SRMOF 2009-1 Trust v. Lewis, 2014 Ohio 71

Lewis signed a $141,600 promissory note with 7% interest on Nov 21, 2001 to buy a Trenton home; mortgage secures the note.
Mortgage chain: MERS as First Union nominee -> Wells Fargo (Wachovia successor) -> Selene Finance -> SRMOF 2009-1 Trust (Aug 24, 2011).
Trust filed foreclosure on Aug 31, 2011, attaching the original note endorsed in blank; later lost and replaced by a Lost Note Affidavit (Jul 2012).
Trust sought summary judgment; original note located and presented; court took judicial notice that the note had a blank endorsement and Trust possessed bearer paper.
Trial court granted summary judgment and issued an in rem Decree of Foreclosure (Oct 31, 2012); Lewis appealed both the judgment and the order granting summary judgment.
Appellate court affirmed standing and finality; Lewis challenged standing and vacatur of judgment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Standing to foreclose at filing	Trust had mortgage assignment before suit	Lewis argues lack of standing since no note at filing	Trust had standing via mortgage assignment prior to filing
Finality of judgment and enforceability of the decree	Judgment final despite not itemizing all charges	Judgment incomplete and not appealable	Judgment final; proper for appeal

Federal Home Loan Mtge. Corp. v. Schwartzwald, 134 Ohio St.3d 13 (2012-Ohio-5017) (plaintiff must have standing at time of filing; lack cannot be cured by post-filing events)
Bank of New York Mellon v. Burke, 2013-Ohio-2860 (2013-Ohio-2860) (standing may be shown by mortgage or note interest at filing)
CitiMortgage, Inc. v. Patterson, 2012-Ohio-5894 (2012-Ohio-5894) (standing by note or mortgage interest at filing)
Washington Mut. Bank, F.A. v. Wallace, 194 Ohio App.3d 549 (2011-Ohio-4174) (finality of foreclosure judgments without precise itemization of advances limited by precedent)
Sims v. First Horizon Loans, 2010-Ohio-847 (2010-Ohio-847) (precedent on redemption and itemization of advances in foreclosure)