Mr. Lents may not be a perfect American when it comes down to business practices but it has nothing to do with the Law. The fact that he has not paid in 6 years brings another issue into play, the (SOL) Statue of Limitations in Florida for promissory or written notes is 5 years.
The plaintiff is now what is referred to as “time barred” so any further action by a Court action can be thrown out, dismissed if the defendant pursues on that defense.
But prior to the SOL he has every right to make the Plaintiff compel to the request for the “original note”!
You need to review the Florida Rules of Evidence to see that in civil issues the original wet copy is the only evidence that can be admitted into the court record as proof of debt. It’s quite clear!
Copies of a note or a loss note affidavit are not considered evidence and can be thrown out if the defendant objects as what Mr. Lents has done. So if the plaintiff doesn’t have the original note in their possession they are going to have to come up with a competent fact witness who has personal firsthand knowledge of the account. Not just that the account exists with that company but personal knowledge of transactions.
This will be impossible to do, most credit card companies try to this smoke and mirror trick all the time in court. That is someone who testifies through a written affidavit that they have personal firsthand knowledge the account exists and even shows statements.
But when it comes down to it that person must be present in court so the defendant can cross exam, if not statements and all affidavits can and will be thrown out if the defendant objects properly and timely.
Mr. Lents has a strong case by all the legal measure and I am following this very closely because this can be very damaging to all those greedy lenders who were caught playing the game. Foreign investors were hungry for mortgage backed securities back around 2004 but when they became scarce Banks started looking the other way when accepting applications, thus causing our mortgage meltdown today!
For those of you that want to argue the “moral issue” save that for the coffee house or bar. This is purely a legal issue and the Banks know it too! Just spend a few hours in a civil court session and watch the BS the lawyers pull with lying and cheating the system to win for the collectors/creditors. It’s unfortunate what they get away with, this is where the real crime is taking place!