A Brooklyn judge fined HSBC $10,000 and its law firm another $5,000 as he likened the bank to a combination of Pontius Pilate and TV’s goofy Sgt. Schultz of “Hogan’s Heroes” fame because of his refrain, “I know nothing!”
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Arthur Shack issued the fine against HSBC for “frivolous conduct” in using robo-signers to process foreclosure documents, thereby “assert[ing] material factual statements that are false” and wasting the court’s time.
Court policy mandates that foreclosure papers must be accompanied by an affirmation from a lawyer attesting to the accuracy of the submission.
“HSBC sounds like a combination of Pontius Pilate and Sgt.Schultz in the classic 1960’s television comedy, ‘Hogan’s Heroes.’ HSBC washes its hands of any responsibility and places any blame upon” the company that serviced the mortgage for HSBC, Shack wrote in a decision published Wednesday.
Shack quoted Pilate in Matthew 27:24, in the New Testament saying, ‘I am innocent of responsibility and should not be sanctioned” before citing the comedy stylings of John Banner, the actor who made Schultz’s “I know nothing! Nothing!” part of TV lore.
Shack has a reputation for both flowery prose — he also cites Gertrude Stein and the Bard of Avon in his decision – and a hard-nosed attitude toward banks in foreclosure proceedings, where he insists banks be held to the letter of the law.
HSBC’s law firm, Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.