SAXON MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC. v. PAULA HARRISON ET AL., 186 Md. App. 228

Summary

The mortgage servicer sued the depositary bank and the payor bank for conversion and negligence. The action concerned payment of a check issued by a property insurer to two mortgagors and a second mortgagee for fire damage. While the mortgage servicer's company first name was on the check as a co-payee, it had neither provided nor authorized the indorsement. The mortgage servicer belatedly disclosed in discovery evidence about its damages. The trial court then granted a motion in limine to bar admission of it. After a bench trial, the trial court granted judgment for the banks on the conversion claims and on the remaining negligence claim against the depositary bank. The intermediate appellate court found that (1) the belatedly-disclosed evidence was properly barred because it could have been provided earlier and was not; (2) a rebuttable presumption existed under Md. Code Ann., Com. Law § 3-420 (Supp. 2008) that the banks were liable to the mortgage servicer for the amount payable on ...