Answer and Affirmative Defenses by GINGO 2
Answer and Affirmative Defenses by GINGO 2
Deutsche Bank National Trust Company as Trustee for Morgan Stanley ABS Capital I Inc., MSAC 2007-NC4, Plaintiff, vs. JOHN J. DOE and JANE K. DOE, His Wife; State of Florida Department of Revenue; Unbeknownst Parties in Possession #2; If living, and all Unknown Parties claiming by, through, under and against the above named Defendant(s) who are not known to be dead or alive, whether said Unknown Parties may claim an interest as Spouse, Heirs, Devisees, Grantees, or Other Claimants, Defendant(s). _____________________________________________/
DEFENDANT JOHN DOE AND JANE DOES ANSWER, AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES AND CLAIM FOR ATTORNEYS FEES Defendants JOHN DOE and JANE DOE (Defendants), by and through their undersigned attorneys, files their answer, affirmative defenses and claim for attorneys fees and in support thereof states: GENERAL ALLEGATIONS Paragraph 1 is admitted. Paragraph 2 is admitted. Paragraph 3 is admitted. Paragraph 4 is admitted.
Paragraph 5 is admitted in that the mortgage was recorded, but is denied as to any re-recordings, modifications and/or assignments thereof,if any. Paragraph 6 is denied as this Plaintiff has failed to plead sufficient facts to establish that Plaintiff is the owner and holder of the Mortgage and Note or as an agent of the owner and holder with the right to enforce said Mortgage and Note, and strict proof thereof, with clear and convincing evidence, is demanded. Paragraph 7 is denied. Paragraph 8 is denied as the Note required the Defendants to pay $2,549.90 per month, and the Plaintiff required the Defendants to pay $2,692.00 per month, the additional sum being for escrow on taxes because the Plaintiff had not waived its right to demanding escrow from the Defendants which waiver would have permitted Defendants to pay their taxes independently. The escrow sum had not been calculated by the Defendants. The Defendants continued to make their required monthly mortgage payments of $2,692.00 to the Plaintiff, but due to an error of the Plaintiff in calculating the escrow amount for taxes, the monthly payment that Plaintiff demanded from the Defendants was not sufficient to pay for taxes. When Plaintiff realized Plaintiffs error, Plaintiff demanded many thousands of dollars from the Defendants to pay a lump sum for taxes, and also increased the monthly payment to approximately $3,400.00. Taxes are based on mills which are a matter of public record. Defendants told Plaintiff they could pay the additional $3,400.00 per month, but they could not pay a lump sum of many thousands of dollars and requested that sum be paid over time. Defendants had been saving to pay the taxes because they knew of the error when it happened. Defendants payment went down and they inquired about it and were told
by Saxon that the escrow payments could not be changed in the middle of an escrow year. Saxon told defendants to pay their own taxes because it was not calculated in their escrow. Saxon estimated $500 as a proper escrow, when in fact, the proper escrow amount was $5000. By the time defendants realized Saxon paid the taxes and recalculated their payment, it had been 3 months and the $700 payment difference along with the fees and penalties created the technical default in March of 2008. Defendants never received a modified escrow analysis to inform them of any changes to the payment or the escrow account until the Qualified Written Request was sent to Saxon expressing that defendants were not provided a modified escrow analysis. Plaintiff rejected Defendants payments of $2,692.00 and accelerated the entire debt for failure to pay the new escrow sum. Plaintiffs not only added back in the taxes but they tried to pad the payment to compensate for the next two years as well. That is why the defendants new payment grew by $700. Plaintiff then offered to Defendants a balloon note of $22,144.67 which was to pay for the unpaid escrow taxes which Defendants were agreeable to pay over time. However, this note also included sums for Plaintiffs foreclosure attorney fees and other unrelated costs which Defendants refused to pay because the foreclosure was Plaintiffs fault as the Plaintiff had miscalculated escrow. Paragraph 9 is denied. Paragraph 10 is denied. Paragraph 11 is denied. Paragraph 12 is denied. Paragraph 13 is admitted.
