US BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR CITIGROUP MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST, INC., 2007-AHL1, ASSET-BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2007-AHL1, APPELLANT,
v.
LEROY MARION; LUE RITA MARION UNKNOWN TENANT 1; UNKNOWN TENANT 2; AND ALL UNKNOWN PARTIES CLAIMING BY, THROUGH, UNDER OR AGAINST THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S), WHO (IS/ARE) NOT KNOWN TO BE DEAD OR ALIVE, WHETHER SAID UNKNOWN PARTIES CLAIM AS HEIRS, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, ASSIGNEES, LIENORS, CREDITORS, TRUSTEES, SPOUSES, OR OTHER CLAIMANTS, APPELLEES

Fla. 2d DCA | 2013-08-21
No. 2D12-2258
WALLACE and CRENSHAW, JJ., Concur.
122 So. 3d 398 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2013) Caution
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

US Bank, as trustee, appealed a trial court's dismissal of a residential mortgage foreclosure action against the Marions. The dismissal was based solely on the complaint being verified by a Wells Fargo employee rather than a US Bank employee. The appellate court reversed, holding that Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.110(b) does not require verification by the party itself, only by someone with knowledge of the facts.


Holding

The court reversed the dismissal, holding that Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.110(b) requires verification of foreclosure complaints but does not mandate that the verification be executed by an employee of the plaintiff entity itself. A verification executed by someone with knowledge of the facts, such as a servicer's employee, satisfies the rule's requirements.


Headnotes

[1] A complaint in a residential real property foreclosure action must be verified.

[2] A verification of a foreclosure complaint may be signed by an employee of a servicing agent on behalf of the plaintiff entity.

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Key Quotes

“When verification of a document is required, the document filed shall include an oath, affirmation, or the following statement: 'Under penalty of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing, and the facts alleged therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.'”

States the applicable verification requirement under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.110(b) for foreclosure complaints.

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Facts & Procedural History

US Bank National Association, as trustee for a mortgage loan trust, filed a foreclosure action against Leroy Marion and Lue Rita Marion. The initial c…

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Opinion of the Court
ALTENBERND, Judge.

ALTENBERND, Judge.

US Bank National Association, as Trustee for Citigroup Mortgage Loan Trust, Inc.2007-AHL1, Asset-Backed Pass-Through Certificates Series 2007-AHL1, appeals an order dismissing its foreclosure action against Leroy Marion, Lue Rita Marion, and other unknown parties. The trial court dismissed this action because the complaint was verified by an employee *399of the servicing agent, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and not by an employee of U.S. Bank. This court recently granted relief in a certiorari proceeding that involved similar circumstances. Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co. v. Prevratil, 120 So.3d 578 (Fla. 2d DCA May 22, 2013). We likewise reverse this order and remand for further proceedings.

In reversing this order, we note that Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.110(b) requires verification of a complaint that is filed in an action for foreclosure on residential real property. With respect to the required verification, the rule specifically states:

When verification of a document is required, the document filed shall include an oath, affirmation, or the following statement:
“Under penalty of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing, and the facts alleged therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.”

A problem with the required verification arises from the fact that an entity like U.S. Bank cannot sign a verification or an affidavit as “I.” Most foreclosure actions are filed by commercial entities with numerous employees, agents, or independent contractors. As a result, some human being must sign the verification stating “I declare .... ”

The circuit courts are understandably concerned about complaints filed by an entity like U.S. Bank and verified by an unidentified person. In this case, the initial complaint was verified by a woman whose title was “legal process specialist.” An amended complaint was verified by a man who is identified as “vice president loan documentation,” signing as a representative of “Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. as contractual servicer for U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee for Citigroup Mortgage Loan Trust, Inc. 2007-AHL1, Asset-Backed Pass-Through Certificates Series 2007-AHL1.” It is not clear whether either of the verifiers would be subject to the jurisdiction of the court if their verifications proved to be false.

Thus, although we reverse this order, we are not holding that a trial court lacks the authority to require a plaintiff in a foreclosure action to provide additional information concerning the person signing the verification. Likewise, we do not decide whether the trial court may require that the person signing the verification be within or otherwise submit to the jurisdiction of the court.

Reversed and remanded.

WALLACE and CRENSHAW, JJ., Concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • …d correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.” This court has recently concluded that rule 1.110(b) does not preclude the verification of a foreclosure complaint by an employee of the plaintiff bank’s loan servicer. See U.S. Bank N.A. v. Manon, 122 So. 3d 398, 399 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013); Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co. v. Prevratil, 120 So. 3d 573, 575 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). However, this court has not addressed the issue of whether such a verification must be accompanied by evidence supporting the servicer’s aut…
  • Wells Fargo Del. Tr. Co. v. Petrov, 230 So. 3d 575 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017)
    …ked standing to bring foreclosure action on appellant’s behalf when record “clearly reflected]” that appellant filed foreclosure complaint on its own behalf and that servicing agent merely verified complaint); see also US Bank Nat’l Ass’n v. Marion, 122 So. 3d 398, 399 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013) (reversing dismissal on basis that servi-cer’s employee verified bank’s foreclosure complaint); Deutsche Bank Nat’l Tr. Co. v. Prevratil, 120 So. 3d 573, 576 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013) (holding that Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.…

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