Kronen v. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co.
Kronen v. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co.
Opinion of the Court
In entering final judgment of foreclosure, the trial court found that the appellee *448had proved standing, relying on the presumption created in Ortiz v. PNC Bank, National Ass'n ,
Under Ortiz , if the lender "files with the court the original note in the same condition as the copy attached to the complaint, then ... such evidence is sufficient to" show that the lender actually possessed the note when it filed the complaint, and thus, had standing to bring the foreclosure action. Ortiz ,
In Friedle , we held that the bank had not proved standing under Ortiz because the copy of the promissory note was not in the same condition as the original note introduced at trial, even where those differences were minor but unexplained. Friedle ,
Because both Ortiz and Friedle were decided at the time of the trial in this case, the court addressed the discrepancy, and it noted that the only difference between the copy of the note attached to the complaint and the original note was the redaction of the loan numbers at the top of the instrument. Redaction of loan numbers is required upon filing by Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.425(a)(4)(I). Although the rule requires the redaction of only the last four numbers, we see no issue with the application of the Ortiz presumption when more of the loan numbers are redacted. Here, the court viewed both the electronically filed copy attached to the complaint and the original note presented at trial, and it concluded that only the loan number was redacted, as required for filing. Thus, there was an explanation of the difference between the copy and the original. Other than the redaction, the original note was in the same condition as the copy attached to the complaint, and such evidence was sufficient to invoke the Ortiz presumption. Because the appellant offered no evidence to rebut the presumption, the court could rely on it to determine that appellee had proved standing to foreclose the mortgage.
We affirm as to all other issues raised.
Gross, J., and Weiss, Daliah, Associate Judge, concur.
The court also relied on the Pooling and Service Agreement, by which the appellee acquired the loan, which was properly admitted into evidence and included the appellants' loan among those assets transferred into the trust. See Bolous v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n ,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.