Bank Leumi Trust Company of New York v. Liggett

After Joseph Liggett transferred a home to his second wife's name, his first wife, Helen Liggett (defendant), won large judgments against him and filed a notice of pendency alleging the transfer was fraudulent. Bank Leumi (plaintiff) later took three mortgages on the home, and Cosden Oil (defendant) separately won a judgment against Joseph. After Helen obtained partial summary judgment on her fraudulent-conveyance claim, the home was ordered sold with proceeds distributed under New York's statutory judgment-creditor priority scheme, and Bank Leumi sought a declaration that its mortgages outranked Cosden's later judgment; the Special Term denied that request, and Bank Leumi appealed.