William Davison

8/7/2019 William Davison

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Florida Court Reporting 561-689-0999

1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURTOF THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

2 IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDACASE NO.: 2010 CA 002652 (AW)

3U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

4 AS TRUSTEE FOR RALI 2006QS2

5 Plaintiff,

6 Vs.

7 WILLIAM DAVISON,

8 Defendant.

9 _____________________________________/

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13 * * * * * * * *

14 DEPOSITION OF MARLIN KNAPP

15 TAKEN AT THE INSTANCE OF THE DEFENDANT

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20 DATE: February 23, 2011

21 PLACE: 2041 Vista Parkway

22 Suite 102

23 West Palm Beach, Florida 33411

24 TIME: 4:11 - 4:40 o'clock p.m.

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1 APPEARANCES:

2 FLORIDA DEFAULT LAW GROUP, PL9119 Corporate Lake Drive

3 Suite 300Tampa, FL 33634

4 813-342-2200; fax 813-251-1541Attorneys for the Plaintiff(s)5 BY: ELIZABETH A. WULFF, ESQUIRE

[email protected]

JOSEPH MANCILLA, ESQUIRE7 [email protected]

8KORTE & WORTMAN

9 2041 Vista Parkway

Suite 10210 West Palm Beach, FL 33411561-228-6200; fax 561-228-6202

11 Attorney for the Defendant(s)BY: BRIAN KORTE, ESQUIRE

12 [email protected]

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1MARLIN KNAPP 4

2 DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. KORTE 4

3Defendant's Exhibit Nos. 3&4 marked for 4

4 identificationDefendant's Exhibit No. 1 marked for 55 identification

Defendant's Exhibit No. 2 marked for 106 identification

Defendant's Exhibit No. 5 marked for 147 identification

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1 The deposition of MARLIN KNAPP, witness, was taken

2 before me, Rachele Cibula, Notary Public, State of

3 Florida at large, 2041 Vista Parkway, Suite 102, in the

4 City of West Palm Beach, County of Palm Beach, State of

5 Florida, pursuant to notice in said cause for the

6 purpose of taking said deposition at the instance of the

7 Defendant in the above-styled action pending in the

8 above-named Court.

9 THEREUPON,

10 MARLIN KNAPP,

11 being by me first duly sworn to testify the whole truth

12 as is hereinafter certified, testifies as follows:

13 (Defendant's Exhibit Nos. 3&4 marked for

14 identification.)

15 DIRECT EXAMINATION

16 BY MR. KORTE:

17 Q. Sir, you've been called to testify; and you've

18 been produced as a witness in a particular case called

19 U.S. Bank versus William Davison?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. What capacity are you here for, sir?

22 A. Yes.

23 Q. Do you know what capacity you're here for?

24 You're here as the person with the most knowledge of the

25 affidavit of indebtedness, correct?


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1 A. Yes.

2 Q. Person with the most knowledge of the trust?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. The person with the most knowledge of the

5 assignment of the note?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. And transfer of the note, correct?

8 A. Yes.

9 Q. And circumstances surrounding the lost note?

10 A. Yes.

11 (Defendant's Exhibit No. 1 marked for identification.)

12 BY MR. KORTE:

13 Q. I'm going to hand you what's been marked as

14 Defendant's 1. Can you tell me what that document is,

15 sir?

16 A. That appears to be the complaint.

17 Q. Can you tell me who the Plaintiff is in that

18 case?

19 A. U.S. Bank National Association as Trustee for

20 RALI 2006QS2.

21 Q. What's your relationship to the Plaintiff?

22 A. We are servicer.

23 Q. When you say, a servicer, how did you become a

24 servicer?

25 A. We were awarded servicing rights.


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1 Q. I'm sorry. When you say, "we -- we've done a lot

2 of these depositions. You work for?

3 A. GMAC Mortgage, LLC.

4 Q. It's your position that GMAC Mortgage, LLC, is

5 the servicer for U.S. Bank National Association Trust?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. When did it become the servicer?

8 A. December 23, 2005.

9 Q. Who did it take over servicing rights from?

10 A. I'm not sure.

11 Q. As the person with the most knowledge of the

12 trust, have you had an opportunity to review the trust

13 documents in this particular case?

14 A. No.

15 Q. What documents have you had an opportunity to

16 review before coming here today as the person with the

17 most knowledge of the trust?

18 A. Reviewed a copy of the promissory note, the

19 mortgage, system notes and payment history. And I think

20 that's about it.

