RBS CITIZENS N.A., APPELLANT,
v.
DOUGLAS S. REYNOLDS A/K/A DOUGLAS REYNOLDS AND RUTH A. REYNOLDS, APPELLEES
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RBS Citizens sought to foreclose on the Reynolds' home and filed a certification of possession of the original promissory note under penalty of perjury as required by Florida law. The trial court dismissed the foreclosure complaint solely because the certification was not notarized, but the appellate court reversed, holding that Florida Statutes section 702.015(4) requires only a certification under penalty of perjury, not notarization.
Section 702.015(4) requires only a certification under penalty of perjury and does not impose a notarization requirement. The trial court erred in dismissing the foreclosure complaint based on the absence of notarization when the certification satisfied all statutory requirements.
[1] A statute requiring a certification of possession of an original promissory note in a foreclosure action does not require notarization if it specifies that the certificat…
[2] A certification of possession of an original promissory note is sufficient if it includes the location of the note, the name and title of the individual giving the certif…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“If the plaintiff is in possession of the original promissory note, the plaintiff must file under penalty of perjury a certification with the court, contemporaneously with the filing of the complaint for foreclosure, that the plaintiff is in possession of the original promissory note.”
The statutory text of section 702.015(4) showing the requirement is for a certification under penalty of perjury, not notarization.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRBS Citizens filed a verified foreclosure complaint against homeowners Douglas and Ruth Reynolds on April 16, 2015. Contemporaneously with the complai…
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RBS Citizens N.A. filed a verified foreclosure complaint against homeowners Douglas and Ruth Reynolds. The- trial *592court entered a nonfinal order granting the Reynoldses’ motion to dismiss. We relinquished jurisdiction to allow the trial court to enter an appealable, final order. The trial court subsequently entered an order dismissing RBS’s complaint, without leave to amend, solely on the basis that RBS’s certification of possession of the original promissory note was not notarized. We reverse because the operative statute imposes no such notarization requirement.
Section 702.015(4), Florida Statutes (2015), requires a foreclosure, plaintiff in possession of the original promissory note to file under penalty of perjury a certification that it is in possession of the original promissory note:
If the plaintiff is in possession of the original promissory note, the plaintiff must file under penalty of perjury a certification with the court, contemporaneously with the filing of the complaint for foreclosure, ■ that the plaintiff is in possession of the original promissory note. The certification must set forth the location of the note, the name and title of the individual giving the certification, the name of the person who personally verified such possession, and the time and date on which the possession was verified. . .
(Emphasis added.) Section 702.015(6) gives a trial court discretionary authority to sanction the plaintiff for failure to comply with this requirement.
Here, contemporaneously with the filing of its foreclosure complaint on April 16, 2015, RBS filed its certification of possession of the original promissory note. The certification included the location of the note; the name, title, and signature of the individual giving the certification who personally verified such possession; and the time and date on which the possession was verified. Directly above the signature appeared the statement: “Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing and that the facts stated in it are true.” ...
The trial court dismissed RBS’s complaint “solely because the [section] 702.015(4) Certification of Possession attached to Plaintiffs Complaint is not notarized, which could allow for false statements to be made.” Section 702.015(4), however, merely requires a certification of possession of an original promissory note to be filed “under penalty of perjury” and does not require the certification to be notarized. Cf. § 92.525, Fla. Stat. (2015) (providing that when a document must be verified by law, such verification generally may be accomplished by either notarization or by the signing of the following written ‘ declaration: “Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing [document] and that the facts stated in it are true” (alteration in original)); In re Amendments to Fla. Rules of Civil Procedure, 153 So.3d 258, 262 (Fla. 2014) (adding Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.115(c) to implement section 702.015(4), and amending'form 1.944(a) to add a new section entitled “Certification of Possession of Originar Note,” which contains the following written declaration: “Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing Certification of Possession of Original Note and that the facts stated in it are true”). Because section 702.015(4) does not require notarization, the trial court erred by dismissing RBS’s verified foreclosure complaint. Accordingly, we reverse the order of dismissal and remand for further proceedings consistent withthis opinion.
Reversed and remanded.,
SILBERMAN and SLEET, JJ., Concur.
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Authorities Cited
- In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, 153 So. 3d 258 (Fla. 2014)