Last Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court released its opinion in Pino v. Bank of New York. FLTA and ALTA had filed a joint Amicus brief in this case. The opinion was carefully crafted to address only the question of reopening a case which had been voluntarily dismissed (in this case, after allegations of fraud had been asserted) before any affirmative relief had been granted.

Given the court's understandable frustration with the mortgage crisis and various frauds on the courts, ALTA and FLTA were concerned about the possibility of an overbroad ruling, which might call into question the sanctity of REO outsales. In the opinion, the court specifically stated:

"Although this case arises out of a mortgage foreclosure action, we do not decide broader issues related to mortgage foreclosures in general, such as whether a copy of an assignment of mortgage is necessary to establish standing to foreclose on the mortgage or whether the rights of affected third parties who later purchase foreclosed properties are protected when collateral attacks are brought against otherwise final court proceedings."

While we are pleased with the narrow scope of this opinion, the language above highlights the importance of our efforts in supporting the finality provisions of House Bill 87.

Copies of the Opinion and more background on this important case can be found here.