COUNTRYWIDE HLS V MERS-Deposition-Of-Patricia-Arango - 01 07 2011 (CHL & CHLS Not MERS Members)

Page 1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.
: CACE 09 001184 COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS SERVICING LP, Plaintiff, -vsMORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INCORPORATED, AS A NOMINEE FOR COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS, INC.; UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF JOHN DOE; JANE DOE AS UNKNOWN TENANT(S) IN POSSESSION OF THE SUBJECT PROPERTY, Defendants. ____________________________________/
DEPOSITION OF PATRICIA ARANGO
Friday, January 7, 2011 10:16 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 101 N.E. 3rd Avenue, #1500 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
Reported By: Joyce L. Bluteau, RPR, FPR Notary Public, State of Florida Consor & Associates Reporting and Transcription West Palm Beach Office Phone - 561.682.0905
Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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APPEARANCES: On behalf of the Plaintiff: DAVID NEWMAN, ESQ. LAW OFFICES OF MARSHALL C. WATSON, P.A. 1800 Northwest 49th Street Suite 120 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309 954.453.0365 On behalf of the Defendant, JAMES FLANAGAN, ESQ. ICE LEGAL, P.A. 1015 North State Road 7 Suite D Royal Palm Beach, Florida 33411 561.729.0530 On behalf of the Defendant, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.: JOHN B. ROSENQUEST, IV, ESQ. MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS, LLP 200 South Biscayne Boulevard 5300 Wachovia Financial Center Miami, Florida 33131-2339 305.415.3423 On behalf of Patricia Arango: DALE L. FRIEDMAN, ESQ. CONROY, SIMBERG, GANON, KREVANS, ABEL, LURVEY, MORROW & SCHEFER, P.A. 3440 Hollywood Boulevard 2nd Floor Hollywood, Florida 33021 954.961.1400
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I N D E X WITNESS: PATRICIA ARANGO DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. FLANAGAN: CERTIFICATE OF OATH CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER READ & SIGN LETTER TO WITNESS ERRATA SHEET (To be forwarded upon execution) PAGE:
4 78 79 80 81
10
E X H I B I T S
11
Page
12
Description
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Defendant's No. Comp. 1 Defendant's No. 2 Defendant's No. 3 Defendant's No. 4 Defendant's No. 5
Defendant's No. 6
21 22 23 24 25
Defendant's No. 7
MERS, Inc. Corporate Resolution Limited Power of Attorney Mortgage Attached to the Complaint Assignment of Mortgage 8/27/09 Letter from Richard Anderson to Ariane Ice, with Attachments Page Printed from the MERS Servicer ID Website Assignment of Mortgage
11 19 25 36 53
56
67
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Thereupon,
Deposition taken before Joyce L. Bluteau, Registered Professional Reporter and Notary Public in and for the State of Florida at Large, in the above cause. -
PATRICIA ARANGO, having been first duly sworn or affirmed, was examined and testified as follows: THE WITNESS: Yes.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. correctly? A. Q. Miss Arango, yes. Would you give us your name and business Is it Ms. Arango? Did I pronounce that
address, please. A. A-R-A-N-G-O. Sure. My name's Patricia Arango,
Business address is Law Offices of Marshall
Watson, 1800 Northwest 49th Street, Suite 120, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309. Q. A. Q. A. Q. And who is your current employer? Law firm of Marshall Watson. How long have you been employed there? For ten years. In what capacity?
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duties?
A.
In various capacities.
I first started
there as a foreclosure attorney and then was transferred to the litigation department. Q. with the firm? A. Current position with the firm is as the Okay. And what's your current position
litigation department's managing attorney. Q. in Florida? A. Q. A. Q. Correct. For how long? Since 2001. And I take it you're probably very familiar So you're an attorney licensed to practice
with the process of taking of depositions. A. Q. I'm familiar. Okay. At any time, if you need a break,
let me know, okay. A. Q. Okay. In your current position, do you supervise
any employees of the firm? A. Q. A. Q. Yes. Roughly how many? Roughly about 70. And, generally, what are your current
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A.
My current duties are to supervise the
attorneys within the litigation department as well as the paralegals. Q. Do you get involved in any work other than
foreclosure work? A. Q. It depends, yes, I have. Okay. Roughly how much of your time is
spent dealing with foreclosure litigation? A. Q. Over 98 percent of the time. Okay. And has that generally been the case
in the last five years? A. Q. Yes. And that was the case in December of '08
and into '09 and '10? A. Q. strike that. Are you now an officer or director of Countrywide Home Loans? A. Q. No. Have you ever been an officer or director Correct. Okay. Are you now or have you ever been --
of Countrywide Home Loans? A. Q. No. Are you now an officer or director of
Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP? Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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A. Q. A. Q.
No. Have you ever been? No. Are you now or have you ever been an
officer or director of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.? A. Q. I am an agent. Okay. We'll get to that in a moment.
Are you an officer or corporate officer of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.? A. Q. I'm their assistant secretary. Okay. Is that the only title or position
that you hold with that company? A. Q. Yes. Okay. For our purposes in the deposition,
can we agree to refer to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as MERS? A. Q. A. Q. Thank you. How long have you been an assistant secretary or agent of MERS? A. Since about 2007 I believe it is. Yes. Do you commonly do that? Yes. Okay. That will speed things greatly.
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MERS?
Q. A. Q. A. Q.
All right. No.
Are you a member of MERS?
Is your law firm a member of MERS? No. Do members of MERS have to be either banks
or other financial institutions, to your knowledge? MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Have you ever applied for membership in Form. I don't know.
A. Q.
No. In your capacity as -MS. FRIEDMAN: I'm just going to ask you to
slow down before you answer it in case I want to object. THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. In your capacity as what you called an Okay.
agent or assistant secretary at MERS, do you have any supervisory capacity over any MERS employees? A. Q. I do not. Do you participate in any of the policy
making decisions for MERS? A. No.
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Q. A. Q.
Have you ever? No. When did -- you told me in roughly 2007 you How did that occur?
became an agent of MERS. A.
That occurred -- I don't remember how that I remember roughly that I was
exactly occurred.
contacted by my managing attorney and advised that I was given authority as indicated in the corporate resolution. Q. Did you ever receive a copy of the
corporate resolution -A. Q. A. Q. Yes, I did. -- for your review? Yes. Okay. Where is that currently? With me.
MS. FRIEDMAN: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay.
And in 2007, who was the attorney in
your firm that informed you of that? A. Q. Caryn Graham. Was she also given authority to sign on
behalf of MERS at that time, to your knowledge? A. Q. Yes, to my knowledge, yes. When that corporate resolution came, was
that pursuant to a request from either yourself or your firm to MERS? Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: MS. FRIEDMAN:
Objection. Can you repeat it? Yeah. I was going to ask
you, can you repeat it. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Sure. When you received the corporate
resolution in 2007, was that provided to your firm as a result of an application either directly or indirectly to MERS on your behalf? A. Q. I don't know. Okay. Did you have -- did you have to take
any training from MERS or some other entity to qualify to be an assistant secretary or agent for them? A. Q. I don't -- no, I didn't. How about any type of testing or
certification, exam, anything along those lines? A. Q. No. All right. You were requested in the Have
notice of subpoena to provide certain documents.
those been brought here with you or with your counsel? A. Q. Yes. Okay. And what do we have? Your counsel has handed me
All right. three documents.
And the first page that I have is
entitled at the top, Mortgage Electronic Registration Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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Systems, Inc. Corporate Resolution. A. Yes, I do. MR. FLANAGAN: marked as Exhibit 1. Okay.
Do you see that?
Let's have that
(Defendant's No. Composite 1, MERS, Inc. Corporate Resolution, was marked for identification.) MS. FRIEDMAN: pages. Well, you gave him two
Are you marking them individually or -MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: That's what I was -Okay.
BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. So Exhibit 1 is the Mortgage Electronic
Corporate Resolution? A. Q. Yes. Okay. MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: Dated October 16, 2007. Correct. Is that a single-page
document or a two-page document? MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: find out. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. There's a second page that has been It's a -He's attached a single page. That's what I'm about to
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provided to us that is a printout that says Marshall C. Watson, P.A. at the top, Mortgage Electronic Systems certifying officers. your name, correct? A. Q. the first one? A. Q. document. A. Q. Yes. Okay. So then let's make the two pages Yes. Okay. So these two pages are in effect one Yes. Okay. Was this second page accompanying And then there's Caryn Graham and
Exhibit 1, okay. MS. FRIEDMAN: Just make it Composite
Exhibit 1, so it's clear. MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: Right, okay. And I will tell you,
although the next document, the Limited Power of Attorney, was not necessarily expressly requested, we've decided to produce it -MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: Okay. Thank you.
-- because I think it
clarifies the agreement of all the parties involved in this case.
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BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Exhibit 1, the corporate resolution that
you have, that we now identified is signed by Mr. William C. Hultman as the corporate secretary for MERS, correct? A. Q. According to the document. Okay. Do you know which meeting of the