21 Q. Did you speak to anybody at the trust?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Have you ever spoken to anybody at the trust?

24 A. Not to my knowledge.

25 Q. Have you had any communication with anybody at


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1 the trust?

2 A. No.

3 Q. How did you become the person with the most

4 knowledge of the trust?

5 A. Well, if there's any questions you have, I'd be

6 willing to discuss those with you.

7 Q. I'm asking how did you get designated as the

8 person with the most knowledge?

9 A. I was designated as the person with the most

10 knowledge of the total items asked in the deposition.

11 Q. Well, how did you come to be designated the

12 person with the most knowledge regarding the trust

13 agreement?

14 A. I'm not sure.

15 Q. Did you get any specialized training or education

16 to become that person?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Were you given an opportunity to review trust

19 documents?

20 A. I had the opportunity.

21 Q. Did you take the opportunity?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Did anybody come to you and teach you about the

24 trust other than your lawyers?

25 A. No.


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1 Q. Would it be fair to say you don't know much about

2 the trust?

3 A. I don't know many specifics about the trust.

4 Q. Let's make it a little more clear then.

5 Do you know who the parties are to the trust?

6 A. The trustee is U.S. Bank National Association as

7 Trustee.

8 Q. You know that by reading the style of the case?

9 A. Yes.

10 Q. Before reading the style of the case, did you

11 know that they were a party?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do you know who the depositor was?

14 A. I don't recall right now.

15 Q. Have you ever known who the depositor was?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Did you ever look at any of the addendums to the

18 trust?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Did you ever have an opportunity to look at the

21 exhibit to the trust which lists each and every loan

22 contained in the trust?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Do you know what the open and close date are of

25 the trust?


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1 A. No.

2 Q. Do you know what section two of the trust deals

3 with?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Section three?

6 A. Not specifically.

7 Q. Do you know if GMAC is listed as the servicer of

8 the trust?

9 A. We are.

10 Q. You're specifically listed within the trust?

11 That's your understanding?

12 A. I didn't say that.

13 Q. Do you know who is listed as the servicer of the

14 trust?

15 A. Well, I think my statement was I'm -- we're the

16 sub-servicer for this mortgage --

17 Q. I understand that.

18 A. -- that we have.

19 Q. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you.

20 A. I'm sorry. Continue. I'm sorry.

21 Q. Do you know who the servicer is listed on the

22 trust?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Do you know what relationship GMAC has to the

25 trust, whether it's the master servicer, the


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1 sub-servicer or the special servicer?

2 A. We should be the sub-servicer.

3 Q. Are you specifically listed in the trust?

4 A. I'm not sure.

5 Q. What documents are you relying upon for your

6 claim that GMAC is the servicer?

7 A. The original promissory note.

8 Q. Anything else?

9 A. No other document.

10 MR. KORTE: I'm going to mark this as 2.


12 BY MR. KORTE:

13 Q. I hand you -- it's the notice of filing the

14 original note. Can you do me a favor and review that

15 document and the note and tell me where it says GMAC is

16 supposed to be the servicer?

17 A. I don't see that language.

18 Q. Well, I'd like you to keep Exhibit 2 handy. And

19 take a look at the note itself. Can you tell me who the

20 original maker of this note was?

21 A. Homecomings Financial Network, Incorporated.

22 Q. Can you tell me how the Plaintiff came into

23 possession of this note?

24 A. It appears that interest in the loan was

25 transferred to the trustee at least based on the


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1 endorsements on the note.

2 Q. Well, do you know when the original note was

3 physically transferred to the Plaintiff?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Are you aware that there is a lost-note component

6 to the complaint filed in this action?

7 A. I don't think there is one.

8 Q. Then you shouldn't be aware of it. Okay.

9 So do you know if this note was ever misplaced or

10 lost?

11 A. I'm not sure.

12 Q. Do you know when the endorsements contained on

13 the note in Exhibit --

14 A. I think it's 2.

15 Q. -- 2 were placed there?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do you see where it says, without resource, pay

18 to the order of Residential Funding Corporation on the

19 last page of Exhibit 2?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. What I'm asking is: Do you know whether or not

22 the part that reads Residential Funding Corporation was

23 made at the time of the endorsement or was affixed

24 thereafter?

25 A. I wouldn't be able to determine that.


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1 Q. Would you agree with me it doesn't look like it's

2 part of the same stamp that was done by Homecomings

3 Financial? It seems to be at an angle and a different

4 text.

