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

• The homeowner obtained a mortgage loan on May 20, 2005, with the promissory note payable to First Horizon Home Loan Corporation and the mortgage secured by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) as nominee. The Plaintiff, alleging default on the note by the homeowner and failure to cure after notice, filed a mortgage foreclosure action (para 2).

Procedural History

• District Court of Santa Fe County, Sarah M. Singleton, District Judge: Granted summary judgment in favor of Plaintiff (para 3).

Parties' Submissions

• Plaintiff-Appellee: Argued that the homeowner defaulted on the promissory note and failed to cure the default, justifying foreclosure (para 2).
• Defendant-Appellant: Contended for the first time on appeal that the Plaintiff lacked standing to bring the foreclosure suit (para 1).

Legal Issues

• Whether the issue of standing in a mortgage foreclosure case can be raised for the first time on appeal (para 4).
• Whether the Plaintiff had standing to bring the foreclosure action (para 9).

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals reversed the district court order granting Plaintiff summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings (para 14).

Reasons

• Per Michael E. Vigil, Chief Judge (Jonathan B. Sutin, Judge, and Linda M. Vanzi, Judge concurring):
  The Court concluded that the issue of standing can be raised for the first time on appeal, citing precedent that lack of standing is a potential jurisdictional defect that may not be waived and can be raised at any stage of the proceedings (paras 4-6). The Court found that the Plaintiff failed to establish it had standing to bring the action because it did not demonstrate that it was the holder of the note or had rights of a holder at the time the complaint was filed. The Plaintiff's reliance on unpublished foreign opinions and the assertion of being a "successor-by-merger" to the Loan Corporation without providing evidence of such merger was insufficient to establish standing. The Court declined to take judicial notice of the facts regarding the merger based on these assertions (paras 7-13).