NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE, LLC
v.
JOSELITO L. MARTINS A/K/A JOSELITO MARTINS
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# LEGAL BRIEF **Nationstar Mortgage, LLC v. Joselito L. Martins**, 219 So. 3d 896 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018): The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed an award of attorneys' fees to the defendant, holding that a party prevailing on a standing argument cannot recover fees under the contract's attorneys' fees clause, as the defendant's success was premised on the plaintiff's lack of authority to enforce that same contract.
[1] A party that prevails on the argument that dismissal is required due to the plaintiff's lack of standing to sue upon a contract cannot recover attorney's fees based upon…
[2] A party seeking attorney's fees under a contract must demonstrate they were the holder of the note secured by the property at the time the foreclosure suit was filed.
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Jeffrey M. Clyman of Steele Law, Hobe Sound, for appellee Joselito L. Martins a/k/a Joselito Martins.
DAMOORGIAN, J.
After establishing that Nationstar Mortgage, LLC (“Nationstar”) was not the holder of the note secured by his property at the time it filed a mortgage foreclosure suit and, therefore, lacked standing to maintain its suit, Joselito Martins sought and was awarded fees pursuant to the attorneys’ fees clause in the mortgage and the reciprocal provision of section 57.105(7), Florida Statutes (2017). Because “[a] party that prevails on its argument that dismissal is required because the plaintiff lacked standing to sue upon the contract cannot recover fees based upon a provision in that same contract,” we reverse and direct the trial court to vacate the final judgment awarding fees to Mr. Martins. Nationstar Mortg. LLC v. Glass, 219 So. 3d 896, 899 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017); see also Christiana Tr., a Div. of Wilmington Sav. Fund Soc’y, FSB for Normandy Mortg. Loan Tr., Series 2013-18 v. Rushlow, 231 So. 3d 558, 559 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017). Reversed and remanded.
TAYLOR and MAY, JJ., concur. * * *
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
2
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Nationstar Mortg. LLC v. Farshadi Faramarz, 275 So. 3d 668 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019)
Authorities Cited
- Roundtree v. State, 219 So. 3d 896 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)
- Nationstar Mortg. LLC v. Glass, 219 So. 3d 896 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)
- Christiana Tr. v. Rushlow, 231 So. 3d 558 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)