THE BANK SENT THE RPAPL 1304 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE TO THE TWO BORROWERS IN THE SAME ENVELOPE, A VIOLATION OF RPAPL 1304; FORECLOSURE COMPLAINT DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the foreclosure complaint should have been dismissed because the RPAPL 1304 notice of foreclosure was mailed to both borrowers in the same envelope:

RPAPL 1304(1) provides that “at least ninety days before a lender, an assignee or a mortgage loan servicer commences legal action against the borrower, . . . including mortgage foreclosure, such lender, assignee or mortgage loan servicer shall give notice to the borrower.” “Strict compliance with RPAPL 1304 notice to the borrower or borrowers is a condition precedent to the commencement of a foreclosure action” … , and “the plaintiff has the burden of establishing satisfaction of this condition” … . “[T]he mailing of a 90-day notice jointly addressed to two or more borrowers in a single envelope is not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of RPAPL 1304, and . . . the plaintiff must separately mail a 90-day notice to each borrower as a condition precedent to commencing the foreclosure action” …  * * *

… [T]he defendants established that the plaintiff failed to comply with RPAPL 1304 since it is undisputed that a jointly addressed 90-day notice, rather than individually addressed notices in separate envelopes, was sent to the defendants … . HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Palmore, 2026 NY Slip Op 03152, Second Dept 5-20-26

Practice Point: The bank’s strict compliance with the notice of foreclosure requirements in RPAPL 1304 is a condition precedent to any foreclosure action. Here, sending the RPAPL 1304 notice of foreclosure to the two borrowers in the same envelope violated RPAPL 1304 requiring dismissal of the foreclosure complaint.