Onity Group Seeks Court Clarity on New York Mortgage Servicing Fee Rule

05:29 PM EDT, 10/20/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Onity Group (ONIT) said on Tuesday it filed a declaratory judgment action in the US District Court for the Northern District of New York seeking clarification of a state mortgage servicing regulation on optional expedited payment fees. The complaint asks the court to determine whether the regulation provides the fair notice and objective standards required by the US Constitution, the company said. Onity said the rule permits fees "reasonably related to the cost of rendering that service," but that the phrase has not been defined in the rulemaking record, published guidance or in response to its questions in the nearly seven years since adoption. The company said the fees are optional, that customers can pay in several ways at no cost, and that it has voluntarily reduced the fees and eliminated them for online and automated phone payments. Onity said it has cooperated fully with the state and remains prepared to meet any clearly defined standard.