The case was tossed in 2017 but the lender got a second chance in 2022
A New York lender revived a foreclosure nearly five years after it was dismissed as abandoned - and an appeals court said that was fine.
The Appellate Division, Second Department, on November 4, 2026, ruled against a Brooklyn borrower on all fronts, affirming three lower court orders and dismissing a fourth appeal in a foreclosure dating to 2008.
The case starts in January 2007, when the borrower executed a note for $750,000 secured by a mortgage on a Brooklyn property. LaSalle Bank National Association filed to foreclose in December 2008. The borrower never answered.
Then the case stalled.
In July 2017, the trial court ordered LaSalle Bank to seek an order of reference - the procedural step that starts calculating what is owed - within 90 days, or face dismissal. The bank missed the deadline. That November, the court dismissed the case as abandoned.
The dismissal order was not served on the bank until July 2021 - nearly four years later. The bank moved to vacate the dismissal that August, and the trial court granted the motion in May 2022.
The borrower, representing herself, fought back on several fronts. She opposed the revival, sought sanctions against the bank’s counsel, and tried to reopen her opposition under the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act - the 2022 New York law targeting lender tactics that restart the limitations clock in stalled foreclosures. She also cross-moved to vacate her default and dismiss the case.
She lost on every count.
The appellate court found she waived her personal jurisdiction defense by participating in the litigation without raising it. Under New York law, a defendant who opposes motions and seeks affirmative relief without challenging jurisdiction is treated as having consented to the court’s authority.
On FAPA, the court held the 2022 law had no effect on the decision to vacate the dismissal and restore the case, citing recent precedent.
The borrower also argued that the bank’s service of process in 2020 - after the complaint had been dismissed - amounted to extrinsic fraud. The court disagreed, finding she had not shown the 2020 service led her to believe she need not defend.
The court granted LaSalle Bank a default judgment and an order of reference, clearing the path for the foreclosure to proceed.
For servicers managing aged New York portfolios, the takeaway is practical: even a years-long delay and a dismissal for abandonment may not be fatal, provided the revival steps are properly taken.
This is a slip opinion and may be revised before publication in the Official Reports.
