A buyer of my home eventually was denied a mortgage after getting a pre-approval letter from the same lender and pulled out of the deal, do I have a claim against the lender for the damages of taking my property off the market?

13 April 2026

Maybe.

In the case of Bokhari v. North Easton Savings Bank a judge found that there may be a claim against a bank that issued a false pre-approval letter and later denied approval of a mortgage to a buyer that was a factor in the demise of the deal. 2026 Mass. Super. LEXIS 7, 2484CV01291-BLS2, (decided Feb. 18, 2026).

The dispute originally was over the buyer’s deposit the buyer wanted returned after the buyer pulled out of deal.  During the dispute, it came to light that contrary to the express language in the bank’s preapproval letter, the bank did not review the buyer’s credit score or verified his assets and income.  When the bank finally did, it refused to approve the loan.  The Defendant argued that the sellers could not show causation because the injuries fell outside any expected risk from a preapproval letter.  But the judge disagreed and denied the Defendant’s motion for summary judgment and let the claim go forward.  Id. at *5.

In addition, and what may be an even more important development in the case, the judge also found that the plaintiff’s unfair business act claim could also go forward.  The Defendant had argued that there was no business relationship between the sellers and the bank, which was true.  However, it observed that the law in Massachusetts is that “c[hapter] 93A allows any person who has been injured by trade or commerce indirectly affecting the people of this Commonwealth to bring a cause of action” Id. at 6-7.

The decision shows that banks that misrepresent facts entities that are not even their customers, but that it is know that they would reasonably rely upon the bank’s representations, can be held legally accountable for the presumed damages incurred.