has had knowledge of Alpine’s efforts to enforce its interest as priority lienholder since at least
September 28, 2022 when undersigned counsel spoke with Beecham’s attorney involved in Beecham’s
original purchase of the Property about the Action.
2
Discovery in the pending action against Pembroke has revealed that Pembroke may have forged a Short
Sale Approval form and/or a forged Satisfaction of Mortgage in connection with its sale of the Property in
July 2020. Both of these forms contain several indicia of fraud. If they were provided to the title
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21. Alpine’s 2018 lien remains first-in-line on the Property.
22. Alpine seeks to have its lien acknowledged and satisfied out of the sale proceeds.
23. Absent such an Order, Alpine will continue to face immediate, irreparable harm to
its right to enforce its lien.
24. Alpine provided notice of the underlying application to Beecham’s counsel via
email.
25. No prior application for the relief sought herein has been made to this or to any
other Court.
Accordingly, for the reasons set forth above, as well as in the memorandum of law in
support of Alpine’s request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunctive relief,
Alpine respectfully requests that this court grant the order to show cause, grant Alpine’s request
for a temporary restraining order as set forth in the order to show cause, and set the matter down
for a hearing on Alpine’s request for preliminary injunctive relief for a date prior to August 30,
2023.
Dated: August 28, 2023
New York, New York
Respectfully submitted,
EISNER, LLP
By: /s/ Vanessa Destime
Vanessa Destime
company, they should have prompted inquiry or investigation. At a minimum, the title company should
have contacted Alpine to inquire about the documents.
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Preview
FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 08/28/2023 09:16 PM INDEX NO. 613881/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 5 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/28/2023 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NASSAU -----------------------------------------------------------x ALPINE HILL CAPITAL, LLC, Index No. _________________ Plaintiff, AFFIRMATION OF VANESSA -against- DESTIME IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S APPLICATION FOR EARL BEECHAM TEMPORARY RESTRAINING Defendant. ORDER AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION -----------------------------------------------------------x I, Vanessa Destime, am an attorney duly admitted to practice in the courts of the State of New York, and affirm the following under the penalty of perjury pursuant to CPLR § 2106(a). 1. I am a member of Eisner, LLP, attorneys for Plaintiff, Alpine Hill Capital, LLC (“Alpine”) in the above captioned application for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction. I am familiar with the underlying facts of this matter. I respectfully submit this affirmation in support of Alpine’s urgent application for preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order. 2. The facts related to the underlying application for preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order are set out at length in Alpine’s memorandum of law in support of this application. 3. The urgency of this matter, given Defendant, Earl Beecham’s (“Beecham”) recent actions, cannot be disputed. 4. Beecham has been the current owner of the Property located at 2514 Riviera Lane, Bellmore, NY 11710 (“Property”) since 2020. 5. Alpine has had a publicly recorded mortgage lien on the Property since 2018 by way of a Straight Note secured by a mortgage on the Property between Alpine and non- 1 of 5 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 08/28/2023 09:16 PM INDEX NO. 613881/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 5 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/28/2023 parties, Pembroke Group, LLC (“Pembroke”) and Matthew Krac (“Krac,” collectively “Pembroke Defendants”). 6. The Straight Note, dated March 14, 2018, provided that the Pembroke Defendants agreed to pay the sum of $550,00, plus interest, to Alpine no later than September 14, 2018 (“Note”). Interest also accrues on the Note from March 14, 2018, until paid, at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum payable on the Maturity Date. Krac executed the Note as “Personal Guarantor” of Pembroke’s repayment under the Note. A true and correct copy of the Note is attached as Exhibit 1. 7. As collateral security for the payment of the Note, the Pembroke Defendants executed, acknowledged, and delivered to Alpine a mortgage dated March 19, 2018, and recorded in the County of Nassau on June 12, 2018 in Liber 19494 of mortgages, at page 479 (“Mortgage”), to secure the Note. A true and correct copy of the Mortgage is attached as Exhibit 2. 8. The Pembroke Defendants failed to repay the $550,000 plus interest pursuant to the terms of the Straight Note on September 14, 2018, and continue to be in default of their payment obligations. 9. On January 22, 2019, Alpine sent the Pembroke Defendants a Demand for Payment in Full (the “Demand”). The Demand set forth the net total due in the amount of $609,294.52, made up of (1) the principal balance due of $550,000, (2) interest accrued as of February 19, 2019 in the amount of $53,794.52, and (3) outstanding fees and/or charges due in the amount of $5,500. A true and correct copy of the Demand is attached as Exhibit 3. The Pembroke Defendants failed to satisfy the Demand. 