Board of Directors took place to result in this corporate resolution? A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. I do not know. And when was this document provided to you? I don't remember. Was it in 2007 or 2008? I really don't know. Okay. Was this corporate resolution Any idea?
provided to you solely to be the MERS registered agent or -- excuse me, assistant secretary to sign on behalf of Countrywide Financial Corporation or its designee? A. Q. Can you repeat the question? Sure. Was, as you understand it, the
corporate resolution that was entered by the Board solely to allow you to be the assistant secretary and vice president of MERS for the assignment of the liens or mortgages solely from the Countrywide Financial Corporation? MR. ROSENQUEST: Object to form.
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MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: states. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay.
Join. I only know what the document
Were there any other corporate
resolutions that were provided to you from MERS designating you as the assistant secretary or vice president for the purpose of any other financial corporations? A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. At that time? Yes, ma'am. I don't -- I don't know. Okay. How about since that time?
Since that time, yes. Okay. What other financial institutions
have you been authorized on behalf of MERS to function as the assistant secretary or vice president? MS. FRIEDMAN: I'm going to object to the
question because I think you're already beginning to exceed the scope of the Court's order which limited this deposition. "The deposition" -- and
I'm quoting now from the Court's order of November 23, 2010, "The deposition shall be limited to Patricia Arango's execution of the assignment of mortgage in this case."
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I think your question exceeds the parameters set forth by the Court. MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: I disagree. Okay. Tell me why it does
not so then we can proffer a record. MR. FLANAGAN: I'm trying to find out what
the scope of her authority is, and she did not execute the authorization for Countrywide Financial Corporation that's attached in this document in this case. MS. FRIEDMAN: execute? MR. FLANAGAN: It's not on behalf of What do you mean she did not
Countrywide Financial Corporation. MS. FRIEDMAN: not following. MR. FLANAGAN: The assignment that she What's not on behalf? I'm
signed was not Countrywide Financial Corporation. MS. FRIEDMAN: So you're limiting it to
anything related to Countrywide rather than the question you asked which was any company, which could arguably include HSBC or Chase. MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: Yeah. I mean, it was --
If you limit it to
Countrywide, I don't have a problem, and Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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Countrywide and any of its related entities, but I don't believe under the Court's order you can go on beyond that. MR. FLANAGAN: question stands. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Have you been provided a corporate Well, I disagree. So my
resolution from MERS appointing you as assistant secretary to execute assignments on their behalf for any entity aside from Countrywide Financial Corporation? MS. FRIEDMAN: I instruct you not to answer
based on the Court's order. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Now, have you been provided any corporate
resolution authorizing you to function as assistant secretary or vice president of MERS for Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP? A. Q. A. Q. At that time? At any time. I can't remember. Okay. Is there someplace in your office
where you keep a list or a file of the entities for which you can function as assistant secretary on behalf of MERS for assignments? A. Yes.
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Q. A. Q.
All right.
Where is that information kept?
In my office. Is it in a file folder in a corporate -- or
in, excuse me, a computer file, or what? A. Q. It's in a file. Okay. So presumably there's someplace
where you can go and check and see if you have been authorized by MERS to function for a given financial entity. A. Q. Correct. Okay. Did you look to see whether or not
you had such an assignment or authority from MERS to execute on behalf of Countrywide Home Loan Servicing LP prior to coming here? A. Q. Can you repeat? Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry.
Did you look in that file
where you have the designated entities for which you can function, did you look to see if there's an assignment or a resolution in there authorizing you to assign on behalf of MERS for Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, LP, the plaintiff in this case? A. Q. A. Q. Did I look? Yes, ma'am. Yes. And is there one?
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A. Q. A. Q.
Yes. Okay. Yes. Did you bring that one? This is the exhibit.
You contend that Exhibit 1 is the document
that authorizes you to sign on behalf of Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP? A. Q. A. Yes. Okay. How so?
Countrywide Financial Corporation
actually -- let me correct myself. The plaintiff, as listed in this particular case, is owned by Countrywide Financial Corporation. It's one of their entities. Q. information? A. a long time. Because I know it. I've been doing it for Okay. And how do you come to that
I've -- I don't remember at what point in
time I found out that knowledge, but I've had it. Q. Okay. Now, is Countrywide Home Loans
Servicing LP, to your knowledge, a separate corporate entity from Countrywide Financial Corporation? A. I don't know. MS. FRIEDMAN: please. (A portion of the record was read by the Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Read back that question,
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reporter.) BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. The other document that you have provided,
the third page of the documents that you provided today is the limited power of attorney document. that? A. Q. Exhibit 2. (Defendant's No. 2, Limited Power of Attorney, was marked for identification.) BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. And please tell me what this is. This is a limited power of attorney from Yes. All right. Let's have that marked as Do you see
Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. recorded in a couple different counties. Q. 2007? A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Correct. How did this come to you? I was provided a copy of it. From who? I don't remember who. Do you recall when you received it? No, I don't. Okay. And this one is dated April 13,
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Q.
And this appears to give you and your
firm -- or excuse me -- you and Ms. Graham at your firm limited power of attorney to execute instruments on behalf of Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. in furtherance of foreclosure proceedings, right? A. Q. A. I have to read it -Sure. -- to make certain. Correct. Q. Okay. Do you have a similar limited power
of attorney on behalf of the plaintiff, Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP? A. Q. Can you repeat the question? Sure. Do you have a similar limited power
of attorney on behalf of Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP? A. Q. I don't know. Do you know if there's any corporate
relationship between Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. and Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP? A. Q. A. There is a relationship. What is that? I don't know the exact relationship. I
know Countrywide Financial owns Countrywide Home Loans, and, in fact, it indicates so as well on the document Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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with the indication of upper left hand where it states it's prepared by Countrywide Financial. Q. What do you understand to be the
relationship between Countrywide Financial, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., and then Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP? A. I don't know now the exact and how to
explain it but I kind of explain it as -- to everyone in my department -- as one's the parent and the others are underneath it. Q. A. Q. And the parent is what entity? Countrywide Financial. Are you aware of any corporate resolution
between those entities that authorizes or permits the subsidiaries to act on behalf of the parent? A. Q. Inc. -MS. FRIEDMAN: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. -- is an entity that does what? I couldn't give you the entire explanation You're forgetting MERS? I am not. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems,
of what they do, as I don't work for them. Q. Are you comfortable with a description that
they track or catalog transfers of mortgage ownerships? Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN:
Object to form. Object to the form. She's
not here as the representative of MERS. MR. FLANAGAN: I thought she was here as
the assistant secretary. MS. FRIEDMAN: Arango. MR. FLANAGAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: individually. MS. FRIEDMAN: Patricia Arango. MR. FLANAGAN: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Yes, ma'am. Are you comfortable with the Yeah. Is there a question? She was. She's here as Right. She was noticed, I think, No. She's here as Patricia
description that MERS tracks the transfer of interests and rights in mortgages among its members? MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: don't know. Same objection. Join. Am I comfortable with it? I
I don't know how I'm supposed to feel
about whether I'm comfortable with the statement or not.
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BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. MERS? MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Object to form. Object to the form. From my understanding, that Okay. Is that one of the functions of
is one of the functions. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. What other functions, to your
knowledge, does MERS have as far as mortgage interests are concerned? MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: THE WITNESS: Object to the form. Join.
I can tell you they don't own
any mortgages, from my understanding. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Meaning that they don't have the ownership
or beneficial interest in the mortgage itself? A. Correct. It's not -Object to the form. Not
MS. FRIEDMAN:
what she testified to. MR. NEWMAN: Join. Join. You added beneficial
MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: interest.
She said --
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BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Okay. What do you mean by own?
They are -- for instance, in this mortgage,
