In Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company v. Dennis M. Conley, 4D14-2430 (Fla. 4th DCA Jan. 6, 2016), Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal clarified the methods by which a foreclosure plaintiff can seek to enforce a note indorsed to another party. Specifically, the court held that, "[w]here a bank is seeking to enforce a note which his specially indorsed to another, the bank is a nonholder in possession." The court went on to hold that in order to prove standing as a non-holder the plaintiff must provide proof of an effective transfer, purchase of the debt, or a valid assignment. In ...
In Haynes v. McCalla Raymer, LLC, No. 14-14036, __ F. 3d __, 2015 WL 4188459 (11th Cir. July 13, 2015), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Northern District of Georgia's grant of summary judgment in favor of Bank of America, N.A. ("BANA") on the mortgagors' wrongful foreclosure claim. The court held that the mortgagors lacked standing to challenge any alleged deficiencies in the assignment of the security deed from MERS to BANA and that the borrowers' own default, rather than any alleged defect in the foreclosure notice, led to the foreclosure. With respect to the ...
Oratai Culhane v. Aurora Loan Services of Nebraska
United States Court of Appeals
First Circuit
February 15, 2013
Relevant Facts: In April 2006, Culhane refinanced a mortgage on her single family home and delivered a promissory note to Preferred Financial Group, Inc. d/b/a Preferred Mortgage Services (the "Lender" or "Preferred"). Culhane simultaneously executed a mortgage in favor of MERS as nominee for Preferred and Preferred's successors and assigns. After making the loan, Preferred transferred Culhane's note to Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas ("Deutsche" ...The Sixth Circuit issued an opinion last week in Christian County Clerk v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., et al., 2013 WL 565198 (6th Cir. Feb. 15, 2013), addressing whether the district court properly dismissed two Kentucky county clerks' complaint against MERS and fifteen financial institutions for violations of state recording statutes. The subject complaint alleged that the Defendants, by establishing and participating in the MERS system, violated Kentucky law by failing to record mortgage assignments and, more specifically, created MERS "to enable its ...