2 2 of 5 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 08/28/2023 09:16 PM INDEX NO. 613881/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 5 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/28/2023 10. Upon information and belief, in or around March 2020, Pembroke entered into an agreement to sell the Property for approximately $300,000. Pembroke never sought approval from Alpine for this short sale. A Satisfaction of Mortgage was never signed by Alpine and never publicly recorded. A title search of the Property still lists Alpine’s Mortgage as the most senior mortgage on the Property. See a true and correct copy of the Title Report attached as Exhibit 4. 11. Upon information and belief, Pembroke sold the Property to 2514 Bellmore, LLC, who then sold the Property to 349 17th Street LLC, who then sold the Property to the current owner, Defendant Earl Beecham. Id. 12. On May 28, 2021, Alpine filed a complaint in this court against the Pembroke Defendants to recover the outstanding amounts due and owing to Alpine in the case entitled: Alpine Hill Capital, LLC v. Pembroke Group, LLC, et al., Index No. 606798/2021 (the “Action”). This Action is ongoing. 13. On November 22, 2022, Alpine served 349 17th Street, LLC, an entity believed to be owned by Beecham, with a subpoena for documents related to the Action. 14. On January 7, 2023, Alpine served Beecham with a subpoena for documents related to the Action. A few weeks later, on January 27, 2023, Beecham called undersigned counsel regarding the request for documents and stated that these documents were in storage, that he intended on getting them that weekend, that he was cooperating, and that he was requesting an extension of time to respond to the subpoena for documents to the following Tuesday or Wednesday. 15. Beecham emailed undersigned counsel his responsive documents on February 2, 2023. 3 3 of 5 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 08/28/2023 09:16 PM INDEX NO. 613881/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 5 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/28/2023 16. Undersigned counsel emailed Beecham again regarding Alpine’s position as senior lienholder on August 11, 2023 and spoke with Beecham on August 14, 2023. See a true and correct copy of the email sent to Beecham on August 11, 2023 attached as Exhibit 5. 17. During these discussions, and through the subpoenas, Beecham was informed about Alpine’s still existing senior mortgage lien on the Property. 1 18. Alpine has recently learned that despite having the knowledge and communicating with Alpine’s counsel regarding Alpine’s senior lien on the Property, Beecham is in the process of selling the Property with a pending buyer. Beecham intends to close on this sale on or around August 30, 2023. 19. On Friday, August 11, 2023, undersigned counsel spoke with the real estate agent involved with the sale of the Property who stated that she had no knowledge of Alpine’s lien on the Property. Also, it does not appear that Beecham disclosed the existence of Alpine’s senior mortgage lien to the prospective buyer. 20. Upon information and belief, Beecham may contend that his title company cleared title when he purchased the property. If that is the case, the title insurance company failed to discover Alpine’s senior mortgage lien or failed to conduct a reasonable investigation that would have revealed that Alpine still had a senior mortgage lien on the Property. The bare minimum effort would have entailed simply calling Alpine to inquire about the status of the mortgage but that did not happen. 2 1 Beecham has had knowledge of Alpine’s efforts to enforce its interest as priority lienholder since at least September 28, 2022 when undersigned counsel spoke with Beecham’s attorney involved in Beecham’s original purchase of the Property about the Action. 2 Discovery in the pending action against Pembroke has revealed that Pembroke may have forged a Short Sale Approval form and/or a forged Satisfaction of Mortgage in connection with its sale of the Property in July 2020. Both of these forms contain several indicia of fraud. If they were provided to the title 4 4 of 5 FILED: NASSAU COUNTY CLERK 08/28/2023 09:16 PM INDEX NO. 613881/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 5 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/28/2023 21. Alpine’s 2018 lien remains first-in-line on the Property. 22. Alpine seeks to have its lien acknowledged and satisfied out of the sale proceeds. 23. Absent such an Order, Alpine will continue to face immediate, irreparable harm to its right to enforce its lien. 24. Alpine provided notice of the underlying application to Beecham’s counsel via email. 25. No prior application for the relief sought herein has been made to this or to any other Court. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth above, as well as in the memorandum of law in support of Alpine’s request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunctive relief, Alpine respectfully requests that this court grant the order to show cause, grant Alpine’s request for a temporary restraining order as set forth in the order to show cause, and set the matter down for a hearing on Alpine’s request for preliminary injunctive relief for a date prior to August 30, 2023. Dated: August 28, 2023 New York, New York Respectfully submitted, EISNER, LLP By: /s/ Vanessa Destime Vanessa Destime company, they should have prompted inquiry or investigation. At a minimum, the title company should have contacted Alpine to inquire about the documents. 5 5 of 5