exactly what they state on the mortgage, on all MOM mortgages, is what they call it. Q. mortgage? A. A MERS, Mortgage Electronic Registration What are you referring to as a MOM
Systems mortgage, where it states within the mortgage that they're acting purely as a nominee. Q. Meaning that they're the agent for the
actual owner -MR. ROSENQUEST: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. -- of the mortgage? MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Join. I don't know the exact Object to form.
definition of what it indicates on the document. I cannot remember it. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. To your knowledge, does -- you said MERS
doesn't own the mortgage, correct? A. Q. Correct. Okay. I did say that.
Let's have, just so you can refer to
it, exhibit -- the mortgage that was attached to the Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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complaint in this case, we'll have as Exhibit 3. (Defendant's No. 3, Mortgage Attached to the Complaint, was marked for identification.) BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Q. Do you recognize that document? It's a mortgage, yes. Okay. And is that what you identified a
moment ago as a mom, MERS mortgage? A. Q. That's what I had described, yes. Okay. And that's a mortgage that's created
initially as an original MERS mortgage? A. Q. Yes. It's an example of one, yes.
And at the time that that mortgage is
created, there's a MERS identification number also created with it, correct? MR. ROSENQUEST: Object to form. You're
talking about that particular mortgage or any MERS mortgage? BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. mortgage. Q. Okay. And is that, in your experience, the That one. There is a MIN number indicated on the
custom and practice for MERS to create the identification number at the time that the mortgage is created?
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MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay.
Object to the form. Form.
I don't know.
How does MERS track the mortgage, to
your knowledge? MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. MERS deals with the mortgages. How Object to the form. Object to form.
I don't know how they do it.
about the note that's created with the mortgage?
Does
MERS have any interaction or relationship with the note, to your knowledge? MS. FRIEDMAN: reiterate. Let me just stop again and
This Judge made it very clear at the
hearing, and I have his transcript, that the depositions that are taken go far too long, that whoever takes this deposition -- and I have the transcript of the hearing if you'd like to read it -MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: I've read it. -- is to get in and out, and
the order expressly says, "It shall be limited to Patricia Arango's execution of the assignment of Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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mortgage in this case." How MERS tracks, when they create a MIN number, you haven't noticed her in her capacity as a representative of MERS. capacity. She is not here in that The
You named her individually.
questions are limited to her execution. MR. FLANAGAN: get to. MS. FRIEDMAN: No, you're not. You're That's what I'm trying to
asking questions about MERS, their practices, how they do things. That is not anything related to
Ms. Arango's execution of the assignment of mortgage. MR. FLANAGAN: for it. MS. FRIEDMAN: That's not a foundation. It's laying the foundation
That's a foundation for some break you may have with MERS. That has nothing to do with the It is
assignment of the mortgage by Ms. Arango. well beyond. MR. FLANAGAN:
Ms. Arango signed as an
assistant secretary of MERS. MS. FRIEDMAN: she executed it. MR. FLANAGAN: Right. And that's what I'm The order is limited to how
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trying to find out. MS. FRIEDMAN: capacity. No. You're asking about her
That's not what the Court's order says. Whether or not she had the
MR. FLANAGAN:
capacity to do this is most certainly -MR. ROSENQUEST: Your last question was
what MERS has to do with promissory notes. MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: That's right. That is not her capacity to
execute, and that's well beyond the scope of this order. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Do you know if the note that accompanied
this mortgage was registered or tracked at all by MERS? A. May I answer? MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. Does -- to your knowledge, does the If you know. I don't know.
note have to accompany the mortgage in order for foreclosure to be able to take place? A. Repeat -MR. ROSENQUEST: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Does there have to be a unity of ownership Object to form.
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in the note and the mortgage in order for foreclosure to take place? MS. FRIEDMAN: question. MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: is a fact witness. MR. FLANAGAN: prompting her. Counsel, don't start Same objection. The law decides that. This Form. It's a legal
She's a lawyer already. I'm not prompting her. Yes, you are. Just follow the order. You're asking me for a legal
MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS:
conclusion, obviously. MR. FLANAGAN: You're a lawyer. MS. FRIEDMAN: with anything? witness. You don't wear both hats. here. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Does the note and the mortgage have to have That's why I'm What does that have to do She's here as a That's exactly right.
I'm her attorney.
a unity of foreclosure in order -- a unity of title in ownership in order for a foreclosure to --
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MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. NEWMAN: THE WITNESS: question down. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. No, ma'am.
Same objection. Object to the form.
Join. I think you need to break the
Does there have to be a unity
of ownership of both the mortgage and the note in order for an entity to pursue foreclosure in Florida? MS. FRIEDMAN: Object to the form. Calls
for a legal conclusion. THE WITNESS: In Florida, all you have to
do is own the note in order to foreclose. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. concerned -A. There are many cases on it. There's So far as your understanding is
several, several cases. foreclose in Florida. Q. Okay.
There's different ways to
So as far as you're concerned, there
does not have to be a unity of ownership? MR. ROSENQUEST: not what she said. MR. NEWMAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: Join. Exactly. Join. Object to form. That's
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order.
THE WITNESS:
In Florida -- I'll just have In Florida, there
to repeat what I just stated.
are several ways in which to foreclose on a mortgage. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Okay. Those are what? You
You can foreclose by being a servicer.
can foreclose by being the owner of the note.
You don't
have to be, you know, the one expressly listed on the mortgage or whatnot. Q. Okay. To foreclose on a mortgage, does the
entity have to have an ownership interest in the mortgage? MR. ROSENQUEST: MR. NEWMAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: for a legal -THE WITNESS: No, you can be -Object to form.
Form. Object to the form. Calls
(Reporter interrupted-overlapping speakers.) MS. FRIEDMAN: Object to the form. Calls
for a legal conclusion. MR. NEWMAN: Join. Beyond the scope of the
MR. ROSENQUEST:
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reporter.) reporter.) Sorry.
MR. NEWMAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS:
Join. Add. Yes, join that too.
Now I forgot the question.
MR. FLANAGAN:
All right.
Will you read
the question back, please. (A portion of the record was read by the
THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q.
No.
As the assistant secretary for MERS in
execution of the assignment, is it your understanding that MERS can transfer legal title of the mortgage? MR. ROSENQUEST: Object to form. She
wasn't noticed in her capacity as an assistant secretary of MERS. MR. NEWMAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: on behalf of MERS. MS. FRIEDMAN: back, please. (A portion of the record was read by the Would you read the question Join. Join. She's not here testifying
THE WITNESS:
Yes, they can assign.
They
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assign out their -- it states here, for instance, "MERS is the mortgagee under this security instrument." They can assign their interest under
exactly what it states here, yes. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. And what interest, then, did MERS have in What do you mean by here? In the mortgage. Exhibit what? Exhibit 3.
that mortgage with Mr. MR. ROSENQUEST: Object to form to the
extent you're asking her to testify on behalf of MERS. THE WITNESS: They acted solely as a
nominee for lender and lender's successors and assigns as indicated in Exhibit 3 in the mortgage. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. So they are the holder or the
custodian for the mortgage. MR. ROSENQUEST: MR. NEWMAN: Object to form.
Join. I'm going to object to
MR. ROSENQUEST:
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this whole line of questioning.
And I'm happy to
put it as a standing objection if counsel will agree -MR. FLANAGAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: Sure. -- to the extent she's
being asked to testify on behalf of MERS. MR. FLANAGAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: Sure. I also object to that
question as mischaracterizing her testimony. MS. FRIEDMAN: And I'm about to stop any
questions and instruct her not to answer if you don't move on to the sole issue in which you have been authorized pursuant to Court order to conduct this deposition, and that is to her execution of the assignment of mortgage. MR. FLANAGAN: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. MERS was designated as the nominee or the That's what I'm getting to.
agent, correct, in that mortgage? MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Object to the form. It states here what MERS is.
"MERS is Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. MERS is a separate corporation that is
acting solely as a nominee for lender and lender's successors and assigns."
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BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. agent, right? MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. NEWMAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: dictionary. THE WITNESS: nominee. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. And as a nominee, does MERS have the It states here that it is a Object to form. Object to the form. Join. She's not here as a And another word for a nominee would be
