An appellate court reversed a New York Supreme Court decision against HSBC (HBC), thereby ruling against a homeowner who alleged wrongful foreclosure.
It is a rare instance of a major financial firm winning out in a case where alleged robo-signing is suspected in the foreclosure proceedings.
Back in July 2011, Supreme Court Justice Arthur Schack ordered a dismissal of a case brought by HSBC against Brooklyn homeowner Eileen Taher.
Taher defaulted on mortgage payments and, subsequently, didn’t respond to complaints from HSBC, which moved to foreclose in 2009.
After doing an internet search and finding news articles on robosigning, the practice of pushing through foreclosure documents without proper processing, Judge Schack determined this to also be the case and dismissed HSBC’s foreclosure against Taher.
On appeal, the lawfirm representing HSBC, Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, successfully argued that the foreclosure was righteous and due.
The Appellate judges agreed, and publicly decried Schack’s judicial practices in dismissing the foreclosure proceedings. Indeed, just two months prior, a similar case was decided in favor of U.S. Bank, which Schack should have considered.
“We take this opportunity to remind the Justice of his obligation to remain abreast of and be guided by binding precedent,” the appellate court said in its ruling.
“Moreover, as the defendants [Taher and attorneys] failed to answer the complaint and did not make pre-answer motions to dismiss the complaint, they waived the defense of lack of standing,” the judges ruled.
jgaffney@housingwire.com
