Florida Appellate Court Restricts Foreclosure Summary Judgment Affidavit From Bank That Relies On Data From A Computer System As Inadmissible Hearsay

The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal recently issued an opinion in Glarum v. LaSalle Bank Nat'l Ass'n—2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 14039; 2011 WL 3903161 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 4th Dist., Sept. 7, 2011)—that strictly applied the business records exception in a residential foreclosure case. The court held that an affidavit of indebtedness of a "specialist" at a loan servicer that relied on data from a computer system was inadmissible hearsay. This holding will affect summary judgment proceedings in all foreclosure cases currently pending in Florida.

One of the issues on appeal was whether the affidavit in support of a motion for summary judgment filed by LaSalle Bank National Association (the "Bank") was legally sufficient to allow the trial court to grant summary judgment of foreclosure against Mr. and Mrs. Glarum ("Borrowers") because it contained admissible evidence that satisfied the requirements of the business records exception to the hearsay rule under Florida