News & Insights

Recent Case of Interest Where the Fifth Circuit Upheld a Foreclosure on Mailing Practices Alone, Without Postmarks or Return Receipts

Sep 15, 2026

Banking COI

In Rummans v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., as Trustee for MASTR Reperforming Loan Trust 2005-2, — F.4th —-, 2026 WL 2516301 (5th Cir. Aug. 26, 2026), the Fifth Circuit affirmed a judgment upholding a 2022 foreclosure on a VA-guaranteed loan following a bench trial in the Northern District of Texas. The sole issue on appeal was whether the Texas mailbox rule created a rebuttable presumption that the servicer’s pre-foreclosure notices were received, satisfying the VA Servicing Guidelines incorporated into the mortgage. The court held the presumption applied on circumstantial evidence of mailing and that the borrower’s denial of receipt did not rebut it. The servicer met its obligations under 38 C.F.R. § 36.4350(h), and the sale stood.

The evidence was barcoded payoff statements beginning in August 2021 and a May 2022 notice of default and intent to accelerate, pulled from the servicer’s business records — none stamped or postmarked. A corporate representative of NewRez, which had acquired SLS and adopted its records, testified that SLS’s mailing vendor applied postal barcodes only upon actual mailing and that SLS archived barcoded copies in the ordinary course. Personal knowledge of the sender’s customary mailing practices was enough; the witness need not have worked for the originating servicer or known how the vendor tendered mail to the postal service. Reviewing a fact-bound mixed question deferentially, the court found no error.

No information in this communication is intended to constitute specific legal advice. For specific legal advice, please contact an attorney, and if you have any such questions or would like more information about this issue, please contact William “Pat” Huttenbach at 713.752.8616, or email at phuttenbach@craincaton.com.

Thanks,

Pat

Rummans v HSBC Bank