NY Foreclosure Services Practice Areas

Under CPLR § 213(4), a lender has exactly six years from the date of acceleration to commence a foreclosure action. When that window closes, the court must dismiss the action — permanently. This is one of the strongest weapons in New York foreclosure defense, and it requires precise analysis of acceleration dates, missed deadlines, and any attempted revivals barred by FAPA.

• Six-year clock starts on the date the entire mortgage debt is accelerated
• Acceleration can occur by filing suit, sending demand letters, or explicit written notice
• FAPA (2022) eliminated the lender's ability to voluntarily discontinue and restart the clock
• Once the SOL expires, the homeowner can move for dismissal with prejudice
• Applies even if prior actions were voluntarily discontinued by the lender

A foreclosing plaintiff must prove it holds the original note — or is a valid assignee — at the time the action is commenced. Banks frequently cannot produce a complete, unbroken chain of title from origination through securitization. We challenge the plaintiff's standing at every stage, exposing defective assignments, robo-signed documents, and missing endorsements.

• Plaintiff must possess the note or a valid assignment before filing, not just at trial
• Blank endorsements and allonges require proof of physical delivery
• Securitization defects often break the chain of title entirely
• Robo-signed or backdated assignments are grounds for dismissal
• MERS assignments frequently fail to comply with NY recording requirements

The Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act fundamentally reshaped the landscape of NY foreclosure defense analysis. Enacted in December 2022, FAPA closes the loopholes that allowed lenders to manipulate the statute of limitations indefinitely — stopping our practice of voluntary discontinuance followed by re-filing to reset the clock.

• Eliminates the "voluntary discontinuance" tactic used to restart the 6-year clock
• Codifies Engel: acceleration is a one-way trigger — once made, it cannot be informally revoked
• Applies retroactively to pending actions and appeals
• New RPAPL § 1304-a: lenders must certify SOL compliance at filing
• Strengthens homeowner ability to recover specialist's fees in abusive filings

Determining the precise date of acceleration is often the pivotal question in a limitations defense. Lenders frequently dispute when acceleration occurred to argue the clock hasn't yet run. We conduct exhaustive analysis of all acceleration-triggering events — lawsuit filing dates, default notices, demand letters, and servicer conduct — to establish the true start of the six-year period.

• Prior lawsuits, even if dismissed, typically constitute acceleration
• Formal 90-day notices under RPAPL § 1304 may constitute an acceleration trigger
• Post-Engel, de-acceleration requires an affirmative, unambiguous written act
• Payment acceptance alone does not de-accelerate under post-FAPA law
• We analyze every document in the loan file to pinpoint the controlling date

New York imposes strict mandatory notice and pleading requirements on lenders before a foreclosure action may be commenced. Failure to strictly comply — in form, content, timing, or service — is a jurisdictional defect that requires dismissal. We audit every pre-suit notice for technical compliance issues that lenders routinely overlook.

• RPAPL § 1304: 90-day pre-foreclosure notice must use exact statutory language
• § 1303: Required homeowner counseling notice must accompany the summons
• § 1306: Filing with NYS Superintendent of Financial Services is mandatory
• Defective service of process — even technical violations — can void the action
• Missing or defective RPAPL § 1304 notice is a complete jurisdictional bar

When the statute of limitations has expired on the mortgage debt, the homeowner can take the offensive — filing an RPAPL Article 15 quiet title action to have the mortgage judicially declared void and discharged from the public record. This transforms a foreclosure defense into a complete elimination of the lien, restoring clear title to the property.

• Available when the 6-year SOL under CPLR § 213(4) has fully run
• Court can order discharge of the mortgage lien from the county record
• Eliminates the cloud on title that prevents sale or refinancing
• Can be brought as a standalone action or as a counterclaim in foreclosure
• If successful, homeowner retains property with clear, unencumbered title

If you are offered a loan modification agreement, exercise extreme caution before signing. A valid loan modification can reset the statute of limitations even after it has already expired — effectively reviving the lender's right to foreclose on a time-barred debt. FAPA does not prevent this.

• A signed modification agreement constitutes a new promise to pay — restarting the six-year clock
• This applies even if the original SOL had fully expired before the modification was signed
• FAPA's protections do not override a voluntary, signed modification agreement
• Lenders sometimes offer modifications specifically to revive time-barred claims
• Contact LMS before signing any modification, forbearance, or repayment agreement