U.S. Bank National Ass'n v. Taylor
U.S. Bank National Ass'n v. Taylor
Opinion of the Court
U.S. Bank National Association (“U.S. Bank”) appeals a non-final order granting
FACTS
This case arises out of a residential foreclosure of a first mortgage brought by U.S. Bank, the owner of the note and first mortgage. The first mortgage referenced a note in the amount of $518,000.00 and an identification number ending in 6895. U.S. Bank’s loan servicer executed a second mortgage, which stated that it was “subordinate to an existing first lien of record” and was referenced by an identification number ending in 6903. U.S. Bank obtained a final judgment of foreclosure against the borrower, David Taylor, based upon the note and first mortgage. The second mortgage was assigned to Asset Management Holdings, Inc. (“Asset”), and referenced the identification number ending in 6903. Asset then assigned the same mortgage to Northview.
TRIAL COURT PROCEDURE
After the property was foreclosed upon, the owner of the first mortgage, U.S. Bank, bought the property at the foreclosure sale. Almost eight months after final judgment of foreclosure had been entered in favor of U.S. Bank and after the purchase by U.S. Bank at the foreclosure sale, but prior to the issuance of the certificate of title, Northview moved to intervene. Northview’s theory was that the assignment it received from Asset was an assignment of the first mortgage because the document showed the Monroe County official records book and page number of the first mortgage giving it priority in title over U.S. Bank. The trial court allowed Northview to intervene and the trial court directed the clerk of the court to issue the certificate of title to Northview. U.S. Bank filed this interlocutory appeal. We find that the trial court abused its discretion in granting the motion to intervene and directing the clerk of the court to issue the certificate of title to Northview.
ANALYSIS
The trial court’s order granting North-view’s motion to intervene is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. Barnhill v. Fla. Microsoft Anti-Trust Lit., 905 So.2d 195 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005). The portion of the trial court’s order which directs the clerk to issue the certificate of title to Northview is reviewed de novo since it involves questions of law and the construction of written instruments. Aronson v. Aronson, 930 So.2d 766 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006).
The trial court abused its discretion in granting Northview’s motion to intervene. A post judgment motion to intervene is rarely, if ever, granted and only if the intervention will not injuriously affect the original litigants. In this case, the trial court abused its discretion since the granting of the post judgment motion to intervene did injuriously affect the original parties. See Dickinson v. Segal, 219 So.2d 435 (Fla. 1969) (post-judgment intervention not permitted once litigation has resulted in final judgment); see also Svadbik v. Svadbik, 776 So.2d 968 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000) (affirming denial of motion to intervene post-judgment); Idacon, Inc. v. Hawes, 432 So.2d 759 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983) (reversing order granting motion to intervene after final judgment of foreclosure had been entered and after judicial sale); Lewis v. Turlington, 499 So.2d 905 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986) (trial court abused its discretion in allowing third parties to intervene after entry of final order).
We reverse the trial court’s grant of Northview’s motion to intervene and the direction to the clerk to issue title in Northview’s name. We remand to the trial court to issue title in the name of U.S. Bank.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
. The note was never delivered.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.