DIAZ ANSELMO CELEBRATES ANOTHER VICTORY IN FLORIDA’S DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

The Sixth DCA issued a per curiam[i] affirmance of US Bank’s foreclosure judgment agreeing with the trial court that US Bank was entitled to a summary judgment of foreclosure as a matter of law. Lasting Invs., LLC v. U.S. Bank N.A., 2025 Fla. Axpp. LEXIS 5370, *1. Although there is no written opinion, the appellate briefs reflect the primary issue Lasting Investments (the LLC) raised on appeal pertained to US Bank’s standing to foreclose and the statute of limitations.

The property which was the subject of US Bank’s mortgage foreclosure action was previously the subject of a condominium association foreclosure and public sale at which the LLC purchased the property and took title. Shortly before the LLC took title, the property was transferred into a trust, the LSF9 Trust (the Trust), under which US Bank served as the trustee. By the time the LLC purchased the property, the borrowers had been in default of their mortgage for several years.

The Trust assigned its interest in the loan to US Bank which initiated foreclosure proceedings in 2022. After receiving the original, blankly endorsed note, US Bank lost the note so in addition to foreclosing its lien it also sought to reestablish the lost note. At summary judgment US Bank presented undisputed evidence that it physically possessed the original, blankly endorsed note prior to its loss.

The LLC tried to attack US Bank’s evidence but failed to present any authenticated evidence of its own. The trial court concluded US Bank established standing and the right to reestablish the lost note since it held the note at all material times. The court also concluded that the statute of limitations did not apply due to the continuing nature of mortgage obligations. Since the borrowers repeatedly failed to make their monthly payments, the 5-year limitation period was never triggered.

The trial court granted summary judgment, and the LLC appealed that judgment to the Sixth DCA. The DCA affirmed. Although the Sixth DCA’s unwritten opinion does not carry precedential value, it demonstrates there are well-established legal standards and precedents in place that lenders and servicers can rely on to defeat familiar defenses such as lack of standing and the statute of limitations.

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In an unwritten opinion, the Sixth DCA issued a per curiam affirmance of US Bank’s foreclosure judgment agreeing with the trial court that US Bank was entitled to a summary judgment of foreclosure as a matter of law. Lasting Invs., LLC v. U.S. Bank N.A., 2025 Fla. Axpp. LEXIS 5370, *1. Although the opinion does not carry precedential value since it is unwritten, it demonstrates there are well-established legal standards and precedents in place that lenders and servicers can rely on to defeat familiar defenses such as lack of standing and the statute of limitations.

^[i] A per curiam opinion is issued by the appellate court as a whole (as opposed to an opinion which is written by an individual or named group of judges) and “occurs when the points of law raised are so well settled that a further writing would serve no useful purpose. …" Elliott v. Elliott, 648 So. 2d 137, 138 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994).

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