THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

A New York State Supreme Court justice has finally had enough of sloppy and false paperwork being presented in support of unsupported foreclosure claims.

A State Supreme Court justice in Brooklyn is threatening sanctions against the chief executive officer of HSBC Bank USA, blaming her personally as head of the bank for filing what he called false and misleading documents involving “robosigning” in a home foreclosure case.

In a complex decision issued in early July, Justice Arthur M. Schack denounced what he called the “frivolous conduct” and the submission of fraudulent paperwork by HSBC and the attorney representing it in the case, Frank M. Cassara of Shapiro, DiCaro&Barak LLP in Rochester.

He said the documentation submitted to the court by Cassara and HSBC to support the foreclosure is full of defects and “material factual statements that are false.” And he criticized their case as a “waste of judicial resources.”

Schack threw out the foreclosure case itself, declaring that HSBC lacked the legal right to foreclose on a woman’s home because it did not own the loan.

But Justice Schack took it one step farther by declaring that the HSBC USA CEO was ultimately responsible for the actions of her corporation and has required her presence to explain why she should not be oenalized.

Schack justified his threat by citing a new statewide requirement for attorneys in foreclosure cases to certify, under penalty of perjury and sanction, that they have taken reasonable steps to verify the accuracy and correctness of documents submitted to the court.

In Dorner’s case, Schack argued that she is “captain of the ship” and “bears a measure of responsibility” for HSBC’s actions. “She should not only take credit for the fruits of HSBC’s victories, but must bear some responsibility for its defats and mistakes,” he wrote, noting that she earned $2.3 million in total compensation for 2010.

Three cheers for Justice Schack and may he set a landmark precedent with this action.