HSBC Bank USA lost its foreclosure claim against CitiMortgage after sitting on a default for over a decade.
New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed the dismissal on September 16, 2026. HSBC Bank USA, National Association had sued CitiMortgage, Inc. as part of a Brooklyn foreclosure action filed in October 2012. CitiMortgage was served that same month – and never responded. Not an answer, not an appearance. Nothing.
That should have been an easy win. Under New York’s CPLR 3215(c), when a defendant defaults, the plaintiff has one year to move for a default judgment. Miss the window, and the court must dismiss the claim as abandoned. The word in the statute is “shall” – not “may.”…