EDGAR BRAGA, APPELLANT,
v.
FANNIE MAE ("FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION"), APPELLEE
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The court reversed a foreclosure judgment because the lender failed to prove it possessed the promissory note with a valid indorsement at the time the complaint was filed. An undated indorsement in blank introduced after filing the complaint is insufficient to establish standing to foreclose without additional evidence of when the indorsement was placed on the note.
The court held that Fannie Mae failed to establish standing because it did not prove CitiMortgage was the note's holder at the time the complaint was filed. An undated indorsement introduced after the complaint was filed is insufficient, without further evidence, to prove standing at the time the complaint was filed.
[1] A plaintiff in a foreclosure case must demonstrate it had standing at the time the complaint was filed.
[2] When a note is indorsed in blank, it becomes bearer paper and is negotiated by transfer of possession alone.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a plaintiff in a foreclosure case must demonstrate it had standing at the time the complaint was filed”
Establishes the fundamental requirement that standing must exist when the action commences, not later.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCitiMortgage, Inc. filed a foreclosure action against Braga, attaching a copy of the promissory note that referenced an allonge but did not include it…
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We reverse the final judgment of foreclosure because the plaintiff failed to prove that an undated indorsement in blank was placed on an allonge prior to filing the original complaint.
CitiMortgage, Inc., filed a foreclosure action against Appellant. Attached to the complaint was a copy of the promissory note, which contained a stamp on the signature page indicating that an allonge was attached. However, no copy of the allonge was included with the complaint. An amended complaint was later filed, substituting Fannie Mae as the named plaintiff and including a copy of the allonge, which contained an undated indorsement in blank. At trial, Fannie Mae’s sole witness testified that he did not know when the allonge was created, nor was he aware of when CitiMortgage ' became the note’s holder.
The sufficiency of the evidence proving standing to bring a foreclosure action is reviewed de novo. Sosa v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 153 So.3d 950, 951 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014). It is well settled that a plaintiff in a foreclosure case must demonstrate it had standing at the time the complaint was filed. McLean v. JP Morgan Chase Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 79 So.3d 170, 173 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012). When a note is indorsed in blank, it becomes bearer paper and is “negotiated by transfer of possession alone.” Calvo v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 181 So.3d 562, 564 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015) (quoting § 673.2051(2), Fla. Stat. (2014)). If a plaintiffs standing derives from its status as a holder, based on an indorsement in blank, the plaintiff must establish that it had possession of the indorsed original note at the time the complaint was filed. Id. An undated indorsement introduced after the complaint was filed, is insufficient, without further evidence, to prove standing at the time the complaint was filed. Id.; see also Balch v. LaSalle Bank N.A., 171 So.3d 207, 209 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015) (finding plaintiff failed to prove standing where there was no evidence indicating when the indorsement was placed onto the note).
Because Fannie Mae did not prove that CitiMortgage was the note’s holder at the commencement of the action, Fannie Mae failed to establish CitiMortgage’s standing to foreclose when the complaint was filed. Therefore, we reverse the final judgment of foreclosure and remand for entry of an order of involuntary dismissal of the action. See Calvo, 181 So.3d at 564.
STEVENSON, GROSS and FORST, JJ., concur.
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Green Tree Servicing LLC v. Raju Sanker, 204 So. 3d 496 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)…e original lender ending with an undated blank endorsement. Green Tree proved its standing by presenting evidence that it had possession of the original Note with all the endorsements when it filed the foreclosure complaint. See Braga v. Fannie Mae, 187 So. 3d 1272, 1273 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016) (“If a plaintiffs standing derives from its status as a holder; based on an indorsement in blank, the .plaintiff must establish that it had possession of the indorsed original note at the time the complaint was filed.”). [*…
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Walton v. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co. for Morgan Stanley ABS Cap. I Inc., 201 So. 3d 831 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016)…Bank Nat’l Trust Co., 174 So. 3d 489, 491 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015). “An undated indorsement introduced after the complaint was filed, is insufficient, without further evidence, to prove standing at the time the complaint was filed.” Braga v. Fannie Mae, 187 So. 3d 1272, 1273 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016). Like the previously filed indorsement, the undated blank indorsement filed in 2014 “did not answer the question of “whether the indorsement in blank antedated the filing of the original complaint.’ ” Ham, 164 So. 3d at 71…
Authorities Cited
- McLEAN v. JP Morgan Chase Bank Nat'l Ass'n, 79 So. 3d 170 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)
- Alva Sosa and Alex Amador v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n, 153 So. 3d 950 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014)
- Balch v. Lasalle Bank N.A. for Wash. Mut. Mortg. Pass-through Certificates Wmart Series 2006-5 Tr., 171 So. 3d 207 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)
- Selva Adriana Calvo and Marcos Fabian Calvo v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n for Structured Asset Sec. Corp. Mortg. Pass-Through Certificates, 181 So. 3d 562 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)