AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP (BAC), filed a foreclosure complaint against Margo E. Cruz and Monica C. Cruz. The complaint was dismissed by the district court for lack of standing, based on the precedent set by the Supreme Court in Bank of New York v. Romero, which required proof of the right to enforce the promissory note at the time of filing the suit. BAC attempted to establish standing by submitting documents after the defendants moved to dismiss the complaint.

Procedural History

• [Not applicable or not found]

Parties' Submissions

• Plaintiff-Appellant (BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP): Argued that it had standing at the time it filed the foreclosure suit by submitting documents intended to prove its right to enforce the promissory note.
• Defendants-Appellees (Margo E. Cruz and Monica C. Cruz): Moved to dismiss the foreclosure complaint for lack of standing, citing the Supreme Court's decision in Bank of New York v. Romero, which established that standing to foreclose is a jurisdictional prerequisite that must be proven at the time the complaint is filed.

Legal Issues

• Whether the district court erred in dismissing the foreclosure complaint for lack of standing without considering the plaintiff's submitted proof of standing in light of the Supreme Court's clarification in Deutsche Bank Nat’l Tr. Co. v. Johnston that standing is not a jurisdictional prerequisite in mortgage foreclosure cases in New Mexico.

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals reversed the district court's order dismissing the foreclosure complaint and remanded the case for further proceedings in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision in Deutsche Bank Nat’l Tr. Co. v. Johnston.

Reasons

• Per LINDA M. VANZI, Chief Judge (STEPHEN G. FRENCH, Judge, JENNIFER L. ATTREP, Judge concurring): The Court of Appeals found that the district court erred in dismissing the foreclosure complaint based on the precedent set by Bank of New York v. Romero without considering the subsequent Supreme Court decision in Deutsche Bank Nat’l Tr. Co. v. Johnston. The Johnston decision clarified that standing in mortgage foreclosure cases is not a jurisdictional prerequisite and that proof of standing is not required at the pleading stage but rather when standing is challenged by the defendant or raised by the court. Since BAC attempted to establish standing after the defendants challenged it and the district court dismissed the complaint without evaluating BAC's proof, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent with the Johnston decision (paras 1-3).