Excellent Oral Argument….Foreclosure REVERSED!
William Russell appeals a final judgment of foreclosure entered in favor of
Nationstar Mortgage, LLC (Nationstar), following a bench trial. We reverse because
Nationstar failed to establish that the original plaintiff, Aurora Loan Services, LLC
(Aurora), had standing to foreclose at the time Aurora filed the foreclosure complaint.
Because Nationstar failed to adduce any evidence of its predecessor’s
standing to bring the foreclosure suit, we must consider what relief may be afforded to
Mr. Russell on remand. Rule 1.420(b) provides that “[a]fter a party seeking affirmative
relief in an action tried by the court without a jury has completed the presentation of
evidence, any other party may move for a dismissal on the ground that on the facts and
the law the party seeking affirmative relief has shown no right to relief.” Here, Mr.
Russell moved for involuntary dismissal based on Nationstar’s lack of standing and
contends on appeal that he is entitled to dismissal of the action. We agree. See, e.g.,
May v. PHH Mortg. Corp., 150 So. 3d 247, 249 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014); Lacombe, 149 So.
3d at 156.
