(Nov. 27) -- A New York couple has a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend after a judge canceled the half-million dollar debt they owed on their Long Island home.
Diane Yano-Horoski and her husband, Greg Horoski, were at risk of being thrown out on the street as their California bank pursued foreclosure actions, news reports said.
Skip over this content
Suffolk Judge Jeffrey Spinner erased $525,000 in mortgage payments that OneWest Bank was demanding from the couple. That includes $291,000 in principal and $235,000 in interest and penalties, WABC-TV New York reported.
The decision leaves the couple completely debt-free on their home. The Horoskis were only paying interest on their mortgage after falling behind due to health problems and a change in their interest rate, WABC said. They said they asked OneWest to refinance the loan but the bank refused.
The Horoskis' daughter said the decision came as a huge surprise. "My parents are good people. They're smart people, and I feel bad they've had poor luck, and I'm happy it's been changed," she told reporters.
Spinner slammed the bank's "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive" acts and said the bank "must be appropriately sanctioned so as to deter it from imposing further mortifying abuse against [the couple]," the New York Post reported. The newspaper called Spinner's move a "bombshell decision."
OneWest issued a statement saying, "We respectfully disagree with the lower court's unprecedented ruling and we expect that it will be overturned on appeal."
