Consumer Finance Litigation

On October 31, 2018, Florida's Second District Court of Appeal recently distinguished two of its prior opinions and held that a foreclosure plaintiff does not lose its standing as a holder of a negotiable instrument if it surrenders a promissory note to the clerk of court for purposes of obtaining a foreclosure judgment, and later re-files the action without retaking possession of the note from the clerk.

Two prior opinions from the Second District Court of Appeal, Partridge v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, 224 So. 3d 839 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017) and Geweye v. Ventures Trust 2013-I-H-R, 189 So. 3d ...

The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently held that a promissory note is a negotiable instrument even though it references provisions in the mortgage. Onewest Bank, FSB v. Jose Nunez, Case No. 4D13-48176, 2016 WL 803542 (Fla. 4th DCA March 2, 2016). This opinion is the first in Florida to specifically discuss the negotiability of promissory notes. Below, the state court issued an involuntary dismissal of the foreclosure action ruling that the promissory note secured by the mortgage was not a negotiable instrument. OneWest appeals. First, the Fourth DCA notes that even if the note ...