One bank, four rulings, and a costly lesson hiding in every foreclosure file
Four recent foreclosure rulings against Deutsche Bank show how small slips on timing, notices, and servicer affidavits can sink a lender's case.
The three New York decisions were handed down on May 13, 2026, and the Georgia ruling came on March 5, 2026. They land at a tricky moment for foreclosure work, especially in New York, where the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act keeps tightening the screws on lenders.
Here is what happened, and what it means for you.
Start with the loss that stings the most. In Deutsche Bank National Trust Company v Cahn, the bank chased a Greenlawn, New York property tied to a $432,000 note Daniel Cahn signed back in 2006. Deutsche Bank filed its first foreclosure case on April 8, 2015. Years later, that case was tossed because the bank had not followed the rules for the pre-foreclosure notice borrowers are entitled to under RPAPL 1304. Instead of starting fresh cleanly, the bank filed a second foreclosure action on September 13, 2023, while a motion to voluntarily discontinue the first case was still pending. The discontinuance was granted that November.
The Appellate Division, Second Department, was not impressed. It found the second case was filed too late, more than six years after the bank had already triggered the clock by demanding the full loan balance in 2015. The real kicker: by moving for and obtaining a voluntary discontinuance of the first case, Deutsche Bank gave up the six-month grace window the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act otherwise offers under CPLR 205-a. Translation for servicers and counsel: think twice before you voluntarily discontinue a stale New York foreclosure. You might be handing the borrower a permanent win.
The same court, on the same day, gave Deutsche Bank a clean victory in Deutsche Bank National Trust Company v Fair-Willis. This one involved a Mount Vernon, New York property and a borrower who defaulted on May 1, 2018. Here, the bank did the homework. A servicer affidavit from Select Portfolio Servicing laid out the missed payments. Mailing records with tracking numbers showed the 90-day notice went out the right way. And the original note, endorsed in blank, was in the servicer's hands when the case was filed. The court affirmed summary judgment for the bank. If you ever wanted a checklist for how to win a New York foreclosure on paper, this is close to it.
Then came another stumble. In Deutsche Bank National Trust Company v PF Holding, LLC, the bank had already gotten a judgment of foreclosure and sale on a Brooklyn property tied to a $484,500 loan from 2004. The Appellate Division wiped it out. The servicer's affidavit, this time from Carrington Mortgage Services, referred to the loan records but never actually identified or attached them. Without the records themselves, the court called the affidavit hearsay. To make matters worse, the bank tried to pivot mid-motion, arguing for the first time in its reply papers that the real default was the borrower's transfer of the property to a new LLC without the lender's permission. The court said no. You cannot spring a new theory on the other side at the last minute. The lesson: attach the records, and pick your theory before you file.
The fourth case takes us south. In Willie E. Garlington et al v Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, the borrowers had tried in 2017 to wipe out Deutsche Bank's security deed on their Rockdale County, Georgia property by recording an affidavit of rescission and then deeding the property to themselves and two others. When Deutsche Bank sued to set the record straight, the borrowers refused to cooperate with discovery, even after a court order. The trial court struck their answer and counterclaims and entered default judgment for the bank. The borrowers appealed, but the Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia dismissed the appeal on March 5, 2026, because the trial court still had to decide what equitable relief the bank should get. The appellate court did not rule on the merits. In plain English, the case is not over yet, and for now the trial court's ruling for the bank stands.
Put it all together and the message is simple. Document everything. Attach the records. Mind the timing. And do not give up procedural protections in New York unless you are sure you do not need them. In today's environment, the small stuff in your foreclosure file is the whole ball game.
