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Trending Cases: Standing and Merger Evidence of Plaintiff’s.

3/15/2018

To establish standing by merger in a foreclosure action, the surviving entity must prove that it acquired all of the absorbed entity’s assets, including the note and mortgage by virtue of the merger. On February 2, 2018, the Fifth District Court of Appeal released the opinion of *Fielding v. PNC Bank Nat'l Ass'n, No. 5D16-440, 2018 WL 663820, (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Feb. 2, 2018), which held that the “banks must establish and explain the relationship between the entities in the entire chain of mergers in order to establish standing.”. In this instant case, the borrower executed a note and mortgage agreement with Fidelity Federal Bank and Trust (“Original Lender”), and then the original lender converted to a national bank, assumed the name Fidelity Bank, National Association, and then merged into National City Bank (“NCB”). Thereafter, National City Mortgage “(NCM”) filed a foreclosure complaint. Id. National City Bank merged with PNC Bank National Association, in which National City Mortgage (Plaintiff) moved to substitute PNC Bank National Association as Plaintiff by virtue of the merger.

Trending Cases: Standing and Substituted Party Plaintiff under Fla. R. Civ. Pro. 1.260(c)

3/15/2018

Standing and Substituted Party Plaintiff under Fla. R. Civ. Pro. 1.260(c)

A substituted Plaintiff acquires the standing of the transferor original Plaintiff. On January 10, 2018, the decision of *Spicer v. Ocwen Loan Servicing,LLC, No. 4D16-2335, 2018 WL 354555, (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Jan. 10, 2018), was released in which the Fourth District Court of Appeal held and affirmed the lower court’s ruling that pursuant to Fla. R. Civ. Pro. 1.260, “a transferee substituted as Plaintiff acquires the standing of the transferor original Plaintiff.” In which, “the acquired standing, coupled with the presentation of the original note, indorsed in blank, is sufficient to allow the substituted Plaintiff to foreclose.“ While the Appellant’s acknowledged that the original lender had standing to initiate the foreclosure action, they argued that the substituted Plaintiff did not establish standing because the original note had been filed with the clerk of court long before it was purportedly transferred to the substituted Plaintiff. Id. The Fourth District Court of Appeal, disagreed.

In reaching this holding, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, relied on the Motion to Substitute Party Plaintiff, which did specifically reference the transferring of the note in the motion, unlike in Geweye v. Ventures Trust 2013-I-H-R, 189 So.3d 231, 233 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016), in which the original Plaintiff filed a foreclosure complaint and later filed the original note indorsed in blank, and later based upon an assignment that referenced only the mortgage, the original Plaintiff filed a motion to substitute party plaintiff, with only a reference to the transfer of the Mortgage.

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Trending Cases: Standing and Merger Evidence of Plaintiff’s.

Trending Cases: Standing and Substituted Party Plaintiff under Fla. R. Civ. Pro. 1.260(c)