Paragraph 14 is admitted. Paragraph 15 is denied. Paragraph 16 is denied for lack of knowledge. Paragraph 17 is denied. Paragraph 18 is denied for lack of knowledge. Paragraph 19 is denied. Paragraph 20 is admitted and denied as set forth above. Paragraph 21 is denied. Paragraph 22 is admitted in that a Note was executed in the stated amount, but denied as to delivery. Paragraph 23, on information and belief, is admitted in that the note was intentionally destroyed. Paragraph 24 is denied as Plaintiff has failed to plead sufficient ultimate facts to establish that it owns and holds said note and mortgage. Paragraph 25 is denied. Paragraph 26 is admitted. Paragraph 27 is denied for lack of knowledge. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES First Affirmative Defense Failure to Produce Original Promissory Note A person seeking enforcement of a lost, destroyed or stolen instrument must first prove entitlement to enforce the instrument when the loss of possession occurred, or has directly or indirectly acquired ownership of the instrument from a person who was
entitled to enforce the instrument when loss of possession occurred. Further, he must prove the loss of possession was not the result of a transfer by the person or a lawful seizure; and the person cannot reasonably obtain possession of the instrument because the instrument was destroyed, its whereabouts cannot be determined, or it is in the wrongful possession of an unknown person or a person that cannot be found or is not amenable to service of process. 673.3091 Fla. Stat. (2009). Defendant denies the authenticity of any and all indorsements on the Note and Mortgage and demands strict proof thereof, by clear and convincing evidence, pursuant to 673.3081, Fla. Stat. (2008). (See Third Affirmative Defense) Second Affirmative Defense Plaintiffs Lack of Standing and failure to plead a cause of action under Fla. R. of Civ. P. 1.110(b). On information and belief, the Note was securitized ownership thereof was transferred to another entitie(s) and plaintiff is not the obligee allegedly identified in the Promissory Note. Plaintiff has failed to allege ultimate facts as to how or why it came to be the owner and holder of the note and mortgage when the Note was securitized. Therefore, Plaintiff has failed to plead a cause of action under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(b). Third Affirmative Defense Negative Averment as to Authenticity On information and belief, Defendant assert and allege all other facts referenced in the previous affirmative defenses and specifically raise by negative averment the lack of authenticity and/or validity of any signatures or indorsements on the Note filed by
Plaintiff in connection with this case. Negative Averment is raised by Defendant pursuant to Florida Statute 673.3081. Fourth Affirmative Defense Lack of Acceleration Plaintiff accelerated the entire debt not for Defendants failure to pay the monthly payment, but for unpaid escrow sums which Plaintiff had failed to properly calculate. Paragraphs 3 and 9 of said mortgage provide that such unpaid sums are to be advanced by the lender and become principal upon which interest accrues, which is what the Defendants demanded and the Plaintiffs rejected. Fifth Affirmative Defense Illegal Charges Added to Balance On information and belief, Defendant asserts and alleges all other facts referenced in the previous affirmative defenses and that Plaintiff has added illegal charges to the alleged debt owed by the Defendant. On information and belief, Plaintiffs lack of standing, lack of capacity to sue and ultra vires action in foreclosure has added illegal charges and fees to the alleged debt owed by the Defendant including but not limited to a title search expense, advanced Ad Valorem taxes, premiums on insurance, attorneys fees and other necessary costs. Sixth Affirmative Defense Unclean Hands Defendant asserts and realleges all other facts referenced in the previous affirmative defenses and that Plaintiff comes to this court with unclean hands. A foreclosure action is an equitable proceeding which may be denied if the holder of the note comes to the court with unclean hands Knight Energy Services, Inc. v. Amoco Oil Co., 660 So.2d 786, 789 (Fla. 4 DCA 1995). The Florida Supreme
Court held that while [m]ere notions or concepts of natural justice of a trial judge which are not in accord with established equitable rules and maxims may not be applied in rendering a judgment, relief from a foreclosure action may be provided where the mortgagee failed to perform some duty upon which the exercise of his right to accelerate was conditioned. David v. Sun Federal Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 461 So.2d 93, 95-6 (Fla., 1984).
Seventh Affirmative Defense Collateral Source Payments Defendant demands credit for and application of any and all collateral source payments Plaintiff, its predecessors in interest, co-owners, trust beneficiaries, certificate holders, or any others associated with this Note and Mortgage have received or will be entitled to receive from any source whatsoever as a result of the default claimed, including credit default insurance, credit default swaps, whether funded directly by insurance and/or indemnity agreement or indirectly paid or furnished by means of federal (i.e. TARP funds) assistance on an apportioned basis for loans or groups of loans to which the subject mortgage loan of the action is claimed. Eighth Affirmative Defense FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH APPLICABLE FANNIE MAE/FREDDIE MAC SINGLE FAMILY LOAN SERVICING REQUIREMENTS/ FAILURE OF GOOD FAITH AND FAIR DEALING: UNFAIR AND UNACCEPTABLE LOAN SERVICING: On information and belief, Plaintiff intentionally failed to act in good faith or to deal fairly with Defendant by failing to follow the applicable standards of residential single family mortgage lending and servicing as described in these Affirmative Defenses
thereby denying these Defendant access to the residential mortgage servicing protocols applicable to the subject note and mortgage.
