Nationstar Mortg., LLC v. Johnson
Nationstar Mortg., LLC v. Johnson
Opinion of the Court
Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, as successor in interest to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.,
Facts
Stephen L. Johnson executed a promissory note in favor of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., on May 22, 2012. The note was secured by a mortgage encumbering Johnson's real property in Manatee County, Florida. Johnson made no payments on the note, and Wells Fargo sent Johnson a notice of default. Johnson made no attempt to cure the default, and on April 17, 2013, Wells Fargo filed the underlying foreclosure complaint.
*810In December 2016, Wells Fargo filed a motion to substitute party plaintiff, asserting that during the pendency of the foreclosure action, it had transferred the mortgage to Nationstar and that Nationstar was now the real party in interest. Wells Fargo attached to its motion a copy of the assignment of the mortgage. The day before trial was to begin, Wells Fargo, still the plaintiff, moved for the court to release the original documents that it had filed previously. Wells Fargo also moved to continue the trial so that Nationstar could enter an appearance and request the return of the original documents. Thus, Wells Fargo plainly contemplated that Nationstar would take physical possession of the original note in anticipation of trial.
Trial took place on February 28, 2017. Before it began, the trial court, over the Johnsons' objection, granted Wells Fargo's motion to substitute and granted Wells Fargo's motion and Nationstar's oral request to release the original note and mortgage into Nationstar's custody "for use at trial." During the trial, Nationstar then introduced the original note into evidence through its corporate witness. Although the Johnsons objected to the admission of the assignment of the mortgage, they did not object to the admission of the original note and mortgage.
Relying on Geweye v. Ventures Trust 2013-I-H-R,
Discussion
We review de novo an order granting a motion for involuntary dismissal at the close of the plaintiff's case. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co. v. Kummer,
On appeal, Nationstar argues that its physical possession of the original blank-indorsed note at the beginning of the trial was sufficient to establish its standing at trial. We agree. "A plaintiff who is not the original lender may establish standing to foreclose a mortgage loan by submitting a note with a blank or special endorsement, an assignment of the note, or an affidavit otherwise proving the plaintiff's status as the holder of the note." Focht v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.,
Nationstar's possession of the original note at trial distinguishes this case from both Geweye and Creadon.
"[A] plaintiff who is not the original lender may establish standing to foreclose a mortgage loan by submitting a note with a blank or special [i]ndorsement, an assignment of the note, or an affidavit otherwise proving the plaintiff's status as the holder of the note." Focht v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.,124 So.3d 308 , 310 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). Ventures submitted none of these and thus failed to establish its standing at the time of trial.
Ventures asserted that the original note indorsed in blank, coupled with the assignment of mortgage, provided it with standing. However, Chase filed the original note indorsed in blank with the court long before Ventures was substituted as the party plaintiff. As such, Ventures could not establish that it was the holder or nonholder in possession for purposes of standing. See Creadon v. U.S. Bank, N.A.,166 So.3d 952 , 954 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015). Further, Ventures failed to explain how the assignment of mortgage, reflecting only the transfer of the mortgage and not the note, provided it with standing; nothing in the assignment of mortgage conferred standing on Ventures to enforce the note.
Id. at 233 (second alteration in original).
In Creadon, Thornburg Mortgage Home Loans, Inc., filed a foreclosure complaint in which it alleged that it owned the note.
The issue here is whether U.S. Bank presented sufficient evidence to warrant its substitution as plaintiff and to prove that it had standing to enforce the note and mortgage. It did not introduce the assignment of mortgage ... or any other assignment, into evidence. It proceeded solely on the theory that it was the holder of the note and thus had the right to foreclose the loan.
... An entity can establish standing to foreclose a note secured by a mortgage by showing that it is the holder of the note or a nonholder in possession of *812the note who has the rights of a holder. Creadon's original note had been filed in the registry of the court years before U.S. Bank appeared in the suit. Therefore, U.S. Bank simply could not have been holding the note or been a nonholder in possession with standing to foreclose the mortgage.
Here, not only did Nationstar establish itself as the holder of the note at the time of trial, but contrary to the Johnsons' tipsy coachman argument, Wells Fargo had standing to foreclose when it filed the original complaint: the copy of the blank-indorsed note that Wells Fargo attached to its original complaint was identical to the original note that it subsequently filed with the court and was the very same note that Nationstar later introduced at trial. See U.S. Bank, N.A. for Truman 2012 SC2 Title Tr. v. Glicken,
Because Wells Fargo had standing to foreclose when it filed the complaint with a copy of the blank-indorsed note attached, and Nationstar established standing in its own right by physically possessing the original blank-indorsed note at the beginning of the trial and entering it into evidence, the trial court erred in granting the Johnsons' motion for involuntary dismissal. Accordingly, the final judgment of dismissal is reversed, and this case is remanded for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
VILLANTI and SLEET, JJ., Concur.
The notice of appeal erroneously identified Wells Fargo as the plaintiff/appellant. Nationstar subsequently moved to correct the name of the appellant. We deemed the error a scrivener's error and granted the motion. We reject the Johnsons' jurisdictional argument based on this error as without merit and not worthy of further discussion.
The complaint names Stephen Johnson and Carrie Johnson, among others, as defendants. Carrie Johnson signed the mortgage as "non-borrower spouse" and did not sign the note. She is identified as a defendant and/or an appellee in all relevant pleadings.
As Nationstar's counsel stated at trial: "That's the difference between [Geweye ] and this case. That is the exact reason why I requested the return of those documents."
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.