Our Melbourne Florida Foreclosure Attorney successfully defended another foreclosure action, having the foreclosure dismissed after 5 years of litigation. The foreclosure lawsuit was originally filed in 2009. Shortly after it was filed, the foreclosure court dismissed the bank's complaint for failure to state a claim. The foreclosure court gave the bank 20 days to amend their complaint and re-bring the suit. The bank never amended their answer. Instead, nearly 5 years later, a new bank now in possession of the loan filed an amended complaint stating they were the current holders of the loan. The problem is that the new lender was not a party to the foreclosure action and had no standing to amend the prior bank's complaint. After 3 hearings, the foreclosure court finally struck the new bank's amended complaint and dismissed the foreclosure case. What makes this win especially satisfying is that the homeowner's alleged payment default is now more than 5 years old. It may be that the statute of limitations has run on the bank's claim, which would prevent the bank from ever filing another foreclosure or seeking any money from the homeowner. (I say "may" because the appellate courts are still determining what happens when a foreclosure case gets dismissed after the applicable statute of limitations has run).
Even if the bank is not barred from filing another foreclosure action for future missed payment, the bank is now prohibited from seeking to collect any money for the last 5 years of payments. Legally, the homeowners are now current on their mortgage and should be legally entitled to continue making their normal monthly payment and keep their home, without having to cough up the past 5 years’ worth of principal, interest, fees and expenses.
If you are in foreclosure and want to speak to someone about your rights, contact our office today for a free consultation with our foreclosure defense attorney.
Bowin Law Group - Brevard's Hometown Law Group.