ResCap Liquidating Trust Repurchase Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss in Part

On February 3, Judge Martin Glenn of the United States Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York denied defendants’ motions to dismiss four adversary proceedings brought by the liquidating trust for Residential Capital LLC against several originators of residential mortgage loans. The court ruled that the ResCap Liquidating Trust was the real party in interest and therefore had standing to pursue claims against the originators for breach of representations and warranties. The defendants also argued that the Trust lacked standing to sue with regard to loans that had been securitized, because a predecessor ResCap entity had assigned its rights concerning those loans to third-parties. The court rejected this argument, holding that the scope of the assignments raised factual questions that could not be resolved at the motion to dismiss stage. The court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss claims with respect to certain loans as time-barred, holding that New York’s six-year statute of limitations expired as to all loans sold to ResCap prior to May 14, 2006 (six years before the adversary proceedings were filed). Finally, the Court declined to rule on the scope of the remedy available to the Trust at the pleading stage.  Memorandum Opinion and Order.