5 A. It seems to be more bold than the other wording.

6 Q. As we sit here today, is there any way to

7 determine whether this was an endorsement in blank and

8 was later made specific or if it was a specific

9 endorsement made at the time?

10 A. I'm not sure if I'd be able to determine that.

11 Q. Do you know if Residential Funding ever took

12 possession of this note?

13 A. I'm not sure.

14 Q. As to the second endorsement contained on this

15 note, the one to U.S. Bank National Association as

16 Trustee, do you see that endorsement?

17 A. Yes.

18 Q. Do you know what date that was affixed?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Do you know specifically who that endorsement is

21 to?

22 A. The entity U.S. Bank National Association as

23 Trustee.

24 Q. But for which trust?

25 A. The specific information isn't contained on the


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1 endorsement or within that endorsement.

2 Q. By looking at this original note copy, is there

3 any way to determine whether or not there are other

4 endorsements contained on the back of the note that

5 aren't produced here?

6 A. I don't believe so from the copy.

7 Q. There's no way to determine the order in which

8 these endorsements were placed, is there?

9 A. I don't believe so.

10 Q. Have you had an opportunity to see the original

11 note?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do you have any indication on your system whether

14 or not these are blue-ink copies, or are they just

15 stamps?

16 A. I don't know.

17 Q. Do you know if the mortgage in this particular

18 case was ever sent to you -- to U.S. Bank, ever

19 assigned?

20 A. Specifically, right now, I do not know.

21 Q. In review of your system, do you have any

22 recollection of ever seeing an assignment of mortgage?

23 A. I don't recall one.

24 MR. KORTE: Go on break for a moment.

25 (Recess.)


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2 BY MR. KORTE:

3 Q. Let me hand you what has been mark as Defendant's

4 5. Have you ever seen that document before?

5 A. It looks very familiar. I don't specifically

6 remember whether I looked at it.

7 Q. Will you do me a favor and tell me what the date

8 of the assignment is.

9 A. January 11, 2010.

10 Q. When was this loan boarded to your system?

11 A. December 23, 2005.

12 Q. Do you know why there was a delay in the

13 execution of an assignment of mortgage?


15 Q. Who is that assignment of mortgage from?

16 A. MERS.

17 Q. As nominee for?

18 A. Homecomings Financial Network.

19 Q. I think you testified earlier -- maybe I'm wrong.

20 Tell me if I am -- that the note was taken from

21 Residential, Residential Funding.

22 A. Taken from -- I --

23 Q. From whom did the trust take assignment?

24 A. Well, ultimately, the loan or the interest in the

25 loan would have been transferred to the trust.


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1 Q. From whom did they get it?

2 A. I believe it went from Homecomings to Residential

3 Funding to trust.

4 Q. From whom is the assignment of mortgage made?

5 A. MERS.

6 Q. As nominee for?

7 A. Homecomings Financial.

8 Q. I think you testified a moment ago that the note

9 came from Residential Funding to the trust, correct?

10 A. At this point, I'm not specifically sure how the

11 loan -- or the interest in the loan ultimately reached

12 the trustee.

13 Q. You're the person with the most knowledge of the

14 assignment and of the trust. So how did it get there?

15 A. From MERS.

16 Q. The note and the mortgage got to the trust

17 through MERS. Is that your testimony, sir?

18 A. Well, I -- I don't think I have specifics on the

19 details on how it was transferred from -- or to the

20 trust.

21 Q. Who would have more knowledge than you about

22 that?

23 A. I do not know.

24 Q. You don't know how it got from the original maker

25 to the trust?


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1 A. I didn't participate in the transaction, so I'm

2 at a disadvantage there.

3 Q. Let's talk for a moment about damages in this

4 particular case. How did you calculate the principle

5 amount due?

6 A. There is a location on our mortgage serve

7 application that contains the principle amount.

8 Q. What does that do for us as far as the

9 calculation of damages of the principle amount?

10 A. From that location on our mortgage serve

11 application, you're able to see that the principle is

12 one hundred nineteen thousand four hundred and two

13 dollars and sixteen cents.

14 Q. Where does that number come from?

15 A. Ultimately?

16 Q. Yes.

17 A. From the -- from the originator or prior servicer

18 if that's not us.

19 Q. In this case, where did it come from?

20 A. I believe it was Homecomings Financial.

21 Q. What was done with the information upon receipt

22 of it?

23 A. It would have been entered into our system,

24 mortgage serve system.

