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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 89 2D17-2851 (Fla. 2d DCA May 3, 2019), the plaintiff appealed an involuntary dismissal of its foreclosure case. e plaintiff had filed a second foreclosure case after the first was dismissed without prejudice. e trial court dismissed the claim on the basis that no new notice of default was sent. e trial court found that a "new default notice was required to be mailed prior to filing the second foreclosure action." e court's order was appealed and the appellate court reversed. e Second District Court of Appeal pro- vided that the issue was one of contract interpre- tations, specifically, one must look to the plain meaning of the mortgage. Analyzing paragraph twenty-two (22) of the standard form mortgage, the court looked to the phrase "on or before the date specified in the notice." e court dis- counted the position that cases questioning the application of the statute of limitations would require that a second notice be sent. Where a foreclosure case had been dismissed without prejudice and a subsequent complaint to enforce the note and foreclose the mortgage has been filed, there is no need to send a new breach letter prior to filing if the default was never cured. However, in the event that the dismissal was with prejudice, a new notice may be required. Van Ness Attorneys, aka Van Ness Law Firm, is a South Florida law firm located in Deerfield Beach and Miami with its roots representing the loan servicing industry handling foreclosures, creditor-side bankruptcy, eviction, and litigation. Anthony Van Ness Van Ness sits on the Legal League 100 Advisory Board and the law firm is also a certified minority owned business. Remote Connection NotaryCam, a provider of online notarization and mortgage eClosing solutions, announced that Fidelity National Financial (FNF), will allow the use of NotaryCam to deliver remote online notarization (RON) and remote online closing (ROC) capabilities to FNF's network of direct title and settlement operations, as well as its network of independent title agents. Most recently, FNF used the NotaryCam platform to complete its first remote notarization in Texas. "Title plays a critical role in the adoption of RON and ROC so it is especially encouraging to see an industry leader fully embrace these digital processes," said NotaryCam Founder and CEO Rick Triola. "e transaction that took place in Texas is really just the beginning, and we look forward to helping FNF's nationwide network of direct title operations and independent title agents streamline the residential mortgage closing process and deliver unparalleled convenience and service to home buyers and sellers throughout the U.S." eClose360, by the California-based NotaryCam, sets the standard for RON and ROC transactions in the real estate and mortgage industries. e platform provides lenders and title/closing agents with an online closing room where they can upload closing documents, meet with signers and return fully executed and compliant documents within an hour. In addition, the system records all transactions to provide a verifiable transaction record for security and compliance purposes. "Our engagement with NotaryCam has helped us to expand remote online notary capabilities to more of our offices and agents," said Jason Nadeau, Chief Digital Officer at Fidelity National Financial. "FNF and our title divisions are committed to bringing an end-to-end digital real estate experience to the industry, and the consumers we serve. Remote notarization is another important component in our expanding suite of digital options." GEORGIA Tech to Help Homeownership Atlanta, Georgia based HLP's technology platform has been selected by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) to power its national initiative to increase homeownership among people receiving financial counseling from nonprofit counseling organizations nationwide. e company said that the NFCC selected HLP to help launch its new Envisioning Home Ownership program. e new program stems from a recent study that many of the NFCC's 1 million clients assisted each year could become mortgage-ready and purchase a home with the assistance of the EHO program. "HLP's technology integrates a number of tools to help us administer the program, such as the state-of-the-art client management system that allows counselors to efficiently counsel clients over multiple sessions and track their progress," said Rebecca Steele, President and CEO of NFCC. "It also allows us to view our client pipeline across multiple member agencies while serving as a platform for data analysis and quality control." "We are pleased to be part of this new NFCC initiative to help so many individuals and families prepare and qualify for safe and sustainable homeownership," said Mark Cole, based tool that uses machine learning to automate certain tasks, performing them much faster and more accurately than humans can. By delivering greater automation, accuracy and efficiency to the loan origination process, AIVA can help lenders complete repetitive processing tasks so that staff can be utilized for exception-based processing and enhancing customer satisfaction. Additionally, Empower is seamlessly integrated with Black Knight's industry- leading MSP servicing platform, which U.S. Bank uses to support its servicing operations. e tight integration of these two systems helps streamline the loan boarding process for greater efficiency, increased data integrity and reduced risk. is seamless servicing experience can also result in higher customer satisfaction levels and ultimately increase customer retention. "Enhancing Empower to fully support all lending channels is part of our vision to provide end-to-end support across the loan life cycle," said Anthony Jabbour, CEO, Black Knight. "By adding Empower to the number of our solutions U.S. Bank uses, they are well- positioned to realize the exponential value that comes from using multiple Black Knight products across the enterprise." Evolving Foreclosure Litigation Strategy By Van Ness Attorneys e Florida courts have recently clarified that, where a complaint is dismissed without prejudice and the dismissal does not operate as an adjudication on the merits, the plaintiff may not have to send a new breach letter prior to instituting a subsequent action to foreclose the mortgage. Foreclosure can be a complex legal area because of the nuance involved in the practice. Strategic decisions need to be made to minimize cost and exposure. A great counselor steps in the shoes of the opposing attorney, analyzing the case from both sides and always staying a chess move ahead. Such strategies can be simple as proactively seeking additional relief in orders, how you conduct motion practice, or dropping certain parties that will delay the cases if deficiency is not an option. e case law surrounding how a plaintiff can limit its exposure to attorney's fees liability is growing. Decisions about whether to voluntarily dismiss a claim or ask that it be dismissed without prejudice can be important. In HSBC Bank USA v. Leone, 2019 Fla. App. LEXIS 6753, 2019 WL 1967650, No.

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