In a recent opinion, Florida's Third District Court of Appeal affirmed that where a motion to substitute party plaintiff is granted but the complaint is not subsequently amended to reflect the substitution, the order of substitution was sufficient to confer the status of party plaintiff. See Van Tran v. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co., 2020 Fla. App. LEXIS 11323 (Fla. 3d DCA Aug. 12, 2020).
In Van Tran, OneWest Bank, FSB initiated a foreclosure action in 2009; Van Tran did not respond and default was entered. OneWest then moved to substitute Deutsche Bank as party plaintiff. The circuit court granted the motion, but no amended complaint was filed. Van Tran moved to vacate the judgment seven years later, asserting it was void due to the failure to amend.
The court reasoned that while the complaint was not formally amended, the substitution order and final judgment, served on all parties, conferred the status of party plaintiff on Deutsche Bank.
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