ownership of the mortgage? A. It states here it's acting solely as a
nominee for the lender. Q. A. note. Okay. So --
The lender is -- and it indicates who's the That states
The note means the promissory note.
that the borrower owes the lender. Q. Okay. Now, as far as you were concerned in
December of 2008, was MERS the owner of the mortgage? A. lender. Q. A. And the lender was? The lender -- the original lender was They were acting as a nominee for the
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Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. Q. A. Q. Okay. Who was the lender in December 2008?
I don't know. Had there been any transfer of the
ownership by the lender to another entity prior to December 2008, to your knowledge? A. Q. out? A. I would not know the exact time. I don't There may have been. How would you know? I don't know. How would you find
work for the company. Q. I understand. You executed the assignment of the mortgage in this case. A. Q. Correct. Let me show you what was attached as We'll have it marked
Exhibit 3 to the amended complaint. as Exhibit 4.
(Defendant's No. 4, Assignment of Mortgage, was marked for identification.) BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Take a look at Exhibit 4. MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: Is that --
Can I take a look at it? Absolutely. I'd appreciate it if you'd
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role?
just hand me the exhibits first. This has been reduced down from the size. If you don't mind, I'm going to let her look at the size that was attached to the complaint because it's easier to read. exhibit. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Q. A. Q. Do you recognize Exhibit 4? Yes. That is your signature? Yes, it is. Okay. How did it come to you that you There's your
needed to sign an assignment of that mortgage? A. I can't remember this particular one and
how that occurred, but normally the procedure is for the paralegal who is within the assignment of mortgage department to prepare the document when it is called for by an examiner, and then it is brought to me to review and execute. Q. Okay. So I take it you weren't really the
managing attorney or the lead attorney for the foreclosure action itself. A. Q. No. You were just kind of up in a supervisory
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A. Q.
Right, in a separate department. Okay.
Correct.
And do you recall any specifics
about this particular assignment, the execution of it -A. Q. No, I don't. -- who was involved when it happened,
anything like that? A. Q. No. Okay. The assignment is dated
December 2008, correct? A. Q. Correct. And when the information was brought to
you, was it presented to you with a file or any other information concerning the loan, the payments, anything along those lines? A. Q. I don't remember. Do you customarily review the file
pertaining to the loan in order to execute the assignment? A. Q. was needed? MR. ROSENQUEST: Object to form. And I'm Yes. How did you determine that an assignment
not sure that she testified that she made that determination. MS. FRIEDMAN: In fact, she testified --
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MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. for my name. of one.
Somebody else did. -- otherwise.
I reviewed the document.
You reviewed what? I reviewed -- number one, I always review People spell my name wrong, two Rs instead
I review to make certain that the date is on
there, who it's coming from, it's MERS, something that I can actually have authority to execute. Q. Countrywide? A. Q. Financial -A. Correct. Something that I can -- right, On behalf of MERS. Okay. With regard to the Countrywide Okay. Authority to execute on behalf of
something that I have authority to actually execute. Q. Okay. Do you then do anything to determine
whether or not Countrywide is in fact the owner of the mortgage? MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: You're asking -Object to the form. -- specifically whether or
not -- are you asking specific about this assignment -Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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MR. FLANAGAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: MR. FLANAGAN: THE WITNESS:
Yes. -- or in general? Yeah. To who I -- I review the --
there is, on the MERS website, there's -- I don't remember what I exactly did in this specific case or how I did it or what I did, but my normal is to review the MERS. They have a website where you
can insert the MERS MIN number and make certain that it's -- who it's serviced by and who it's owned by. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. Does MERS use what you identified as
the MIN number, M-I-N meaning MERS identification number? A. Yes. That's indicated on the website. Object to the form.
MR. ROSENQUEST:
You're asking her to testify on behalf MERS. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Q. Is that what you mean by MIN? MERS identification number, yes. Okay. And as you understand, is the
mortgage, once it's created, for example, Mr. it's given a number and that's how the MERS System tracks it? MS. FRIEDMAN: Object to the form.
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went to? A. go to. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q.
MR. ROSENQUEST: THE WITNESS:
Join.
I don't know how they track
it but I know that there's a MERS MIN number and I insert that to locate it. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Okay. Did you do that in this case?
Like I said, I can't remember exactly what
I did, but that's my normal procedure, yes. Q. So MERS has a computer entry that you can
Correct. All right. Yes. -- to its system? Yes. By computer? Yes. Is that the same computer system that you MERS has public access --
Yes.
I have it as -- whatever their system
is, whatever their public access, I have it as a link on my computer. Q. A. Q. Sure. Yeah. Okay. And then to find out what's going
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on, you plug in the MERS ID number, the MIN number -A. Q. A. Q. Sure. -- and it provides information. Sure. Okay. MS. FRIEDMAN: take a deep breath -THE WITNESS: MS. FRIEDMAN: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Do you know how the information that's Sorry. -- and let us object. Let him finish the question,
there for you to review is input? A. No. MR. ROSENQUEST: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Do you know -- do you customarily rely on Object to form.
that information, though, to give you the accuracy as to who the owner of the mortgage is at any given point in time? A. Q. That's not the only thing I review. I understand, but when you're looking on
MERS, in their system at the ID number, you're relying upon the accuracy of that information. MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: Object to the form. Join.
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MR. NEWMAN: THE WITNESS:
Join. I use it as one of the tools
to verify and review what I'm executing. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. What other tools would you have used
at the time that you were reviewing this loan? A. Sometimes, depending on different
circumstances, I'll review certain things, you know, from the referral or from different things from the system, from our case management system. Q. All right. Did you refer to any other
documents in this case before you executed the assignment? A. I don't remember exactly in this particular
case, but normal procedure is to review what's in the system, in the case management system. Q. Okay. What did the MERS information
indicate to you when you pulled it up for your -MR. ROSENQUEST: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Q. A. Q. -- review at the time of this -I can't remember. -- execution? I can't remember. Would it have had to have indicated to you Object to form.
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that Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP was the owner at that time? MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: MR. NEWMAN: THE WITNESS: Object to the form. Join.
Join. Yes. They're the servicer.
I don't remember what I did or when I looked at it. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. What do you mean they're the servicer? Well, Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, I
executed this assignment from MERS into Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP. Q. Okay. So if they're a servicer, is that
separate and distinct from them being the owner? MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: MR. NEWMAN: THE WITNESS: Form. Join. Object to the form.
Join. The servicer services the
loan, and you can have, obviously, different owners. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. Does -- to your knowledge, does
Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP own the mortgage in this case? Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: the form. '08? MR. FLANAGAN: THE WITNESS: MS. FRIEDMAN: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay.
Object to form. And let me just object to
You're talking now or in December of
Now. They're the servicer. Now?
They're the servicer.
Does that
mean they're not the owner? A. in the note. Q. A. Meaning what? They don't get the proceeds. They receive They do not obtain the beneficial interest
the proceeds from the borrower by virtue of their payments, but obviously there's a different owner. don't own it. Q. A. Okay. So -They
Beneficial, you know, the beneficial
interest in the actual loan. Q. Okay. So then if they are not the owner of
the note, then in paragraph 4 of the amended complaint stating that "Plaintiff, Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP is the owner/holder of the subject note and mortgage" would be inaccurate. Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS:
Object to the form. It depends on how you are
relating the definition of those particular words because, for instance, you can, you know, quote, unquote, own the mortgage with respect to obtaining the proceeds, meaning the payments from the borrower, and thereby, quote, unquote, own the mortgage. believe. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. But the beneficial interest in this That's many times what borrowers even
note is not owned by Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP, right? MR. NEWMAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Object to form. Join. Not the beneficial interest.
I believe that's what exactly the paragraph 4 states, exactly what I'm saying. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. Paragraph 4 states, "Plaintiff,
Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP, is the owner" -excuse me. "Plaintiff is the holder/owner of the subject note and mortgage." A. Yes. That's what it states, yes. Correct.
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Q.
Okay.
