The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company v. Eala

── The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company v. Eala ── Court: Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Date: May 21, 2026 Category: General NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 21-MAY-2026 08:02 AM Dkt. 79 SO NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FKA THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST COMPANY, N.A. AS SUCCESSOR TO JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR RESIDENTIAL ASSET MORTGAGE PRODUCTS, INC., MORTGAGE ASSET-BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-RS1, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. EDWIN PAET EALA and CAROLINA CABUDOL-EALA, Defendants-Appellants, and MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC., AS NOMINEE FOR FRANKLIN BANK, SSB; FIA CARD SERVICES, N.A.; LVNV FUNDING, LLC; PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES, LLC; THE RENAISSANCE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, Defendants-Appellees, and JOHN DOES 1-20; JANE DOES 1-20; DOE CORPORATIONS 1-20; DOE ENTITIES 1-20; and DOE GOVERNMENTAL UNITS 1-20, Defendants APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT (CASE NO. 1CC191001251) SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER (By: Wadsworth, Presiding Judge, Guidry, and Gluck, JJ.) In this foreclosure action, Defendants-Appellants Edwin Paet Eala and Carolina Cabudol-Eala (the Ealas) appeal from the March 20, 2025 "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order Granting Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment  NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER Against All Defendants and for Interlocutory Decree of Foreclosure" and the March 20, 2025 "Final Judgment", entered by the Circuit Court of the First Circuit (Circuit Court).1 The Ealas contend the Circuit Court erred in granting summary judgment because there are genuine issues of material fact as to (1) the trustworthiness and admissibility of the promissory note (Note) and Mortgage; (2) whether Plaintiff- Appellee the Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company (BONYM) mailed a default letter to the Ealas; (3) whether the Note was properly endorsed; and (4) whether the Allonge2 was attached to the Note. After reviewing the record on appeal and the relevant legal authorities, and giving due consideration to the issues raised and the arguments advanced by the parties, we resolve the Ealas' contentions as follows, and affirm. (1) Authenticity of the Note: The Ealas first argue that BONYM did not establish that prior loan servicers' records were accurate and trustworthy, such that the Note was inadmissible. Here, BONYM submitted a lengthy declaration from Juliana Thurab (Thurab), custodian of records for the PHH Mortgage Corporation (PHH), the loan servicing company for BONYM. Thurab's declaration stated, inter alia, that BONYM's prior loan servicing company, Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC (Ocwen), conducted a review of the original Note on or about October 21, 2015, "and confirmed the original Note was specially indorsed to Plaintiff[.]" Thurab's declaration stated that PHH is the 1 The Honorable James H. Ashford presided. 2 An "allonge" is "[a] slip of paper sometimes attached to a negotiable instrument for the purpose of receiving further indorsements when the original paper is filled with indorsements." Allonge, Black's Law Dictionary (12th ed. 2024). 2  NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER successor by merger to Ocwen, a