U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, ETC. VS. CHRISTINE COPPOLA F-020791-13, ESSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-0008-16T3

Christine Coppola obtained a $371,000 mortgage in 2006 from NJ Lenders; mortgage named MERS as nominee for NJ Lenders.
NJ Lenders indorsed and delivered the promissory note to Wells Fargo, which acted as document custodian and loan servicer.
The mortgage was assigned to U.S. Bank (plaintiff) before plaintiff filed the foreclosure complaint in January 2013.
Defendants defaulted, and plaintiff commenced foreclosure; a bench trial was held in May 2015.
A Wells Fargo loan verification analyst authenticated documentary evidence; the trial court found that evidence sufficient and held plaintiff had standing to foreclose.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether plaintiff had standing to foreclose	U.S. Bank possessed the rights to enforce the note as a non-holder in possession and had an assignment of the mortgage before suit	Coppola argued plaintiff did not own the underlying debt and thus lacked standing	Court held plaintiff was a non-holder in possession with the rights of a holder and had standing because the note was delivered to Wells Fargo and the mortgage was assigned before filing

Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas v. Angeles, 428 N.J. Super. 315 (App. Div. 2012) (reviews standard of appellate deference to trial court in foreclosure/standing matters)
U.S. Bank Nat'l Assoc. v. Guillaume, 209 N.J. 449 (2012) (standard for abuse of discretion review explained)
Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co. v. Mitchell, 422 N.J. Super. 214 (App. Div. 2011) (standing requires ownership or control of underlying debt; discusses negotiation and indorsement)
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Ford, 418 N.J. Super. 592 (App. Div. 2011) (authentication and indorsement requirements for negotiable instruments in foreclosure context)
Iliadis v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 191 N.J. 88 (2007) (standard for abuse of discretion quoted)