But what you're telling me is that
plaintiff is the servicer for the mortgage. A. Servicer/holder, which coincides with what
that is indicating as well. Q. A. Okay. Who's the owner of the mortgage?
The owner with the beneficial interest in
the -- well, the owner, the holder servicing it is Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP. Q. Okay. But my question was who's the owner
of the mortgage? A. The owner -MS. FRIEDMAN: ahead. THE WITNESS: Well, the owner of the Object to the form. Go
beneficial interest in the note is Fannie Mae. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. I didn't ask about the note. My
question was, who's the owner of the mortgage? A. Q. the note? A. Q. A. Fannie Mae. Okay. So Fannie Mae has the note, correct? They have the beneficial interest Countrywide Home Loans Servicing. And who has the ownership and interest in
Correct.
in the note, correct. Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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Sorry.
Q.
And was that the situation back in December
of 2008 when you executed the assignment? A. Q. Yes. Okay. At that time, who was the owner of
the beneficial interest in the mortgage? A. The beneficial interest in the note was The interest in the mortgage was as
held by Fannie Mae.
to, arguably, the interest in the mortgage was both entities, the plaintiff and the Fannie Mae. Q. Do you have any documents establishing your
authority to execute any assignments on behalf of Fannie Mae? A. Did I bring them? What? Say that again.
Q.
Do you have any documents indicating your
authority to execute assignments on behalf of Fannie Mae? A. Q. I don't know. Fannie Mae -- excuse me. The mortgage is to secure the note, right? A. Q. The mortgage follows the note, yes. Okay. And if Fannie Mae has the note, they
have to transfer or assign their interest in that note -MR. ROSENQUEST: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. -- to someone else. Object to form.
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right?
MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. NEWMAN: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Q. Okay.
Form. Object to form. I don't know.
Do you know if they did it?
I don't know really what you're asking me. The mortgage secures the note, right? MS. FRIEDMAN: Object to the form. That's
not what she said. the note. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. No.
She said the mortgage follows
You want to rephrase your question?
My question is:
The mortgage is
security for the note, right? A. The mortgage acts as security for the note.
It follows the note, correct. Q. Okay. Now, Fannie Mae is the note holder,
MR. ROSENQUEST: MR. NEWMAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS:
Form.
Object to form. Form. When? That's not what she said. Are you asking me now
currently or back then?
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BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Back then. You have to repeat the question. Would you
read the question? (A portion of the record was read by the reporter.) THE WITNESS: Fannie Mae has the beneficial
interest in the note. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. there's -MR. NEWMAN: question pending. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Why did you differentiate that? There's so many different ways and Objection. There's no Okay. The reason I differentiate that is because
terminologies people use the word holder is why I say that. That's why I make sure that I say beneficial
interest in the note. Q. A. Okay. Now -And to
To clarify -- one more statement.
clarify the fact that I made the statement in that Countrywide Home Loan Services LP, they hold the note, it's, you know... Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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MS. FRIEDMAN: questions. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q.
Patricia, just answer his
When you executed the assignment of
mortgage in December of 2008 when you executed Exhibit No. 4, did you glean from the MERS information that you reviewed that Fannie Mae was the note holder? MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. NEWMAN: Object to the form. Join. Join.
The MERS -- I don't remember
looking at that particular website at that particular time. I don't remember exactly what
steps I took when I reviewed it and executed it at that time. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. Did the MERS information at that
time reflect that Fannie Mae was the note holder? MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. NEWMAN: Object to the form. Object to form. Join.
I don't remember exactly
looking at that website the exact time. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay.
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MS. FRIEDMAN: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Q.
Do you have a copy of it?
Have you looked at it recently? Yes. Okay. I'm going to show you a six-page
document with the cover letter dated August 27th of '09. MS. FRIEDMAN: Tell me why this is relative
to an assignment that was done December of '08. MR. NEWMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: December of '08? MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: No. Let me just object to this This document is Also, do we have copies? Yep. Do have you one from
whole line of questioning.
meaningless in the context of what was done in December of '08. MR. NEWMAN: Join. I'll join too. First of all, let me also
clarify, this is not a reflection of what you obtain off of the web, of the MERS website. This
is, rather, documents responsive to a subpoena served upon MERS; is that correct? MR. FLANAGAN: Yeah.
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MS. FRIEDMAN:
Very different than what you
see on the screen shot, correct? MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: Exhibit 5. (Defendant's No. 5, 8/27/09 Letter from Richard Anderson to Ariane Ice, with Attachments, was marked for identification.) BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Take a look at Exhibit 5. MS. FRIEDMAN: Let me just make an This document says it We'll get to that. Just...
Have you marked a copy? Not yet. Do I have a copy? Let's have this marked as
objection on the record.
refers to a subpoena served upon MERS in the above styled case, calling for the production of documents by MERS to the plaintiff. Adriane [sic] Ice does not represent anybody. She's not even an attorney, as I
understand it, even though this was sent to her. And it obviously wasn't a subpoena to the plaintiff. And there's nothing on the Court
docket showing that there was a subpoena with the requisite time frame noticing it to the other
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parties anywhere, so I'm wondering how a nonlawyer, Adriane [sic] Ice, managed to get documents from a nonparty without it appearing on the Court docket, without notice going to the plaintiff -- the plaintiff's counsel. MR. NEWMAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Have you ever seen those documents attached I join in the objection. Most interesting.
to Exhibit No. 5 previously? A. Q. I have not. Okay. Do you recognize the MERS letterhead
on the cover letter? A. Q. A. Q. On the upper left? Yes, ma'am. Their name? Okay Yes.
does that appear to you to reflect
MERS documents pertaining to the loan of my client, Mr. MR. ROSENQUEST: MR. NEWMAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Object to form.
Object to form. Form. I don't know. You're asking -She didn't know.
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BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Have you ever seen printouts like those
from MERS in your capacity as their assistant secretary? MR. ROSENQUEST: MR. NEWMAN: THE WITNESS: Object to form.
Object to form. I don't know. Can we have a standing --
MR. ROSENQUEST:
do you agree on the record to a standing objection that to the extent that you're asking her to testify on behalf of MERS? MR. FLANAGAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: Sure. Okay. Because otherwise
I'm going to have to just keep objecting every time you mention MERS. MR. FLANAGAN: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. When you go onto the -- when you Yeah. That's not a problem.
I don't know.
enter the MERS website for purposes of confirming information when you're doing assignments or any foreclosure work, does the detail of the information attached on those pages come up to you? A. Q. those lines? I have never seen this before for this, no. You've never seen anything like, along
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A. what I see. Q.
I don't remember if I have but this is not
Okay. MR. FLANAGAN: Let's have this marked as
Exhibit 6. (Defendant's No. 6, Page Printed from the MERS Servicer ID Website, was marked for identification.) MS. FRIEDMAN: Usually you show it to the
other side before having it marked. MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Take a look at Exhibit 6 for me. MR. ROSENQUEST: copies? MR. FLANAGAN: got it someplace. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Is that document consistent with you for I'm looking for those. I've Jim, do you have any other That's what I'm doing. No, after it was marked.
the display page that would come up on the computer screen when you go into MERS System? A. Q. This is what I normally see. Okay. And do you note that the MIN or
MERS identification number for this loan is there -A. Yes.
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Q. A. Q.
-- on Exhibit 6? I see MERS ID number. And so the MERS documents are showing who
was the servicer for this loan currently. A. Correct. MR. ROSENQUEST: MR. NEWMAN: Objection.
Objection. Jim, when was this -- I
MR. ROSENQUEST: haven't seen this. MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: printout? MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST:
He said currently. I said currently. Is that a current
Yes. Let me object to the form. I'll just note for the
record that the printout is dated January 5, 2011. Thanks, Jim. MS. FRIEDMAN: me? Thank you. You don't have a copy for
BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Exhibit 6 establishes the current servicer
according to MERS for this loan as who? A. Servicing LP. Their website shows BAC Home Loans
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note?
Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q.
Okay. Yes.
And does it also show an investor?
What's the term investor mean to you? The investor behind this loan. Is what entity according to MERS? Fannie Mae. Okay. So Fannie Mae is the owner of the
MR. ROSENQUEST: not what she said. MR. NEWMAN: THE WITNESS:
Object to form.
That's
Join. The investor that has the
beneficial interest in the loan, yeah. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. So that would be the entity entitled
