Florida Statute of Limitations plus more
Happy Spring. The first 16 pages discuss the Florida Statute of Limitations. Other observations and issues start on page 17.
The Florida Supreme Court will soon clarify on how the statute of limitations is applied to mortgage foreclosure suits.
The Florida Supreme Court is currently deciding on a case, U.S. Bank v. Bartram, that will decide if servicers can restart foreclosures after five years, or if they will be barred by the Florida statute of limitations. Oral Arguments were heard in November 2015 and the hearing can be viewed online on YouTube. It is worth watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf8aMwjtdaE
In the Bartram case, Bartram defaulted on his loan, U.S. Bank immediately foreclosed and accelerated the mortgage debt, the foreclosure case languished in the courts for years, and the case was dismissed due to U.S. Bank failing to show up for a case management hearing. By then the five years had run out. When U.S. Bank went to refile, the lower court ruled in Bartram’s favor but the 5th District Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s ruling. However, the 5thDCA believed the issue they resolved was of great public importance and sent the following question to the Florida Supreme Court.
“Does acceleration of payments due under a note and mortgage in a foreclosure action that was dismissed pursuant to rule 1.420(b), Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, trigger application of the statute of limitations to prevent a subsequent foreclosure action by the mortgagee based on all payment defaults occurring subsequent to dismissal of the first foreclosure suit?“
Source: U.S. Bank v Bartram in the District Court of Appeals of the State of Florida Fifth District Case 5D12-3823
The problem before the Court: Acceleration v. Deceleration? Does the statute of limitation restart with each deficient payment? No matter what the Court decides, the judicial foreclosure system in Florida is a real mess from a RMBS investor perspective. Too many lawyers filing too many motions.
Contact us at 203-276-0672 to become a client and access all reports and attachments.
