We represent a woman who owns a rental property in Philadelphia. I took the case over from a lawyer who responded to the bank’s lawsuit, but there was very little done in the way of discovery. The case was called for trial on July 8, 2014, and the bank, Bank of America, flew in one if its corporate witnesses to testify at the trial. In my client’s Answer to the foreclosure lawsuit, her previous lawyer admitted that she signed a Mortgage Note to repay Bank of America $93,000. Based on this, the bank’s witness did not bring the original Note to the trial.

The problem for the bank, however, is that the plaintiff in the lawsuit was a Wall Street trust, U.S. Bank National, as trustee, who acquired the Note in the securitization process. This means that the Mortgage was owned by the Trust, and not by Bank of America. Without bringing the Note to trial, which presumably would show that the Note was “negotiated” or transferred from Bank of America to the trust, I moved for a non-suit during the trial at the close of the bank’s evidence. I successfully argued that the Plaintiff did not prove that it had standing to enforce the Mortgage and Note because there was no evidence before the court that Plaintiff’s trust owned the Note (or the debt). The Honorable Idee Fox requested legal briefs on the issues, and then after oral argument, the court granted my motion for a non-suit and the foreclosure action was dismissed. It is not expected that the bank will appeal this action, and their only recourse will be to start the entire process over and file a new foreclosure lawsuit.

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We provide a free initial consultation to anyone with concerns about foreclosure or who is involved in foreclosure proceedings. To schedule an appointment, call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660 or contact us online. Evening and weekend meetings can be arranged upon request. We will travel to your home if necessary to meet with you.