New York State Judge Holds No Cause of Action for Failing to File Foreclosure Papers in Court

New York Supreme Court Justice John Michalski dismissed a suit brought by the New York Attorney General against HSBC Bank USA, alleging that HSBC failed to file Requests for Judicial Intervention along with their proof of service in foreclosure actions. In New York, Requests for Judicial Intervention entitle homeowners facing foreclosure to settlement conferences within 60 days to negotiate with the lender for a possible modification on their loan. The New York Supreme Court held that the procedural filing rules were procedural, and not substantive, and were ambiguous about which documents were to be filed, and due to this ambiguity, a cause of action did not arise.