New York Court of Appeals Decision Clarifies RPAPL Notice Requirements, Affirms Heightened Standard for Borrowers

Last year, as we reported, the Second Circuit requested that the New York Court of Appeals rule on two certified questions concerning predicate notices in foreclosure actions. On March 30, 2021, the Court of Appeals issued its decision in Schiffman on the questions certified by the Second Circuit concerning New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) §§ 1304 (90-day predicate notice) and 1306 (pre-foreclosure filing with the superintendent of banks). More ›

Landmark New York Court of Appeals Decision Clarifying Calculation of Statute of Limitations in Mortgage Foreclosure Actions

The New York Court of Appeals reversed four Appellate Division decisions and decided in favor of the mortgagees in a consolidated decision issued on February 18, 2021, ruling, inter alia, that:

• a demand letter which includes language that the debt "will be" accelerated expresses a possible future event and therefore does not constitute an unequivocal overt act which would accelerate the mortgage debt; 
• a defective pleading which incorrectly references only the original terms of a loan – not the operative modification agreement – is insufficient to accelerate the mortgage debt;
• a mortgagee's voluntary discontinuance of a foreclosure action is sufficient to revoke the acceleration created by the filing of that complaint; and
• a mortgagee's motivation for the discontinuance and revocation of the acceleration is irrelevant to the Court's analysis.

Following Fair Lending Investigation, NYS DFS Issues Report, Recommendations, and Mortgage Lender Best Practices

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued a report on February 4, 2021, detailing its investigation of the mortgage lending market in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The report includes findings about a "distinct lack of lending" by mortgage lenders, particularly nonbank lenders, in neighborhoods with majority-minority populations and to minority homebuyers in general. More ›

Second Circuit Finds HUD Assignees Immune from State Statute of Limitations Claims

The mortgage foreclosure world continues to experience change at a moment's notice. Lenders continue to defend against borrower actions seeking to discharge their mortgages as time-barred, which in turn has led to the development of several defenses supported by the appellate courts. Whether it is lack of standing to accelerate the mortgage debt, revocation, or re-affirmation of the debt, all of these defenses are not as interesting—and powerful—as full immunity from the statute of limitations. In Windward Bora, LLC v. Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, that's exactly what the Second Circuit found, and its decision could have a substantial impact for lenders in New York and elsewhere. More ›

New York Court of Appeals Finds There is "No Checklist" to Prove Standing to Foreclose, While Leaving Newly-Enacted RPAPL 1302-a for Another Day

The New York Court of Appeals issued two important end-of-the-year decisions on December 17, 2020 in a heavily litigated, affirmative defense in residential mortgage foreclosure actions: the lack of standing to foreclose.

In US Bank N.A. v. Nelson and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association v. Caliguri, the court analyzed both the pleading requirements for the defense and the standard of proof required to show standing to foreclose. In one-page, unanimous decisions, the court affirmed the Appellate Division's decisions, which both ruled in favor of the mortgagee. More ›

New York State Passes Eviction and Foreclosure Moratorium Protecting Renters, Homeowners, and Small Landlords

On Monday, December 28, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020. Among other things, this legislation (S.9114/A.11181) extends certain residential foreclosure and eviction moratoria for renters and homeowners suffering hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More ›

New York State DFS Urges Financial Institutions to Consider and Prepare for Impact of Climate Change

Having sent a similar letter to New York's domestic and foreign insurance companies, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued a letter on October 29, 2020 explicitly calling on its regulated financial institutions to start integrating financial risks associated with climate change into their business strategies, risk management processes, and governance frameworks. DFS' expectations apply to New York-regulated banks, mortgage bankers and servicers (Regulated Organizations), as well as to other New York-regulated non-depositories, including money transmitters, licensed lenders, sales finance companies, and virtual currency firms (Regulated Non-Depositories). More ›

Validating Cyber Compliance in Light of the First DFS Enforcement Action

We recently reported on the New York State Department of Financial Services' (DFS) first enforcement action under its 2017 cybersecurity regulation ("Part 500"), which prescribes how financial services companies licensed to operate in New York should construct their cybersecurity programs. DFS' statement of charges provides important insight into the agency's priorities and expectations when assessing how a company has addressed and mitigated a data exposure, and offers a roadmap for how other regulators might interpret similar data security laws being implemented across the country. Given increasing regulatory scrutiny and the fact that inappropriate cybersecurity procedures and practices could result in significant financial liabilities, companies should proactively re-assess where they stand in relation to applicable cyber mandates.

We highlight here some key takeaways from the recent DFS enforcement action that entities subject to Part 500 should carefully consider when validating their current state of compliance. More ›

New York Courts Lift Suspension of Foreclosure Proceedings, Add Additional Conference Requirement

On July 24, 2020, the New York State Courts issued Administrative Order 157/20 (AO/157/20). Effective July 27, 2020, AO/157/20 removes the formal suspension of all residential foreclosures, but keeps a limited suspension of commercial foreclosures in place until August 19, 2020. Under this new directive, foreclosure actions can be resumed by courts first scheduling at least one conference. Those conferences are expected to be the same as the mandatory CPLR 3408 settlement conferences—even if settlement conferences were previously held—because the courts were directed to consider all aspects of the case, including "the effects, if any, that the COVID-19 pandemic has had upon the parties." More ›

Long-Awaited DFS Cyber Enforcement Action Sees Charges Filed Against Title Insurer For Exposing Millions of Documents Containing Consumer Personal Information

After several years of anticipation, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has filed its first enforcement action under the agency's groundbreaking and first-in-the-nation 2017 cybersecurity regulation (Part 500 of Title 23 of the New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations), which prescribes how financial services companies licensed to operate in New York should construct their cybersecurity programs. This action is a wakeup call to covered entities to fully implement the directives of Part 500. More ›