Florida Court Ruling pushes statute of limitations to 35 years

[flacorps]

The 5th DCA just decided the Bartram case, which has now pushed the statute of limitations on a mortgage in Florida out as far as 35 years.

 

What the case (and its precedents in 2012 and 2004) essentially say is that acceleration does allow the bank to have a judgment for the entire balance on the note if it wins, however if the bank loses, neither the doctrine of res judicata nor the five year statute of limitations are applicable to the future payments, which create a new default soon after the judgment is rendered (unless the debtor pays and the bank accepts payments).

 

The court did certify the question of how the statute of limitations should apply to the state supreme court, which of course could restore the common-sense interpretation rather than the bank-friendly one.

 

http://www.5dca.org/Opinions/Opin2014/042114/5D12-3823%20op.pdf

[Why Chat]

This may have been posted before-- it is VERY important for Florida folks who have been foreclosed in the past.

 

http://aboutfloridalaw.com/2013/12/10/july-2014-deadline-for-older-foreclosure-deficiency-judgments-and-smaller-south-florida-banks-and-credit-unions-increasingly-aggressive-collection-efforts-on-deficiencies/

 

If a bank is calling or contacting you for payment on a deficiency you now have ammunition to file a complaint against them with the CFPB

[flacorps]

The Florida Supreme Court handed down its Bartram decision a week ago, and unsurprisingly it's bank-friendly. Essentially the only thing the bank loses when its foreclosure suit comes more than five years after the default is any installment older than 5 years.

 

The decision does not discuss personal liability for the note. My take on this latter issue is that while the property remains security for the debt, liability no longer extends to the debtors if suit begins after the five year statute has run.