Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

A while back, we wrote about Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was under fire for firing two attorneys who were leading foreclosure fraud investigations. Ms. Bondi was accused of firing the attorneys without proper cause. Ms. Bondi has now been cleared of any wrongdoing.

The investigation into the firings found that nobody in Ms. Bondi's office was guilty of wrongdoing; instead, the two foreclosure attorneys were fired for their misconduct in the office. One notable instance was a PowerPoint presentation the attorneys gave that contained false information regarding several cases. Later, one of the attorneys evidently emailed confidential information about pending cases to an outside source. The entire report can be found in the Miami Herald Blog.

The firing of the two attorneys may have slowed down some of the investigations into foreclosure fraud, but investigations remain ongoing. If you are facing foreclosure, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Attorney who can help you deal with the bank.

After about a year of decreased foreclosure filings due to the "robo-signing" scandal, where banks allegedly took property without properly reviewing the loan documents, the number of foreclosure filings are reportedly set to increase after lenders have supposedly taken the time to ensure that all their paperwork is in order. During that time off the number of foreclosures to be filed have mounted.

Over the last year, housing prices have maintained a slight yet steady increase. House prices in 20 U.S. cities rose 0.9% in July, making 4 consecutive months of increases, according to the S&P Case-Shiller index of home values. Nonetheless, that is still 4.1% below where values were a year ago. If foreclosed properties flood the market again, housing prices will most likely decrease again because banks price foreclosed homes towards selling quickly.

An increase in foreclosure filings has already been reported in this year's third quarter. A 0.3% increase was seen which reverses the decrease experienced in the last 3 consecutive quarters. Foreclosure filings reported include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

Unfortunately, "increased foreclosure filings will continue to erode house prices....the questions is, at what point do you reach the bottom of the market?" said Ed Delgado, a former Wells Fargo senior vice president and CEO of the Five Star Institute, a mortgage-education provider. Delgado does not see any recovery in the foreseeable future and is concerned bottom may not be until the third quarter of 2012.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, you may need help navigating the foreclosure process and today's housing market. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free review of your situation.

After about a year of decreased foreclosure filings due to the "robo-signing" scandal, where banks allegedly took property without properly reviewing the loan documents, the number of foreclosure filings are reportedly set to increase after lenders have supposedly taken the time to ensure that all their paperwork is in order. During that time off the number of foreclosures to be filed have mounted.

Over the last year, housing prices have maintained a slight yet steady increase. House prices in 20 U.S. cities rose 0.9% in July, making 4 consecutive months of increases, according to the S&P Case-Shiller index of home values. Nonetheless, that is still 4.1% below where values were a year ago. If foreclosed properties flood the market again, housing prices will most likely decrease again because banks price foreclosed homes towards selling quickly.

An increase in foreclosure filings has already been reported in this year's third quarter. A 0.3% increase was seen which reverses the decrease experienced in the last 3 consecutive quarters. Foreclosure filings reported include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

Unfortunately, "increased foreclosure filings will continue to erode house prices....the questions is, at what point do you reach the bottom of the market?" said Ed Delgado, a former Wells Fargo senior vice president and CEO of the Five Star Institute, a mortgage-education provider. Delgado does not see any recovery in the foreseeable future and is concerned bottom may not be until the third quarter of 2012.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, you may need help navigating the foreclosure process and today's housing market. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free review of your situation.

Plaintiff's seem to have sunk to a new low when trying to avoid responsibility for the contents of their mortgage foreclosure complaint...some plaintiff's believe that "verifying" complaint causes them to purger themselves! Now this particular issue is now before Florida Second District Court of Appeals.

The controversy arises from an order from a Pinellas County Florida court which dismissed Plaintiff's, U.S. Bank as trustee for a securitized mortgage trust, foreclosure complaint and order Plaintiff to file an amended complaint and instructed U.S. Bank to verify the complaint itself. Instead of merely reviewing the statements contained in the documents and verifying its complaint pursuant to Florida law, on December 12, U.S. Bank filed an appeal of the lower court's ruling asking to be exempted from the verification rule.

In its petition for writ of certiorari U.S. Bank states "in order for U.S. Bank to comply with the trial court order, it would be forced to commit perjury or altogether forego its right to pursue" its foreclosure case. We will have to see if the courts believe the argument that even though a foreclosure complaint can be brought in the name of an interested party, another party is the party with the actual knowledge of the issues and should verify a complaint.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today for a complimentary case review in order to determine what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

Now that the Law Offices of David J. Stern and Ben-Ezra & Katz are no longer Florida's foreclosure kings, law firms from other states are opening offices in Florida to seize some of Florida's foreclosure business that is now up for grabs. New foreclosure filings slowed significantly last year while foreclosure processing procedures were reconstructed by Fannie Mae and Feddie Mac.

The largest of the new firms, McCalla Raymer, based in Atlanta, GA, has opened four offices in Florida housing 21 attorneys in the last year. Other out-of-state firms include Brock & Scott from North Carolina, Ablitt Scofield from Massachusetts, Mark J. Udren & Associates from New Jersey,; and from Atlanta Aldridge Connors, Pendergast & Associates, and Phelan Hallinan & Schmieg. Most have chosen Fort Lauderdale as their base in South Florida.

