A judge went too far
when he practically halved the amount of principal a bank sought to recover in
a foreclosure action to penalize the bank's purported lack of good faith during
conferences, a Brooklyn appellate court has ruled.
After required
settlement conferences in a residential foreclosure proved ineffective, Acting
Suffolk County Justice Jeffrey Spinner forever restrained Bank of
America from "demanding, collecting or attempting to collect, directly or
indirectly" any sums linked to a $493,219 mortgage that were considered
"interest, attorney's fees, legal fees, costs, disbursements." The
bank could only collect principal, and any advances on property taxes or
insurance, he said.
Spinner then enforced
$200,000 in exemplary damages against the bank, cutting the principal to
$293,219.
Then, the Appellate
Division, Second Department, on Feb. 13 unanimously overturned Spinner in Bank
of America v. Lucido, 2012-05450., saying he didn't have the ability to impose
the penalties he did….
The full article can be found here: http://www.newyorklawjournal.com
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