On July 2, 2020, the Florida Supreme Court issued its ruling Jackson v. Household Finance Corporation III, et al., SC18-357, 2020 WL 3580036, and provided new guidance for record authentication under the business records exception to the hearsay rule. At issue in the case was whether or not a testifying employee properly authenticated business records maintained by HSBC with respect to a mortgage loan account. The Florida Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the lender resolves a split of authority in Florida on the quantum of proof necessary to access the business records exception ...
As Florida works through its foreclosure backlog, many of the cases remaining are those with complications, for example a lost promissory note. Such issues are not insurmountable, but do require an attention to detail. For example, in Boumarate v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., 5D14-1379, 40 Fla. L. Weekly D1899a (Fla. 5th DCA August 14, 2015), Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal provided guidance on the proof required by Florida's UCC provision for enforcing lost promissory notes. Specifically, Florida Statutes section 673.3091 provides that:
(1) A person not in possession of an ...