The national law firm of Greenberg Traurig issued an alert this week warning its lawyers that a 4th District Court of Appeal ruling in favor of Palm Beach County homeowners could ” dramatically change the foreclosure landscape in Florida.”
The Sept. 7 decision in the case of Gary and Anita Glarum versus LaSalle Bank says that an affidavit of indebtedness submitted by the bank was hearsay because the person who signed it did not have personal knowledge of the case. It reversed a 2010 Palm Beach County Circuit Court summary judgment that said the Glarum’s owed the bank $422,677.
” This decision could have broad sweeping application in the lending and loan servicing industries and effect thousands of foreclosure cases, among other types of cases,
Anytime the big banks say “We’re Doomed” I get a warm glow.
In my state lenders routinely show up in dispossessory court without any evidence they are the landord and when challenged the trial judge says something to the effect of “[W]ell Mr. [insert bank lawyer here] represents Fannie Mae, I know they would not file an eviction on your client if they did not own the property. Now if you make me postpone this trial to give Mr. blank time to gather the evidence you are demanding then not only are you clogging my calender but I am going to remember that the next time you are in front of me.”
I have been going to eviction court for three years now, this is the rule and not the exception. About time banks are held to the rules of evidence.