Consumer Finance Litigation

In OneWest Bank, FSB v. Gino Alessio, et al., 4D14-1444 (Fla. 4th DCA Jan. 6, 2014), the Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a trial judge's order dismissing a foreclosure after the defendant improperly used a motion in limine to exclude the bank's sole witness and procured dismissal of the action. While the trial court's order was ostensibly a sanction for violating the pre-trial order's requirements regarding witness and exhibit lists, the Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed because the trial court failed to consider the factors set forth in the Florida Supreme Court's ...