Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co. v. Kummer
Decision Date | 01 July 2016 |
Docket Number | No. 2D15–3812.,2D15–3812. |
Citation | 195 So.3d 1173 |
Parties | DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY as Trustee for Harborview Mortgage Loan Trust 2006–8, Appellant, v. Karl Arthur KUMMER, Appellee. |
Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
W. Bard Brockman and Damon J. Whitaker of Bryan Cave LLP, Atlanta, Georgia, for Appellant.
Karl Arthur Kummer, pro se.
, Judge.
Deutsche Bank National Trust Company (Deutsche Bank), as Trustee for Harborview Mortgage Loan Trust 2006–8 (the trust), appeals the circuit court's involuntary dismissal of its foreclosure complaint against Karl Kummer. Because the court erroneously rendered credibility determinations throughout its order and improvidently dismissed Deutsche Bank's complaint, we reverse the circuit court's order.
Mr. Kummer executed a promissory note and mortgage on his condominium in connection with a $115,500 loan he obtained from BankUnited FSB on February 13, 2006. Following his default on the loan in May 2010, Deutsche Bank initiated a foreclosure action against Mr. Kummer in June 2012, which proceeded to trial on May 18, 2015.
The issue of Deutsche Bank's standing to foreclose Mr. Kummer's mortgage was contested throughout the litigation and was the principal focus of the trial. At the trial, Deutsche Bank, through its witness, introduced into evidence the original note (which included an affixed allonge endorsed in blank that was executed on the same day as the note), a power of attorney between Deutsche Bank and its loan servicer, Ocwen National Corporation, the notice of breach and intent to accelerate letter, a 2006 pooling and service agreement, and excerpts of the mortgage loan schedule for the pooling and service agreement showing Mr. Kummer's payments on the loan to the loan's various servicers. The testimony and documentary evidence established that Mr. Kummer's loan was previously transferred to the trust from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and that Deutsche Bank, as the trust's trustee, brought this foreclosure action on the trust's behalf.
Mr. Kummer's trial counsel challenged the sufficiency of this evidence, questioning the propriety of a prior assignment of mortgage and a notary stamp on that assignment. Mr. Kummer's counsel also introduced into evidence a 248–page document he evidently obtained from the Internet, which, he claimed, was an investment prospectus supplement for the trust.1
After the close of Mr. Kummer's case, the circuit court granted Mr. Kummer's prior motion for involuntary dismissal. In granting the motion, the court determined that Deutsche Bank had not proven its standing based on its view of the evidence presented at trial. Pertinent here, the court's written order, entered on June 30, 2015, contained the following rulings:
The order granted Mr. Kummer's motion and dismissed Deutsche Bank's complaint with prejudice. Deutsche Bank now appeals the court's order.
Day v. Amini, 550 So.2d 169, 171 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)
(citation omitted). A trial court “can neither weigh the evidence nor consider the...
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Tracey v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
...can be drawn from the evidence, the trial judge should not grant a motion for involuntary dismissal." Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co. v. Kummer, 195 So.3d 1173, 1175 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (quoting Day v. Amini, 550 So.2d 169, 171 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989) ).12 Accordingly, it is a failure of proof, not m......
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Mace v. M&T Bank
...conclusion or inference based thereon" in favor of the nonmoving party. See Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co. ex rel. Harborview Mortg. Loan Tr. 2006-8 v. Kummer, 195 So. 3d 1173, 1175 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (quoting Day v. Amini, 550 So. 2d 169, 171 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989) ); see also Bayview Loan Servic......
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Morroni v. Wilmington Sav. Fund Soc'y FSB
...not best practice because the trial court can just as easily at that point render a judgment. See Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co. v. Kummer, 195 So. 3d 1173, 1175 n.2 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016). Consistent with that explanation, we remand for entry of a judgment, which is what we would do had no motion......
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U.S. Bank, N.A. v. Mink
...the issue of standing. This court reviews de novo an order granting a motion for involuntary dismissal. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co. v. Kummer, 195 So. 3d 1173, 1175 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (citing Allard v. Al-Nayem Int'l, Inc., 59 So. 3d 198, 201 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011) ). This court "must view the ......