Good v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
18 N.E.3d 618 (2014)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Bryan Good (defendant) bought property and signed an electronic promissory note in favor of his lender, Synergy Mortgage Group, Inc. (Synergy). The note stated that the only authoritative copy of the note was the copy within the control of the person the note registry identified as the note holder. The note was secured by a mortgage. The mortgage was assigned to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Wells Fargo) (plaintiff), as servicer for the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae). Good stopped making payments on the loan, and Wells Fargo brought a foreclosure suit. Good responded, claiming that Wells Fargo was not the holder of the promissory note and thus did not have standing to foreclose on the mortgage. Wells Fargo claimed to have possession of the note, but Good argued that Wells Fargo had only an unsigned photocopy of the note. Wells Fargo presented a Certificate of Authentication (certificate) that stated that Wells Fargo maintained a copy of the promissory note on behalf of the lender. Wells Fargo did not provide any evidence of the transfer of the mortgage from Synergy. The trial court granted Wells Fargo’s motion for summary judgment. Good appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Barnes, J.)
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