BNY WESTERN TRUST v. DIANE L. ROMAN et al., SC 18386

Judicial District of Fairfield

 Foreclosure; Intervenors; Appellate Jurisdiction; Whether the Appellant Has Made a Colorable Claim to Intervention as a Matter of Right; Whether Trial Court Properly Denied Appellant's Motion for Intervention.  The plaintiff brought this action seeking to foreclose on the property of Diane L. Roman.  The trial court rendered a judgment of foreclosure by sale.  At the foreclosure sale, Ralph Flamini submitted the highest bid for the property, and the trial court rendered a judgment approving the sale to Flamini.  Thereafter, the plaintiff moved for permission to accept an assignment of the successful bid from Flamini.  In that motion, the plaintiff essentially asserted that this action had been pending for several years due to the Romans' multiple bankruptcy filings and Flamini's failure to close on the property as ordered by the court.  It therefore indicated that it sought the assignment of the bid so that it could consummate the sale and conclude the action expeditiously.  In response to the plaintiff's motion, Glacier International Depository Bank (GID) filed a motion to intervene in the matter.  It claimed that it had already purchased an assignment of Flamini's bid and that it therefore had a right to be heard regarding the disposition of the property.  The trial court granted the plaintiff's motion for permission to accept an assignment of the bid, and it denied GID's motion for intervention.  In this appeal, the Supreme Court will first determine whether it has subject matter jurisdiction over this matter by addressing whether GID has made a colorable claim to intervention as a matter of right.  If it finds that it has jurisdiction, it will determine whether the trial court properly denied GID's motion for intervention.