Sedona Leaf, LLC v. U.S. Bank Trust National Association, Not in Its Individual Capacity, but Solely as Trustee of the LSF9 Master Participation Trust

Summary

The Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal reversed a summary final judgment of foreclosure in favor of U.S. Bank Trust National Association. The court held that the record presented a genuine issue of material fact regarding U.S. Bank's standing to enforce the lost promissory note because the evidence did not establish an unbroken chain of ownership or transfer into the relevant trust.

Holdings

1. U.S. Bank failed to establish a prima facie showing that it had the right to enforce Cruz's lost note because the record did not show that the note was transferred from LSF9 Mortgage Holdings, LLC into the LSF9 Master Participation Trust or to U.S. Bank.
2. Assignments of the mortgage without an accompanying assignment or transfer of the debt did not establish U.S. Bank's right to enforce Cruz's note, and general trust documents authorizing foreclosure did not prove that Cruz's note was transferred into the trust.
3. Summary judgment was improper because the record contained a genuine issue of material fact concerning U.S. Bank's standing; counsel's explanations at the non-evidentiary hearing could not supply the missing evidentiary link.

Questions Presented

1. Whether U.S. Bank established standing to foreclose and re-establish the lost promissory note under section 673.3091, Florida Statutes.
2. Whether the record established an unbroken chain of ownership or assignments from the party entitled to enforce the note when it was lost to U.S. Bank.
3. Whether summary judgment was precluded by a genuine issue of material fact concerning U.S. Bank's standing.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded