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.
ResCap
FHFA Can Pursue Claims Against Non-Debtor Affiliates of Residential Capital
On July 17, Judge Denise Cote of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) can pursue certain RMBS-related claims against affiliates of Residential Capital LLC (“ResCap”). ResCap, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, brought a motion before Judge Cote to enjoin the FHFA from pursuing claims against ResCap’s non-debtor affiliates or, in the alternative, to extend the automatic stay protection afforded by its Chapter 11 status. Judge Cote denied ResCap’s motion. The underlying FHFA complaint alleges that defendants (including Ally Financial, Ally Securities, and GMAC Mortgage) made false or misleading statements or omissions in the offering materials for $6 billion worth of RMBS. Decision.
ResCap Seeks Automatic Bankruptcy Stay of 27 MBS Suits
On May 25, 2012, Residential Capital LLC (“ResCap”) filed a complaint in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to extend the automatic stay over 27 MBS lawsuits against it, its affiliates, and its executives while it undergoes bankruptcy restructuring. ResCap alleges that all of the lawsuits against its non-debtor affiliates are inextricably connected to the debtor affiliates, and that such lawsuits will drain the debtors’ estates by forcing those entities to undergo extensive discovery and face significant indemnification claims by their directors and officers. ResCap also alleges that by allowing the lawsuits to proceed, ResCap will face significant risk of collateral estoppels and evidentiary prejudice. Complaint.