to foreclose, then, on the mortgage, right? MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. NEWMAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Oh, my God. Object to the form. Object to the form. You can foreclose in Florida You don't have to be the
in many different ways.
sole owner of the note in order to foreclose. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. Then is there any documentation that
you have seen that authorizes or permits Countrywide Home Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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Loans Servicing LP to foreclose on the mortgage on behalf of Fannie Mae? MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Object to the form. I don't know. I don't know
if I've seen any document. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Are you aware of any assignment or
agreement between Fannie Mae and Home Loans Servicing, Inc. that authorizes Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP to function in that capacity? A. Q. A. Yes. What? I am aware. I am aware that there -- that
BAC Home Loans Servicing LP has the right to foreclose. Q. Hang on a minute. MS. FRIEDMAN: Countrywide. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. I asked you about Countrywide Home Loans You jumped --
He asked you about
Servicing LP and Fannie Mae. A. Oh, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm aware. You
asked if I was aware.
You asked me several other things
if I had seen and if I was aware. Q. I'm asking, have you seen any document that
authorizes Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP to Ph. 561.682.0905 - Fax. 561.682.1771 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 500 - West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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function on behalf of Fannie Mae for foreclosure or servicing -A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. I don't know. -- of the loan? I don't know. Okay. I may have. Did you check to see if there were any such
documents in existence back in December of 2008? A. I don't remember what exactly I did when I
executed the assignment of mortgage in '08. Q. Was Fannie Mae the note holder in 2008,
December of 2008? MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Object to the form. They held the beneficial
interest in the note, yes. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. MERS didn't receive payments for the
mortgage, right? A. I don't know. MR. ROSENQUEST: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. That's by the mortgage servicer? MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Object to the form. What do you mean, that's by Object to form.
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the -BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. the mortgage. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Servicing LP. Q. Okay. Now, they're the entity that Correct. And that is who? At the time -Yes, ma'am. -- when I executed it? Yes, ma'am. It was, to go back, Countrywide Home Loans You mentioned that there's a servicer for
essentially collects the payments from the borrower. A. Q. The servicer does. And then they forward some portion of the
payment to the owner of the note? MR. NEWMAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. But MERS, in any event, doesn't receive the Object to form. Join. I don't know.
payments, right? MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: Object to the form. Object to form.
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MR. NEWMAN:
Join. Getting outside the scope
MR. ROSENQUEST:
of the Court's order as well. THE WITNESS: the servicer. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Do you know if MERS has rules and I don't know. They're not
regulations concerning the authority to make assignments? A. Q. I don't know. Does MERS limit the authority to make
assignments to only its members? MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. NEWMAN: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Do you know who input the information into Object -Object to form. -- to the form. Join. I don't know.
the MERS System reflecting Fannie Mae as having the beneficial ownership interest in the note? MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: Object to form. Object to the form. And we're well beyond the
scope of this deposition. MR. NEWMAN: Join.
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county. Q. A. Q.
THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. excuse me.
I don't know.
Once you executed the authorization or --
Once you executed the assignment, Exhibit No. 4, what did you do with it? A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. After I executed it? Yes, ma'am. I gave it back to the paralegal. And then where does it go from there? It gets sent for recording. Recording where? To the public records of the particular
In this case, Palm Beach County? In this case, in Broward.
And is that where the original of the
assignment went, was to the clerk's office for recording? A. Q. A. Q. That's the only way they'll record it. Okay. Did you send a copy to MERS?
That isn't our procedure. Does MERS get copied with the assignment in
any point in time, to your knowledge? A. Q. No. How about Fannie Mae, did Fannie Mae get
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copied with the assignment? A. Q. July 2008. A. I don't know. Bank of America took over Countrywide in Were you aware of that at the time? I don't remember the exact date. I know
they were taken over. Q. All right. When you were considering
executing this assignment in December 2008, did you speak with anyone at Bank of America concerning the authority to execute the assignment? A. Q. No. Had there been any change in corporate
resolutions with regard to what Countrywide could or couldn't do after July of 2008 -A. Q. had executed? A. Q. I don't know. Had there been any change by Bank of I don't know. -- with regard to the mortgages that they
America with regard to who could or couldn't authorize or execute assignments on their behalf at that time? MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Was Bank of America reflected in the MERS Object to the form. I don't know.
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System as the servicer back in December of 2008? A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. I don't know. That's who is currently reflected, right? Yes. Isn't it Bank of America Corp.? BAC Home Loans Servicing, right. Yeah. What's the relationship between
Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP and BAC Loans Servicing? MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. NEWMAN: Form. Join. Join.
MR. ROSENQUEST: THE WITNESS: they took them over. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Do you know when? I don't know. MS. FRIEDMAN: blood sugar dropping? THE WITNESS: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN:
It's my understanding that
Do you need to eat?
Is your
(Nods head.) Okay. Do you need to take a break? Yeah. Well, she needs to
eat, so how much longer do you have? MR. FLANAGAN: Maybe a half hour.
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12:11 p.m.)
MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. FLANAGAN:
She can't go a half hour. I'll take a -- I'm not -She needs to eat lunch. I have -- I get... Hypo -I can sympathize with that.
Do you want to take a break? MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: That's all I have. MS. FRIEDMAN: it so good. THE WITNESS: MR. FLANAGAN: I know. Why don't we take a break We both know that doesn't do Did you bring anything? I think I brought peanuts.
for half an hour and you can run downstairs and get a sandwich or whatever you need, okay, because I don't want to make you uncomfortable with -THE WITNESS: MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: I just feel like... That's okay. I can see it on your face.
(A recess was taken from 11:37 a.m. to
BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. In referring to Exhibit No. 6, the computer
screen that you said you're familiar with for MERS, in
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December of 2008 when you executed the assignment, the investor information that's reflected on this exhibit, was that available for you to see at that time? A. Q. I don't remember. Was there any other screen or information
that you could access through MERS other than just this generic information that currently comes up? A. I don't know if they're -- I know I've gone
on there before and looked around and dissected, but usually this is the only thing that I utilize. Q. Okay. But in your relationship with MERS
or generally just in doing the foreclosure work, you didn't get access to some other MERS computer program -A. Q. the public. A. Q. Correct. Okay. There's another copy of the Take a Right. -- other than what's generally available to
assignment of mortgage that we've been provided. look at that, if you would. Exhibit 7.
We'll have it marked as
(Defendant's No. 7, Assignment of Mortgage, was marked for identification.) BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Do you recognize that as another copy of
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the assignment that you executed December 18th? A. Q. page there? A. Q. (Nods head.) And yet it's different from the one that we Yes. Is that your signature in the center of the
had previously marked as Exhibit No. 4, right? A. Q. (Nods head.) Excuse me. It reflects to me that you made
two different -- prepared two different documents that day. Is that your recollection? A. Q. No. All right. Can you explain to me the
difference and the reason for the difference? A. It appears the difference in the two is in
the middle area after -- where it says "more particular." Q. A. Q. A. documents. no idea. Q. Do you have any recollection what was going To describe the property. Yes. Yeah. I don't know that it's really two different It may in fact be the same document. I have
on and what prompted the -A. No.
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Q. A. Q.
-- alteration or the change? No, I do not. Okay. Do you recall the passing of time,
if any, between executing both of them? A. Q. No, I don't. Did you have present at the time of the
execution the legal property description, any loan document, any loan origination documents, anything along those lines that you would have reviewed before you did the assignment? MR. ROSENQUEST: Which assignment? front of her. MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Exhibit 6 or, excuse me, 7. Seven. Okay. I don't -- like I said Which one? Objection.
Sorry, you put an exhibit in
before, I don't remember actually executing it but the procedure that I undertake is I review things in our case management system. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay. Which is -- what's in the case
