RUTH ANN EADDY, APPELLANT,
v.
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. SUCESSOR BY MERGER TO BAC HOME LOANS SERVICING, LP F/K/A COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS SERVICING, LP; AMY E. SKELTON; UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF AMY E. SKELTON IF ANY; ANY AND ALL UNKNOWN PARTIES CLAIMING BY THROUGH, UNDER, AND AGAINST THE HEREIN NAMED INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANT(S) WHO ARE NOT KNOWN TO BE DEAD OR ALIVE, WHETHER SAID UNKNOWN PARTIES MAY CLAIM AN INTEREST AS SPOUSES, HEIRS, DEVISEES, GRANTEES OR OTHER CLAIMANTS; HOME LOAN CENTER INC. D/B/A LENDINGTREE LOANS; JOHN DOE AND JANE DOE AS UNKNOWN TENANTS POSSESSION, APPELLEES
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.
Ruth Ann Eaddy appealed a mortgage foreclosure judgment entered in favor of Bank of America after a bench trial. The court reversed, holding that Bank of America failed to establish standing to foreclose at the time the original complaint was filed because it did not submit the required documentation proving its status as holder of the note.
Bank of America failed to establish standing to foreclose at the inception of the case. A plaintiff must prove standing at the time the foreclosure complaint was filed, and an assignment of the mortgage alone does not confer standing to enforce the note without proof of the note's transfer.
[1] A plaintiff in a mortgage foreclosure action must establish standing at the time the initial complaint is filed.
[2] A plaintiff seeking to foreclose a mortgage, who is not the original lender, may establish standing by submitting a note with a blank or special endorsement, an assignmen…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“It is well-settled law that a plaintiff must prove it had standing at the time the foreclosure complaint was filed.”
Establishes the controlling principle that standing must exist when the foreclosure action is commenced, not at amendment.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn November 2003, Amy Skelton executed a promissory note and mortgage in favor of Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. Skelton later transferred the property …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Mortgage Foreclosure cases and more on FLexlaw
Ruth Ann Eaddy appeals a final judgment of mortgage foreclosure entered against her and in favor of Bank of America, N.A. after a bench trial. Because Bank of America failed to prove it had standing to foreclose at the inception of the case, we reverse.
In November 2003, Amy Skelton executed a promissory note and mortgage in favor of Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. She later transferred the property to her mother, Ruth Ann Eaddy, by quit claim deed. Ruth Ann Eaddy is also the personal representative of Skelton’s Estate.
On June 29, 2009, BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P. f/k/a Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, L.P., filed a mortgage foreclosure complaint against Skelton. The complaint attached as its only exhibit the mortgage and promissory note executed by Skelton in favor of lender Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. The complaint 'alleged that “[s]aid mortgage was subsequently assigned to BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P., f/k/a Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, L.P. by virtue of an assignment to be recorded.” No assignment of mortgage was attached. Nor was there an endorsement on or an al-longe attached to the note.
On January 6, 2014, Bank of America, N.A., as successor by merger to BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P. f/k/a Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, L.P., filed a motion for leave to amend complaint, stating that the Bank “is in need of amending its Complaint in order to rectify standing allegations contained in its Complaint and to add lost note count.” The amended complaint included a count to establish lost note. Attached to the amended complaint were an affidavit of lost note, copies of the note and mortgage, and an assignment of mortgage.
Eaddy argued in a motion to dismiss, in her answer and affirmative defenses, and at trial that the Bank did not have standing to maintain the foreclosure action. Following a bench trial, the trial court entered a final judgment of foreclosure in favor of the Bank.
It is well-settled law that a plaintiff must prove it had standing at the time the foreclosure complaint was filed. Focht v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 124 So.3d 308, 310 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). “A plaintiff who is not the original lender may establish standing to foreclose a mortgage loan by *1280submitting a note with a blank or special endorsement, an assignment of the note, or an affidavit otherwise proving the plaintiffs status as the holder of the note.” Id.
Here Bank of America failed to establish it had standing to foreclose at the time the original complaint was filed. Attached to the initial' complaint filed by BAO Home Loans Servicing, L.P. were the note and mortgage executed by Skelton in favor of Countrywide Home Loans, Inc,, not Bank of America. And the assignment of mortgage attached to Bank of America’s amended complaint reflects only the transfer of the mortgage and not the note. See, e.g., Geweye v. Ventures Trust 2013-I-H-R, 189 So.3d 231, 233 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (concluding “nothing in the assignment of mortgage conferred standing on [the plaintiff] to enforce the note”). Because Bank of America failed to prove it had standing to enforce the' note at the time the initial complaint was filed, we reverse the final judgment of mortgage foreclosure and remand for dismissal.
Reversed and remanded for dismissal.
LUCAS, J., and DAKAN, STEPHEN L., Associate Senior Judge, Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Lane A. Houk v. Pennymac Corp., 210 So. 3d 726 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017)…4, 1286 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015) (citing Bristol v. Wells Fargo Bank, Nat’l Ass’n, 137 So. 3d 1130, 1133 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014)). PennyMac did not acquire standing to foreclose based on an assignment of only the mortgage. See Eaddy v. Bank of America, N.A., 197 So. 3d 1278, 1280 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016); Caballero v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n ex rel. RASC 2006-EMX7, 189 So. 3d 1044, 1046 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016); Geweye, 189 So. 3d at 233; Lamb, 174 So. 3d at 1041. Second, the only evidence of the assignment of the mortgage was the…
-
Verizzo v. The Bank OF NEW York Mellon, 220 So. 3d 1262 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017)…force the note. Caballero v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 189 So. 3d 1044, 1046 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (“[T]he assignment was insufficient to show standing because it only purported to assign the mortgage, not the note.”); see also Eaddy v. Bank of Am., N.A., 197 So. 3d 1278, 1280 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (holding that plaintiff failed to prove standing where “the assignment of mortgage attached to [the] amended complaint reflects only the transfer of the mortgage and not the note”). Furthermore, even if an assignment of mort…
-
Scott v. Strategic Realty Fund, LLC, 311 So. 3d 113 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020)…ce the note."); Caballero v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n, 189 So. 3d 1044, 1046 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) ("[T]he assignment was insufficient to show standing because it only purported to assign the mortgage, not the note."); see also Eaddy v. Bank of Am., N.A., 197 So. 3d 1278, 1280 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (holding that plaintiff failed to prove standing where "the - 9 - assignment of mortgage attached to [the] amended complaint reflects only the transfer of the mortgage and not the note"). Be that as it may, the September 20…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Focht v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 124 So. 3d 308 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013)
- Geweye v. Ventures Tr. 2013-I-H-R, 189 So. 3d 231 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)