B of A Must Face Mortgage Repurchase Suit by U.S. Bancorp

Bank of America Corp. must face a lawsuit filed by a mortgage-bond trustee that seeks the repurchase of home loans backing $1.75 billion of securities, a judge ruled.

Justice Eileen Bransten of New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan said the lawsuit filed by a U.S. Bancorp unit could proceed, while dismissing part of the case, according to a decision dated Wednesday.

U.S. Bank, the trustee for HarborView Mortgage Loan Trust 2005-10, sued Bank of America and its Countrywide Financial unit in 2011, claiming loans underlying the securities didn’t live up to their promised quality and should be repurchased.

Bransten dismissed a claim seeking repurchase of all the loans in the pool, while allowing U.S. Bank to make a new argument for proceeding on the claim. A second claim seeking repurchase of 495 loans can move forward, according to the decision.

Lawrence Grayson, a spokesman for Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America, declined to comment about the decision.

The case is U.S. Bank v. Countrywide Home Loans Inc., 652388-2011, New York State Supreme Court (Manhattan).