In Citibank v. Plagakis, 21 AD3d 393 [2d Dept 2005] the defendant-mortgagee conveyed the property that was subject to foreclosure to a third-party prior to the foreclosure proceeding who then leased the premises to two individuals (Plagakis, 21 AD3d 393 [2d Dept 2005]). Upon Plagakis' default in answering, the Supreme Court issued a judgment of foreclosure and scheduled a sale of the property. After the property was sold at auction, the court issued a writ of assistance that directed removal of the tenants although only one had been properly served and joined as a party to the underlying foreclosure proceeding (id.). The tenants appealed and the individual tenant who had not been served claimed that the writ violated his right to due process since, as a party to the lease, he had a property interest in the premises (id.). The court found that the tenant's argument lacked merit because the deed that conveyed the property from the homeowner-mortgagee to the third-party buyer was invalid and therefore, so was the lease.