Ninth Affirmative Defense VIOLATION OF 15 U.S.C. 1692 ET SEQ., and F.S. 559.552 On information and belief, Plaintiff violated provisions of the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act at 15 USC 1692, et. seq. and provisions of the Florida Consumer Practices Act at F.S. 559.552 because it did not have any right to enforce collection of this Mortgage and Note because it did not have standing, it did not comply with all conditions precedent, it has no legally enforceable claim against the Defendant, it did not comply with the contract requirements for acceleration, it had unclean hands and it simply does not have a mortgage on the subject property. The Florida Consumer Practices Act (FCCPA, F.S. 559.552) provides protection for consumers in foreclosure. The FCCPA prohibits the Plaintiff from collecting the underlying consumer mortgage debt involved in this action by asserting its right to foreclose when the Plaintiff knows that such right does not exist because the Plaintiff did not comply with the applicable federal default servicing obligations and guidelines prior to filing this foreclosure action. In collecting consumer debts, no person shall claim, attempt, or threaten to enforce a debt when such person asserts the existence of some other legal right when such person knows that the right does not exist. 559.72(9) Fla. Stat. (2009) The FCCPA applies to anyone attempting to collect a consumer debt unlawfully and F.S. 559.72 "includes all allegedly unlawful attempts at collection consumer claims."
Seaton Jackson v. Wells Fargo Homemortgage, Inc., 12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 188 (Fla. 6th Circuit 2004) citing Williams v. Streeps Music Co., Inc., 333 So. 2d 65 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976) See also, Hart v. GMAC Mortgage Corporation, 246 B.R. 709 (D. Mass. 2000)(Debtor stated a cause of action under the FDCPA where continuation of foreclosure proceedings amounted to conduct "the natural consequence of which was to harass, oppress, or abuse") The National Housing Act, 12 U.S.C. 1710(a) imposes specific statutory obligations on all creditors across the United States who service federally-insured home loans that requires the creditor to engage in very specialized default loan servicing and loss mitigation to avoid foreclosure when a borrower defaults on a home loan insured by the federal government for reasons beyond their control. The creditor is fully insured in exchange for agreeing to abide by these customer servicing obligations. Compliance with the default loan servicing federal regulations promulgated by HUD, pursuant to the National Housing Act, 12 U.S.C. 1710(a) can be held to be a contractual condition precedent to instituting a foreclosure action and the failure of the Plaintiff to implement foreclosure avoidance servicing is an appropriate subject for a counterclaim for declaratory and injunctive relief. See: U.S. v. Trimble, 86 F.R.D. 435 (S.D. Fla. 1980) and Cross v. Federal National Mortgagee Association, 359 So. 2d 464, 465 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978): "A mortgage foreclosure is an equitable action and thus equitable defenses are most appropriate [I]t appears to us that given the purpose of ... the recommended efforts to obviate the necessity of foreclosure, any substantial deviation from the recommended norm might be construed by the trial court under the heading of an equitable defense." Id., 359 So. 2d at 465. (also see U.S. v. Trimble, 86 F.R.D. 435
(S.D. Fla. 1980), where the court found that compliance with applicable federal laws can be upheld as equitable defense to deny a creditor the judicial remedy of foreclosure.) Plaintiff must show that it has federal authority to foreclose that it complied with the pre-foreclosure default prevention procedures. Plaintiff has not shown that it owns the Note and the Mortgage and has affirmatively stated in its Complaint that no assignments exist. There are certain required steps a servicer of a loan must do before foreclosing, which are set forth in 24 CFR 203.604 and 24 CFR 203.605 for FHA loans and other provisions for other types of federally backed loans. The federal government has deemed that pre-suit default prevention procedures are a condition precedent to filing a foreclosure action and must be utilized before foreclosure may be instituted. F.S. 559.72(9) provides that it is illegal to enforce collection when knowing that other legal rights exist. The face of the mortgage provides prima facie evidence that this is a federally backed mortgage. The Plaintiff must demonstrate that it complied with all federal regulations on pre-suit default prevention procedures. That was not done in this case.
CLAIM FOR ATTORNEYS FEES Defendant hereby requests they be awarded attorneys fees pursuant to the terms of the promissory note and mortgage Plaintiff is seeking to enforce and section 57.105(7), Florida Statutes (2009).
Wherefore, Defendant demand judgment against Plaintiff and requests the court deny Plaintiffs requested relief of foreclosure, and award reasonable attorneys fees and costs to Defendant; order discharge, release or cancellation of the alleged mortgage and send Plaintiff forthwith without day. Furthermore, Defendant demand trial by jury as to all issues concerning the enforceability of the Note, should it be deemed governed by the statutory/UCC law as Plaintiff has demanded right to a money judgment, and all other issues as they are inseparably linked by common facts to the note.
_____________________ George Gingo, FBN 879533 James Orth, FBN 75941 P.O. Box 838 Mims, FL 32754 321-264-9624 Office 321-383-1105 Fax [email protected] [email protected]
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been furnished by U.S. Mail, this 8th day of October, 2010, to Shapiro & Fishman, 4630 Woodland Corporate Boulevard, Ste 100, Tampa, FL 33614. __________________________ George Gingo, 879533