January 13, 2014
Florida Appellate Court Holds that Mortgagee is not Required to be the Mortgage Holder and Owner to have Standing for Foreclosure Action
The District Court of Appeal of Florida in Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., v. Morcom, 2013 WL 5575634 (Fl. Ct. App., 5th Dist. 2013), held that mortgagee was not required to be both holder and owner of promissory note in order to have standing to foreclose.
On August 6, 2010, Wells Fargo Bank (“Plaintiff”) initiated a foreclosure action against homeowners Daniel and Sharon Morcom (“Defendants”). One year later on August 9, 2011, the Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment claiming that the Plaintiff was not the owner of the promissory note and mortgage and therefore did not have standing to initiate the foreclosure. The trial court granted Defendant’s summary judgment motion challenging Plaintiff’s standing to initiate the foreclosure. The Court had found that a party initiating a foreclosure must be the holder and owner of the promissory note in order to have standing pursuant to Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code and controlling case law.
The Florida Appellate Court reversed the trial court’s decision and held that a mortgagee was not required to be both holder and owner of promissory note in order to have standing to foreclose a mortgage.
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