The District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida, Fourth District, recently reversed summary judgment in favor of a mortgagee, holding that a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the original plaintiff or the substituted successor in interest held the note when the complaint was filed precluded summary judgment, and thus that the borrower’s lack of standing defense was not refuted. A copy of the opinion in Craven-Lazarus v. Pennymac Holdings, LLC is available at: Link to Opinion. A mortgagee sued to foreclose its mortgage. The complaint alleged that it was “entitled to enforce the Note as a…
Posts tagged as “Florida”
As an example of the conflicting and contrasting court rulings on the effect of surrender in bankruptcy (see our prior update), the District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida, Fifth District, recently dismissed a borrower’s appeal from a final judgment of foreclosure because the borrower admitted during the course of his bankruptcy proceeding that he owed the mortgage debt and stated his intention to surrender the mortgaged property. A copy of the opinion in Rivera v. BAC Home Loans is available at: Link to Opinion. A mortgage loan borrower filed for bankruptcy relief while his appeal of a foreclosure…
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida recently denied a creditor’s motion to compel the debtor to surrender mortgaged property and also denied the debtor’s motion to stay the case, holding that a chapter 7 debtor who indicates surrender of real property in his statement of intention is not obligated to surrender that property to the lienholder, whether or not the property is administered by the chapter 7 trustee. Disagreeing with other judges in the same district and elsewhere on this issue, the bankruptcy judge held that “[c]ompulsory surrender of real property collateral by a debtor to…
The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District, recently upheld a trial court’s ruling that a plaintiff mortgage loan servicer had authority to initiate foreclosure proceedings against borrowers on a mortgage loan evidenced by an electronic note. The Fourth DCA also held that the e-note was a transferable record under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. A copy of the opinion in Rivera v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA is available at: Link to Opinion. In April 2008, the borrowers executed an electronic note (“e-note”) in favor of the lender, evidencing a loan secured by a mortgage. In January 2010, the servicer…
The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District, recently held that the trial court erred in ruling that a mortgagee failed to comply with the pre-foreclosure notice requirements of the mortgage, as the mortgagee’s default notice substantially complied with the mortgage and did not prejudice the borrower. The Court also held that testimony by the current loan servicer’s employee with regard to a prior loan servicer’s business records established sufficient foundation for the prior servicer’s records to be admitted into evidence as business records under Florida law. A copy of the opinion in The Bank of New York Mellon v.…
The District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida, Fourth District, recently affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the borrowers’ permissive counterclaims based on violations of the Florida Unfair Trade Insurance Practices Act (FUTIPA) in connection with an alleged “force-placed insurance scheme,” as the allegations were barred by the applicable four-year statute of limitations. The Court upheld the dismissal of the borrowers’ remaining compulsory counterclaims without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction, as the compulsory counterclaims were not appealable until a final disposition of the original case was obtained on the merits. A copy of the opinion in 4040 Ibis Circle,…
The District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida, Fourth District, recently reversed the dismissal of a mortgage foreclosure action, holding that the mortgagee was deprived of due process because the dismissal was entered sua sponte and without notice or opportunity to be heard, and because correction of an erroneous legal description did not require dismissal of the entire case. A copy of the opinion in Federal National Mortgage Association v. Astrid Sanchez, Botanica/Sea Plum Master Association, Inc., Sandpiper Cove at Botanica Condominium Association, Inc., and Carlos Navas is available at: Link to Opinion. A homeowner defaulted and the…
The District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida, Fourth District, recently reversed summary judgment of foreclosure in favor of a mortgagee, holding that the plaintiff mortgagee failed to satisfy its heightened burden of proving the absence of any genuine issue of material fact on the issue of standing applicable because the motion for summary judgment was filed before the defendant answered the complaint, and the plaintiff mortgagee was on notice at the time that the defendant was contesting standing. A copy of the opinion in Statewide Homeowners Solutions, LLC v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC is available at: Link to Opinion. A homeowners…
The Third District Court of Appeal, State of Florida, recently reversed the dismissal of a mortgage foreclosure action based on the mortgagee’s failure to provide the name of the corporate representative who was to testify at trial, holding that dismissal was an overly harsh sanction given that no prejudice was shown. A copy of the opinion in Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co. v. Perez, et al. is available at: Link to Opinion. In October 2009, the trustee of a mortgage-backed securities trust sued to foreclose a mortgage on real property in Miami-Dade County, Florida. In October 2014, the case was set for…
The District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida, Fourth District, recently affirmed a final judgment of foreclosure in plaintiff mortgagee’s favor, holding that the plaintiff mortgagee was not required to send a second notice of default after it voluntarily dismissed its first foreclosure action before filing the second foreclosure action. A copy of the opinion in Michael E. Sill a/k/a Michael Sill v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association is available at: Link to Opinion. In April 2007, the borrower signed a promissory note and mortgage securing the loan, but defaulted on July 1, 2009. Pursuant to paragraph 22 of the mortgage, the mortgagee sent…
The District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida, Fourth District, recently affirmed the dismissal of a mortgage foreclosure action because the mortgagee failed to present competent, substantial evidence that it had standing to foreclose, due to lack of conformity between the name of the plaintiff mortgagee and the names in the transactional documentation by which the plaintiff mortgagee claimed an interest in the note at issue. A copy of the opinion in Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. v. Dennis M. Conley, et al. is available at: Link to Opinion. A mortgagee filed a foreclosure action. The promissory note contained…
The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District, recently reversed a trial court’s order vacating a voluntary dismissal based on mistaken advice from counsel regarding the statute of limitations, holding that the voluntary dismissal was the result of a deliberate judgment by counsel, and not the type of non-judgmental, clerical mistake that Florida law recognizes as a basis to undo a voluntary dismissal. A copy of the opinion in Cottrell v. Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. is available at: Link to Opinion. In March 2013, borrowers created a land trust, naming their attorney as trustee. They then transferred to the…