New York’s strict foreclosure law just blocked Deutsche Bank’s second attempt to reclaim a Queens property, spotlighting tough deadlines for lenders.
The facts go back to 2004, when Michael Feurtado took out a $335,000 mortgage from New Century Mortgage Corporation, secured by his home in Queens. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company later became the successor on the loan. In January 2010, the bank’s predecessor filed a foreclosure action, demanding the full balance. But the case sat idle for years. By June 2019, the court dismissed it as abandoned because the lender hadn’t moved for a default judgment within a year, as required by New York law.
Not giving up, Deutsche Bank filed a new foreclosure action in November 2019, again targeting the same mortgage. The bank moved for summary judgment, hoping to move the process along. Feurtado pushed back, arguing that the six-year statute of limitations for mortgage foreclosures had already run out. At first, the court sided with Deutsche Bank, granting its motion and denying Feurtado’s cross-motion…