Banks’ Motion to Dismiss Commerzbank RMBS Fraud Claims Granted

On June 18, 2015, Justice Marcy Friedman of the New York Supreme Court dismissed RMBS fraud claims brought by Commerzbank AG London Branch (“Commerzbank”) against UBS, Nomura Holdings Inc., Barclays Bank PLC, Citigroup and other banks on the grounds that the fraud claims at issue were barred by the statute of limitations.  Ruling for the defendants, Justice Friedman held that New York’s six-year statute of limitations started running on the final purchase date, and not when the certificates started sustaining losses.  She also found, in the alternative, that New York’s two-year discovery period for fraud claims was triggered when all the certificates at issue were downgraded.  Commerzbank had alleged that the defendant banks had intentionally included toxic loans in securitizations.