New York Top Court Ruling May Limit Future Mortgage Suits

New York's highest court may have shut the door to many future lawsuits over flawed mortgage bonds, ruling investors have six years from the day the deal closed to pursue remedies.

The Court of Appeals in Albany Thursday upheld the dismissal of a 2012 suit by investors seeking to force a Deutsche Bank AG unit to buy back more than $330 million of bad mortgages that were packaged into bonds before the financial crisis.

The ruling had been eagerly awaited by the industry and could stop investors seeking to recoup mortgage-bond losses from filing new lawsuits. The bank won a dismissal in 2013 when the state's appellate division threw out the mortgage-bond investors' suit, citing the time limit. Thursday's decision affirmed that ruling.

The Deutsche Bank unit's obligation to cure or buy back loans that didn't conform with statements about their quality was the only remedy for investors, who didn't pursue that option and are therefore blocked from suing by the state's six-year statute of limitations, the Court of Appeals said.

Paul Clement, an attorney representing the investors, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail and a voice-mail message seeking comment on the ruling. David J. Woll, an attorney representing Deutsche Bank, also didn't immediately respond to a telephone message.

The case is Ace Securities Corp. v. DB Structured Products Inc., 650980/2012, New York State Supreme Court, New York County (Manhattan).

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