management system as far as documentation? A. Referral, copy of the mortgage, the note,
several documents that -- we try to have everything, you know, E-filing type thing in the office so it's
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electronic copies of things. Q. Okay. And you figure that you customarily
would have reviewed those documents before preparing the assignment? A. Q. Yes. All right. Which one of these Exhibit 4 or
Exhibit 7 was first done by you? A. Q. I don't know. You didn't forward your copy of your Did you forward it to Countrywide or
assignment to MERS. Fannie Mae? A. Q.
I don't know. Did you forward it to anyone other than the
clerk of the court, as you previously mentioned to me? A. Q. I don't know. When you executed the assignment in
December of '08, were you concerned that there may have been other assignments that had previously been done prior to yours? A. Q. I don't know. Did you have any way of checking to see if
someone else had done an assignment prior to you? A. The case management system, I don't
remember what I did in this particular case when I executed it. I would have only reviewed what was in our
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case management system which includes examiner's notes, work sheets, the actual, all sorts of different documents from the review. Q. Okay. Have you seen any contracts or
agreements between Fannie Mae and Countrywide with regard to the ownership of the note? A. Q. No, I have not. To your knowledge, was there any corporate
resolution or action on the part of Bank of America to adopt and confirm your authority to sign on behalf of MERS for Countrywide? MS. FRIEDMAN: read that back? (A portion of the record was read by the reporter.) THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. So then in December of 2008, do you know if I don't know. I'm sorry, would you just
you still had the authority to function on behalf of Countrywide through MERS? A. At the time that I executed the document, I Was it Exhibit 1?
relied upon the corporate resolution. Q. Number 1. Okay.
And do you know whether
or not that was still in effect at that time? A. It was my understanding that it was. I had
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no knowledge that it had not been. Q. Had you attempted to contact anyone with
Bank of America to find out if that was in fact the case? MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Object to the form. I don't remember what I did.
I just relayed to you what I did. MS. FRIEDMAN: Let me just state an All of this assumes that
objection on the record.
Bank of America was even the entity in December of '08. MR. FLANAGAN: over and -MS. FRIEDMAN: you. Not. Not. I disagree with Oh, yeah. I mean, they took
I think your dates are wrong.
BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. For Fannie Mae to be designated as the
investor in the MERS System, does that indicate to you that Fannie Mae had ownership of the note at that time? MR. ROSENQUEST: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Sure. In the MERS System, if Fannie Mae is Object to form.
Can you repeat that again?
indicated as the investor, does that indicate to you that they had ownership of the note at that time? MS. FRIEDMAN: What time?
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right?
MR. FLANAGAN: THE WITNESS:
In December of '08. I don't remember what it
indicated in December of '08, but as to the Exhibit 6, the investor is showing Fannie Mae. shows that they're the investor with the beneficial interest. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. All right. So would that indicate to you It
that there had been some type of a transfer or assignment of the note between Countrywide and Fannie Mae -MS. FRIEDMAN: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Q. -- at some prior point in time? I don't know. MERS doesn't track the note information, Objection.
MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. NEWMAN: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A.
Object to form. Object to the form.
Join. I don't know.
Have you been a party to any litigation? I don't know. My name may have been listed
as a defendant in a case but I don't know. Q. No, okay.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
MS. FRIEDMAN:
He means have you ever been
a plaintiff or a defendant. THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. That's all. I mean, I know that you might I'm looking for Oh. Oh.
have been named and you may not know it. have you -A. Oh. Oh.
MR. NEWMAN:
Just for background purposes,
we get sued individually all the time so we don't even remember half the time. THE WITNESS: there have been -MR. NEWMAN: the time. THE WITNESS: but ten years. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. All right. Let me try and -- I don't want Correct. I wouldn't know, Wacko pro se people sue us all I've been there ten years and
to go wonder and hither, tither and hither. A. Q. Yeah. In your capacity as a lawyer, you or the
firm could be sued -A. Q. Right. -- any time, for any reason --
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A. Q.
Correct. -- legitimate or not, okay. Have you been named as a party defendant in
any litigation concerning execution of any assignments of mortgage as an assistant secretary of MERS? A. Q. Oh. No, not to my knowledge.
Have you given prior depositions in your
capacity as having signed assignments of mortgages for MERS? MR. ROSENQUEST: THE WITNESS: Object to form.
Yes. And scope of the
MR. ROSENQUEST: questions. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Q.
On how many occasions? One. How long ago? I mean, are we talking three
years ago or last year? A. Q. No. Okay. No. Within the past year.
Does the name R.K. Arnold mean
anything to you? A. Q. No. Do you know Mr. Arnold, who is the
president of MERS? A. No.
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to do.
Q. A. Q.
You never heard of him? No. If he stated that in order to be a
certifying officer and sign an assignment on behalf of MERS somebody needed to pass and complete an examination, is that something that is familiar to you? A. Q. It's not familiar to me, no. Okay. I don't know.
That was not something that you had
A. Q.
I did not do that. Okay. And if he's saying that, if that was
a rule or a qualification, that was something that was not made known to you. MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: Object to the form. I don't know. Join.
MR. ROSENQUEST: MR. NEWMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN:
Join. Okay. Done. We read.
Thank you.
THE COURT REPORTER: transcribed? MR. FLANAGAN: exhibits. MS. FRIEDMAN:
Do you need this
Please, and attach the
I want a copy, please. Does anyone else need
THE COURT REPORTER:
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a copy? MR. ROSENQUEST: that. I'll check. (Deposition concluded at 12:30 p.m.) Let me get back to you on
Page 78
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CERTIFICATE OF OATH
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, COUNTY OF BROWARD.
) )
I, Joyce L. Bluteau, Registered Professional Reporter, Notary Public in and for the State of Florida, certify that PATRICIA ARANGO personally appeared before me on the 7th of January, 2011, and was duly sworn.
WITNESS my hand and official seal this 10th day of January, 2011.
_____________________________ Joyce L. Bluteau, RPR, FPR
21
Notary Public - State of Florida My Commission DD 736713
22 23 24 25
Expires:
March 26, 2012
Page 79
1 2 3
CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER THE STATE OF FLORIDA, COUNTY OF BROWARD. ) )
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
DATED this 10th day of January, 2011. I further certify that said deposition was taken at the time and place hereinabove set forth and that the taking of said deposition was commenced and completed as hereinabove set out. I further certify that I am not an attorney or counsel of any of the parties, nor am I a relative or employee of any attorney or counsel of party connected with the action, nor am I financially interested in the action. The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means unless under the direct control and/or direction of the certifying reporter. I, Joyce L. Bluteau, Registered Professional Reporter, do hereby certify that I was authorized to and did stenographically report the deposition of PATRICIA ARANGO; that a review of the transcript was requested; and that the foregoing transcript, numbered from 1 to 81, inclusive, are a true and correct transcription of my stenographic notes.
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
____________________________________ Joyce L. Bluteau, Registered Professional Reporter Florida Professional Reporter
Page 80
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DATE: January 10, 2011 TO: PATRICIA ARANGO C/O: MS. DALE L. FRIEDMAN, ESQ. CONROY, SIMBERG, GANON, KREVANS, ABEL, LURVEY, MORROW & SCHEFER, P.A. 3440 Hollywood Boulevard, 2nd Floor Hollywood, Florida 33021 IN RE: COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS SERVICING LP V MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INCORPORATED, et al. Please take notice that on Friday, January 7, 2011, you gave your deposition in the above-referred matter. At that time, you did not waive signature. It is now necessary that you sign your deposition. Please call our office at the below-listed number to schedule an appointment between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you do not read and sign the deposition within a reasonable time, the original, which has already been forwarded to the ordering attorney, may be filed with the Clerk of the Court. If you wish to waive your signature, sign your name in the blank at the bottom of this letter and return it to us. Very truly yours, _________________________________ Joyce L. Bluteau, RPR, FPR Consor & Associates Reporting and Transcription 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, Suite 500 West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 I do hereby waive my signature: _______________________________ PATRICIA ARANGO cc via transcript: file copy James Flanagan, Esq.
Page 81
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E R R A T A IN RE:
S H E E T
COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS SERVICING LP V MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INCORPORATED, et al.
DEPOSITION OF:
PATRICIA ARANGO
TAKEN:
01/07/2011
REPORTER: JOYCE L. BLUTEAU, RPR, FPR DO NOT WRITE ON TRANSCRIPT - ENTER CHANGES HERE PAGE # LINE # CHANGE REASON _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Please forward the original signed errata sheet to this office so that copies may be distributed to all parties. Under penalty of perjury, I declare that I have read my
23 24
deposition and that it is true and correct subject to any changes in form or substance entered here. DATE:_______ SIGNATURE OF DEPONENT:______________________
25

