Mortgage Loan Purchase Agreement

NY Intermediate Appellate Court Reverses Dismissal of HSBC RMBS Suit Against Deutsche Bank

 

HSBC, the trustee of two securitizations at issue, successfully appealed the 2018 dismissal of its complaint alleging that DB Structured Products Inc. (DBSP), the sponsor of the two securitizations at issue, breached Mortgage Loan Purchase Agreements and Pooling and Servicing Agreements by securitizing loans in breach of representations and warranties and subsequently failing to disclose its discovery of those breaches. The trial court granted a motion to dismiss without leave to amend because it interpreted the contract language as providing that DBSP had no obligation to inform HSBC when it discovered loan-level breaches due to language in the governing agreements that DBSP notify itself of breaches. A split panel of the New York Appellate Division, First Department, reversed the trial court decision, finding that the contract was ambiguous because of the nonsensical nature of the notice provision, which required DBSP to provide notice to itself and granted HSBC leave to amend its complaint.

Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings LLC Motion to Dismiss RMBS Claims Granted in Part

On April 3, 2015, Judge Laura Swain of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted in part and denied in part Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings LLC’s (“MSMC”) motion to dismiss breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing claims brought by Deutsche Bank National Trust Company (“Deutsche Bank”), in its capacity as Trustee for the Morgan Stanley Structured Trust I 2007-1.  Deutsche Bank alleged that MSMC, as the sponsor of the RMBS securitization, breached the representations and warranties in the Mortgage Loan Purchase Agreement, and was therefore obligated to cure or repurchase breaching loans.  Judge Swain granted MSMC’s motion to dismiss Deutsche Bank’s claims that MSMC breached an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, holding that this was based on the same facts as, and therefore impermissibly duplicative of, the breach of contract claim.  However, Judge Swain denied MSMC’s arguments that the breach of contract claims should be dismissed.  Judge Swain found that Deutsche Bank had provided adequate notice of breaches beyond the 1,620 loans specifically addressed in Deutsche Bank’s breach notice letter because the letter gave MSMC notice of pervasive breaches.  She also declined to dismiss Deutsche Bank’s claims for compensatory, rescissory, and consequential damages at the pleadings phase.  Order.

RMBS Trustee Brings $157 Million RMBS Lawsuit Against Citigroup

On November 1, U.S. Bank National Association, acting in its capacity as trustee for Citigroup Mortgage Loan Trust 2007-AHL2, filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court for the State of New York against Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corp. (Citigroup), on behalf of and at the direction of a holder of certificates issued by the trust.  The trustee alleges, inter alia, that Citigroup breached its obligations arising under the Mortgage Loan Purchase Agreement (MLPA) and Pooling and Servicing Agreement for the deal.  In particular, the trustee alleges that certain of the mortgage loans backing the certificates did not comply with the representations and warranties made in the MLPA, and that Citigroup failed to cure or repurchase those mortgage loans.  The trustee seeks rescissory and compensatory damages and/or an order requiring Citigroup to repurchase the loans at issue.  Summons.