Wednesday’s round of appellate decisions at first appeared to contain good news for defense attorneys, who’ve long lamented the lack of opinions on foreclosure and lender standing from the Third District Court of Appeal.
Legal standing is a sticking point in many foreclosure disputes in the wake of the housing market collapse. It became a prickly issue when the downturn led to bulk sales of millions of troubled mortgages to investors in the secondary debt market. The high volume created a boon for defense attorneys because it meant lenders sometimes lacked adequate documentation to trace each loan assignment to prove debt ownership and the right to foreclose.
