Florida Appeals Court Reverses Mortgage Foreclosure for Lack of Specific Findings

What to Know:

• A Florida Appeals court ruled that specific findings are required in mortgage foreclosure summary judgments – generic orders are not sufficient.
• Lenders and foreclosure attorneys must provide detailed, record-based reasons for summary judgment.
• Failure to meet these requirements can result in costly delays, reversals, and remands in foreclosure proceedings.

Click here to read the opinion

Special asset and foreclosure lawyers should take note of a recent Florida appeals court ruling that emphasizes that compliance with the specific-findings requirement is mandatory. The old ways of practicing will no longer cut it. If the court’s summary judgment does not spell out which facts are undisputed and why they entitle the lender to summary judgment — avoiding the delays, expense, and hassle of trial — expect a one-way ticket back to the trial docket. Every lender’s worst nightmare.

In Open Range Properties, LLC v. AmeriHome Mortgage Co., LLC (5D2024-1328), Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed and vacated a foreclosure judgment after finding the trial court gave no meaningful explanation for granting summary judgment. Since the 2021 overhaul of Florida Rule 1.510(a), judges must “state on the record the reasons for granting or denying” a summary-judgment motion. Here, neither the written order nor the hearing transcript contained anything beyond bare conclusions, so the panel reversed and remanded with instructions to redo the judgment—this time with the required specificity.

In the banking industry, time is money. A reversal of summary judgment on appeal can add months or even years to the already arduous property of foreclosing on the collateral.

To avoid this unfortunate outcome, trial counsel for banks and other secured creditors should ensure they have a sufficient summary judgment record including specific findings, pinpoint record citations, and full compliance with all facets of Florida’s summary judgment rule.

Counsel should ensure that proper care is employed at all stages of the case, from the initial drafting of the lawsuit to the preparation of the summary judgment motion and affidavit, the summary judgment hearing, and ultimate final judgment.

About our Author

Andrew McBride is a Partner in the Adams & Reese Tampa office. He has a diverse Florida-based litigation and transactional practice focused on real estate transactions, contract review and drafting, construction litigation, foreclosure, and other creditors’ rights matters.