25 Q. Anything else?


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1 A. The originals would have been sent to the

2 custodian. That's all I can recall.

3 Q. From those original boarded numbers, all of the

4 calculations would flow?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. When you calculate the interest amount, is that

7 taken from the note directly; or is that taken from

8 prior boarded information?

9 A. I'm not sure which -- I'm not sure which one they

10 use, actually.

11 Q. In this case, how did you calculate the interest

12 that was due?

13 A. There is a per diem of twenty-one dollars and

14 twenty-six cents due from the date of default.

15 Q. How was the per diem calculated?

16 A. Unpaid principle balance times the interest rate

17 divided into three hundred and sixty-five days.

18 Q. Is this a fixed-rate note?

19 A. Yes.

20 Q. Going back to Exhibit 5, do you know of any entry

21 or document reflecting GMAC contacting MERS requesting a

22 mortgage assignment to be issued?

23 A. I don't recall seeing that information.

24 Q. Do you know if that was done?

25 A. I don't know.


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1 Q. Do you know why Homecomings would have caused an

2 assignment of mortgage to be issued to the Plaintiff?

3 A. I'm not, specifically.

4 Q. Do you know if Homecomings was still in business

5 at the time this assignment was made?

6 A. It's my understanding Homecomings Financial was

7 essentially not functioning on January 11th of 2010.

8 Q. Do you know how Homecomings caused an assignment

9 of mortgage to be issued to the Plaintiff if they

10 weren't functioning on the day of the assignment?


12 Q. Do you see who signed this assignment of

13 mortgage?

14 A. Yes.

15 Q. Can you tell me who signed it?

16 A. Jeffrey Stephan and -- I think it's Jeffrey

17 Stephan.

18 Q. Is Jeffrey Stephan on employee of GMAC?

19 A. Yes.

20 Q. Is he a vice president of GMAC?

21 A. Not to my knowledge.

22 Q. In what capacity did he sign this assignment of

23 mortgage, if you can tell?

24 A. The wording on the assignment is listed as

25 Jeffrey Stephan, Vice President.


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1 Q. In what capacity is he assigning? For what

2 business is he assigning, if you know?

3 A. I believe he's signing on behalf of MERS.

4 Q. Do you have any knowledge if Mr. Stephan works

5 for MERS?

6 A. I don't have any knowledge that he does work for

7 MERS.

8 Q. Do you have any knowledge that he doesn't?

9 A. Not necessarily.

10 Q. Sir, in your capacity, in your employment with

11 GMAC, would it be fair to say that you do not work in

12 the servicing arm; but you, in fact, work in the

13 litigation arm?

14 A. There are -- generally, they're all under the

15 same umbrella.

16 Q. Do you post payments every day in your business?

17 A. No, I do not.

18 Q. Do you process escrow requests?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Would it be fair to say that your involvement in

21 this particular note arose at the time of the

22 litigation?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. When did you first become involved in this

25 litigation?


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1 A. About a month ago.

2 Q. That would be after the case was filed?

3 A. I believe so.

4 Q. Have you done any posting of payments or -- has

5 this person done escrows or other servicing work in this

6 particular file?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Would it be fair to say you merely supported the

9 lawyers litigating this file, provided testimony as the

10 designee?

11 A. Yes.

12 MR. KORTE: I have nothing further.

13 MS. WULFF: No questions.

14 MR. KORTE: I'll take it.

15 MR. MANCILLA: We'll read it.

16 (Proceedings concluded at 4:40 o'clock p.m.)

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1 CERTIFICATE OF OATH

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3 STATE OF FLORIDA

4 COUNTY OF PALM BEACH

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6 I, Rachele L. Cibula, the undersigned authority,

7 certify that MARLIN KNAPP personally appeared before me

8 and was duly sworn.

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10 Witness my hand and official seal this 1st day of

11 March, 2011.

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19 _____________________________

20 RACHELE CIBULANotary Public, State of Florida

21 My Commission #DDExpires: December 3, 2011

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1 RULE 1.310 FLORIDA RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE PROVIDES

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3 (E) ANY CHANGES IN THE FORM OR SUBSTANCE WHICH THE

4 WITNESS DESIRES TO MAKE SHALL BE ENTERED UPON THE

5 DEPOSITION BY THE OFFICER WITH A STATEMENT OF THE

6 REASONS GIVEN BY THE WITNESS FOR MAKING THEM.

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8 PAGE LINE CHANGE REASON

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William Davison