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Page 1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.

DEPOSITION OF PATRICIA ARANGO

address, please. A. A-R-A-N-G-O. Sure. My name's Patricia Arango,

Business address is Law Offices of Marshall

let me know, okay. A. Q. Okay. In your current position, do you supervise

My current duties are to supervise the

of Countrywide Home Loans? A. Q. No. Are you now an officer or director of

All right. No.

Are you a member of MERS?

making decisions for MERS? A. No.

became an agent of MERS. A.

MS. FRIEDMAN: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay.

And in 2007, who was the attorney in

MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: MS. FRIEDMAN:

Objection. Can you repeat it? Yeah. I was going to ask

notice of subpoena to provide certain documents.

All right. three documents.

And the first page that I have is

Do you see that?

Let's have that

BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. So Exhibit 1 is the Mortgage Electronic

Exhibit 1, okay. MS. FRIEDMAN: Just make it Composite

clarifies the agreement of all the parties involved in this case.

BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Exhibit 1, the corporate resolution that

MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS: states. BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay.

Join. I only know what the document

Were there any other corporate

Since that time, yes. Okay. What other financial institutions

Where is that information kept?

In my office. Is it in a file folder in a corporate -- or

Did you look in that file

You contend that Exhibit 1 is the document

Countrywide Financial Corporation

I've -- I don't remember at what point in

And this appears to give you and your

MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN:

Object to form. Object to the form. She's

I don't know how I'm supposed to feel

about whether I'm comfortable with the statement or not.

I can tell you they don't own

MR. ROSENQUEST: MS. FRIEDMAN: interest.

BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. A. Okay. What do you mean by own?

They are -- for instance, in this mortgage,

Let's have, just so you can refer to

initially as an original MERS mortgage? A. Q. Yes. It's an example of one, yes.

And at the time that that mortgage is

MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. ROSENQUEST: THE WITNESS: BY MR. FLANAGAN: Q. Okay.

Object to the form. Form.

How does MERS track the mortgage, to

I don't know how they do it.

about the note that's created with the mortgage?

This Judge made it very clear at the

You named her individually.

assignment of the mortgage by Ms. Arango. well beyond. MR. FLANAGAN:

Ms. Arango signed as an

MS. FRIEDMAN: MR. FLANAGAN: MS. FRIEDMAN: THE WITNESS:

I'm her attorney.

a unity of foreclosure in order -- a unity of title in ownership in order for a foreclosure to --