HSBC Bank USA v. Brinson

2023 Ohio 1462, 214 N.E.3d 85
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 3, 2023
Docket30250
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2023 Ohio 1462 (HSBC Bank USA v. Brinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
HSBC Bank USA v. Brinson, 2023 Ohio 1462, 214 N.E.3d 85 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

[Cite as HSBC Bank USA v. Brinson, 2023-Ohio-1462.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

HSBC BANK USA C.A. No. 30250

Appellee

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE EVIS BRINSON, et al. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO Appellants CASE No. CV 2019-10-4167

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: May 3, 2023

STEVENSON, Judge.

{¶1} Defendants-Appellants, Alisha and Evis Brinson (“Brinsons”), appeal from the

judgment of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas in favor of Appellee, HSBC Bank USA,

National Association Trustee for Deutsche ALT-A Securities, Inc. Mortgage Loan Trust, Series

2007-AR3 Mortgage Pass Through Certificate (“HSBC”). For the reasons that follow, this Court

affirms.

I.

{¶2} On October 19, 2006, Appellant Evis Brinson executed a promissory note (“Note”)

in the amount of $440,000.00 to Quicken Loans, Inc (“Quicken”). The Note was indorsed from

Quicken to IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. (“IndyMac”) who indorsed the Note in blank. The Note was

then transferred to HSBC. HSBC obtained possession of the Note on January 8, 2007, when it

was delivered to its records custodian, Deutsche Bank (“Deutsche”). HSBC remained in

possession of the Note until July 30, 2014, when Deutsche, as custodian, delivered the note to 2

HSBC’s loan servicing agent, Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC (“Ocwen”). On June 17, 2019, Ocwen

delivered the Note to Blank Rome, LLP (“Blank Rome”), where it was received by Attorney

William Purtell, HSBC’s counsel. The law firm of Manley, Deas, and Kochalski (“MDK”)

received the Note from Blank Rome, LLP on October 19, 2019.

{¶3} To secure repayment of the Note, the Brinsons executed and delivered a mortgage

(“Mortgage”) encumbering the property located at 292 Greensfield Lane, Copley, OH, 44321 to

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”), solely as nominee for Quicken and

Quicken’s successors and assigns. MERS assigned the Note and Mortgage to HSBC Bank USA,

National Association as Trustee For DALT 2007-AR3 (“HSBC-DALT”) through an “Assignment

of Note and Mortgage” that was executed on February 25, 2010 (“MERS Assignment”).

{¶4} On November 10, 2010, and again on September 1, 2013, IndyMac Mortgage

Services (“IndyMac Mortgage”) entered into loan modifications with the Brinsons with MERS as

the nominee for the lender and IndyMac Mortgage as the servicer. HSBC-DALT assigned the

Mortgage to HSBC through a “Corporate Assignment of Mortgage” that was executed on July 30,

2015 (“HSBC Assignment”). That assignment was made simply to recognize a change in

nomenclature. The assignee and assignor in the HSBC assignment are one and the same entity.

{¶5} In 2015, HSBC filed a complaint to foreclose on the Brinsons’ Mortgage and to

obtain judgment on the Note executed by Evis Brinson. HSBC moved for summary judgment.

The Brinsons opposed the motion based on HSBC’s lack of standing. The trial court granted

HSBC’s motion and the Brinsons appealed. This Court reversed and remanded, concluding that

the trial court erred in granting HSBC’s motion for summary judgment because HSBC failed to

demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact regarding the chain of title for the Note 3

and Mortgage and its standing to enforce the Note and foreclose on the Mortgage. HSBC Bank

USA v. Brinson, 9th Dist. Summit No. 28782, 2018-Ohio-3467, ¶ 24 (“Brinson I”).

{¶6} On remand, HSBC renewed its motion for summary judgment. The Brinsons

opposed the motion and moved to dismiss the complaint. The trial court dismissed the case without

prejudice due to HSBC’s lack of standing, stating that the documents attached to the complaint did

not support an unbroken chain of title to the note and mortgage as required under Brinson I. HSBC

Bank USA v. Brinson, Summit C.P. No. CV-2015-10-4994 (Oct. 31, 2018).

{¶7} On October 19, 2019, HSBC filed another complaint in foreclosure. HSBC moved

for summary judgment. The Brinsons opposed the motion and filed a cross-motion for summary

judgment. The trial court granted HSBC’s motion, denied the Brinsons’ cross-motion, and entered

a decree of foreclosure. The Brinsons appealed. This Court dismissed the appeal for lack of a final

appealable order, finding that the decree of foreclosure failed to resolve all the issues and was not

a final decree; specifically, the order appealed did not set forth the amount due to the State of Ohio,

Department of Taxation.

{¶8} HSBC then moved the trial court to amend its decree of foreclosure. The United

States and the City of Akron filed amended answers to reflect their current lien status. On February

9, 2022, the trial court entered an amended decree to correct the error in its previous entry to

include the amount due to the State of Ohio. In the amended decree, consistent with the original

decree, the trial court granted HSBC’s motion for summary judgment and denied the Brinsons’

cross-motion for summary judgment, finding that there was no genuine issue of material fact

regarding HSBC’s standing to maintain the foreclosure action.

{¶9} The Brinsons timely appealed and assert four assignments of error for our review. 4

II

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR I

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, WHEN PLAINTIFF COULD NOT ESTABLISH STANDING.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR II

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT WHEN PLAINTIFF’S CHAIN OF TITLE AND SUPPORTING AFFIDAVIT CONTAINED DISCREPANCIES WHICH CREATED A QUESTION OF MATERIAL FACT.

{¶10} As the first and second assignments of error both address the issue of whether the

trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of HSBC, they will be consolidated for

ease of analysis.

{¶11} Appellate courts consider an appeal from summary judgment under a de novo

standard of review. Grafton v. Ohio Edison Co., 77 Ohio St.3d 102, 105 (1996). This Court uses

the same standard that the trial court applies under Civ.R. 56(C), viewing the facts of the case in

the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and resolving any doubt in favor of the nonmoving

party. See Viock v. Stowe Woodward Co., 13 Ohio App.3d 7, 12 (6th Dist.1983). Accordingly, this

Court stands in the shoes of the trial court and conducts an independent review of the record.

{¶12} Summary judgment is proper under Civ.R. 56 when: (1) no genuine issue as to any

material fact exists; (2) the party moving for summary judgment is entitled to judgment as a matter

of law; and (3) viewing the evidence most strongly in favor of the nonmoving party, reasonable

minds can only reach one conclusion, and that conclusion is adverse to the nonmoving party.

Civ.R. 56(C); Temple v. Wean United, Inc., 50 Ohio St.2d 317, 327 (1977). 5

{¶13} Summary judgment consists of a burden-shifting framework. The movant bears

the initial burden of demonstrating the absence of genuine issues of material fact concerning the

essential elements of the nonmoving party’s case. Dresher v. Burt, 75 Ohio St.3d 292 (1996).

Specifically, the moving party must support the motion by pointing to some evidence in the record

of the type listed in Civ.R. 56(C). Id. at 292-293. Once the moving party satisfies this burden, the

nonmoving party has a reciprocal burden to “set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine

issue for trial.” Id. at 293, quoting Civ.R. 56(E).

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Bluebook (online)
2023 Ohio 1462, 214 N.E.3d 85, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hsbc-bank-usa-v-brinson-ohioctapp-2023.