FLORIDA’S FIRST DCA WEIGHS IN ON STANDING AND FRIVOLOUS PRO SE FILINGS IN TWO SHORT OPINIONS

In a recent opinion issued by Florida’s First District the Court clarified again that a plaintiff attempting to enforce a debt must prove it held the note when it filed suit or otherwise demonstrate a complete chain of title from the original lender. Zimmerman v. Fin. Portfolios II Inc., No. 1D2023-1028, 2025 WL 15043, at *1 (Fla. 1st DCA Jan. 2, 2025). In Zimmerman, the Court found assignments of the debt which did not establish an unbroken chain of ownership from the loan originator to the plaintiff were insufficient to demonstrate the lender’s standing at the inception of the lawsuit. Id. The Court reversed summary judgment entered in favor of the lender and remanded the matter for further proceedings. Id.

A week later the First District issued another short opinion wherein it cautioned a pro se litigant (Despart) against future frivolous filings after Despart filed six meritless filings in a five-year period. Despart v. Kanner, No. 1D2023-3056, 2025 WL 44361, at *1 (Fla. 1st DCA Jan. 8, 2025). The Court explained that repetitious filings “diminish the court’s ability to devote its finite resources to legitimate claims” and warned the pro se litigant that any future “frivolous or malicious” filings might result in a “prohibition” against all filings in the First DCA. Id. The Court affirmed the order of dismissal of Despart’s petition for writ of mandamus against the director of the Department of Children and Families.