U.S. Bank v. Bartram | FL 5DCA - Appeals court tosses five-year foreclosure deadline

in STOP FORECLOSURE FRAUD

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED

U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, ETC., Appellant, v.                              Case No. 5D12-3823 PATRICIA J. BARTRAM ETC., ET AL., Appellee. ________________________________/ Opinion filed April 25, 2014 Appeal from the Circuit Court for St. Johns County, John M. Alexander, Judge. EXCERPT: Because we believe the issue we resolve is a matter of great public importance, we certify 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?

REVERSED; REMANDED; QUESTION CERTIFIED. SAWAYA, ORFINGER, and EVANDER, JJ., concur.

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Palm Beach Post-

A Florida appeals court crushed the hopes of hundreds, if not thousands, of defaulted homeowners Friday in a benchmark decision on how the state’s five-year foreclosure deadline is interpreted.

With the first serious wave of foreclosures now six years past, some borrowers with aging or abandoned cases were counting on a common contract law that says a person has five years to sue on a debt or give up the right to collect.

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