The Third District Court of appeal seems to be trying to stop the legal shenanigans taking place with foreclosure cases in Miami where some Judges appear to not want to follow the law and rules of procedures that apply to all the other cases. Indeed, the appellate court recently reversed a foreclosure dismissal.
We recently discussed how the Third District Court of Appeal vacated a final judgment entered in the bank’s favor because of the bank’s reliance on inadmissible hearsay testimony to prove their case. Now, the Third District Court of Appeal has reversed a bank’s dismissal because of the Judge’s abuse of discretion.
In Ocean Bank v. Garcia-Villalte, the trial judge issued a trial order despite the fact that the case was not at issue and could not be set for trial in accordance with Florida’s Rules of Civil Procedure. Nonetheless, and despite the fact that the case was simply not ready for a trial, the trial judge dismissed the case when it learned that the bank’s attorney had failed to timely send a copy of the Judge’s trial order to the homeowner.
On appeal the bank argued that the Judge had abused his discretion in dismissing the bank’s lawsuit, and the appellate court agreed. In so doing, the appellate court highlighted all of the irregularities that went into the trial judge’s decision to dismiss the bank’s case.
What this case illustrates is that the Third District Court of Appeal is trying to take a hard line stance for both borrowers and the banks, as well as the Judges, to ensure that due process is not abused and that all the litigants have their fair day in Court. You should contact our office if you are struggling to save your home in order to assess your legal rights.
Indeed, while the bank won this case, in the bigger picture this is a victory for everyone that is trying to fight the good fight within the rules and laws of Florida. Any deviation from that legal framework – be it by the borrower or bank – will be reigned in by Florida’s appellate courts.