Now that Fannie and Freddie have taken necessary steps to ensure all of its foreclosure paperwork is in order, they are now ready to begin filing foreclosures again. In addition to restricting their foreclosure processes, the mortgage giants have also changed the matter in which their hire law firms in Florida to file their foreclosures. This time around, in an attempt to not create another David Stern or Ben -Ezra, they plan to spread out the work among many firms and are even sitting in on attorney interviews. They are taking a more active role to make sure these firms follow proper procedures. Now included in Fannie Mae's contracts with loan servicers, the servicers will be responsible for monitoring and managing the conduct of foreclosure proceedings.

Facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, can be a very stressful and confusing period. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today. A Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer may be able to help you navigate through this difficult time and put you in the best financial position possible for your future. The initial consultation is free.

In early March, Freddie Mac cut ties with the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida based law firm they hired to handle some of their foreclosure files in Florida. The reason given for the firing is "foreclosure processing abuses." Freddie Mac's sister corporation, Fannie Mae has chosen to continue to use the firm, explaining it is just too costly to move their foreclosure files to new firms. After transferring their foreclosure files from the Law Offices of David J. Stern, Fannie Mae is expecting a $5.5 million bill.

The Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson is reported as handling 43% of Fannie Mae's foreclosure cases in Florida, according to a Federal Housing Finance Agency Spector General report. The report also criticized Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae for a lack of communication regarding problems within law firms retained to handle their foreclosure files. The report continues to state, "Freddie Mac has terminated law firms for poor performance, and Fannie Mae has retained the firms."

Fannie Mae first became aware of foreclosure abuses in 2003 from an investor, which were later confirmed in a 2006 report performed by Fannie Mae. The 2006 report found "foreclosure attorneys are routinely filing false pleadings and affidavits," and that "Fannie Mae has not authorized this unlawful conduct."

Following Freddie Mac's firing of the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, the firm signed a $2 million settlement agreement that ended a investigation in to the firm's foreclosure practices byFlorida Attorney General's Office. Currently, Freddie Mac has about $109 billion in unpaid home loan balances in Florida. Fannie Mae has an even greater balance of $180 billion.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit from Fannie Mae or the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free initial consultation to determine what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

After the Florida Bar News published an article about robo-signing in the mortgage industry in the September 15th edition, State Attorney Dennis Ward of the 16th Judicial Circuit in Florida has decided to take a closer look. For those of you not yet familiar with the term robo-signing, it is a practice where banks and their counsel create documents relating to foreclosures that are often questionable in nature and have low level employees sign them without verifying their contents or correctness. Since robo-signing has caught the attention of the media in late 2010, there has been a temporary decrease in foreclosure filings throughout the state of Florida.

Mr. Ward stated his ultimate concern is protecting the integrity of the legal system and land title records. He believes when a home owner is not paying their mortgage, the bank should be able to foreclose on the property as soon as possible; provided that banks do so with valid paper work and with regard to due process.

The continued abuses in foreclosure paperwork, which banks said were ended last year after they were put under great scrutiny, is what has grabbed Mr. Ward's attention. He also recognizes that his agency does not have the resources to address this issue fully and that it is better suited for Attorney General Pam Bondi. Nevertheless, it is time for State Attorneys' to address the issue however they can. Looking into the individuals who actually sign or file these questionable documents who know them to be false of intentionally deceptive is going to be State Attorney Ward's focus.

If you are facing foreclosure, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free case review in order to determine what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

In 2006, Fannie Mae hired an outside law firm to investigate allegations of misconduct by the firms it hired to file its foreclosure actions. The outside investigation revealed its foreclosure attorneys in Florida were sacrificing accuracy for speed by filing fraudulent court documents. Fannie Mae was put on notice in 2006 that its foreclosure attorneys working on their behalf were involved in "unlawful" practices, but sat by and did nothing.

Many Florida foreclosure defense attorneys are in agreement that further abuses by attorneys in the so-called foreclosure mills could have been detected and possibly prevented if Fannie Mae would have strengthened its oversight over its retained firms. Last fall's revelations of "robo-signed" documents and the chaos that followed could have been prevented.

The key players were the Plantation-based David J. Stern firm and Ben-Ezra & Katz in Fort Lauderdale. The Law Offices of David J. Stern was Fannie Mae's largest hired firm for Florida foreclosure cases. David J. Stern was fired by Fannie Mae in November 2010, after ex-employees divulged information state investigators that signatures on notarized documents were habitually forged, notary stamps were passed around to non-notaries, assignments of mortgages were created after foreclosure judgments were entered, and flawed files were hidden from federal auditors. David J. Stern, soon-there-after in March, laid off hundreds of employees and shut down its foreclosure practice. Around 100,000 foreclosure cases were left in a state of uncertainty as they waited to be reassigned to different law firms.

In February 2010, Fannie Mae fired Ben-Ezra & Katz. Ben-Ezra & Katz admitted they had found "technical paperwork issues" with is foreclosure files but maintained, "there is no issue of whether the information in the affected files is correct."

If Fannie Mae had practiced better oversight over their foreclosure cases in Florida and across the U.S., the broad reaching negative consequences we are experiencing today potentially could have been prevented. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to explore what foreclosure options may be available to you.

Florida is one of the hardest-hit foreclosure areas in the nation. Many Floridians have found themselves in the foreclosure trap: unemployment means lower income, which in turns means an inability to pay the mortgage. It's not that people are irresponsible; they simply cannot afford to pay the bills. Eventually, the bank moves for foreclosure.

Fortunately, you don't have to go through foreclosure alone. Hiring a knowledgeable Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney may be an important decision that can have enormous benefits. The foreclosure process can be confusing and is often frustrating, and an attorney can help guide you through the process.

Additionally, we have written in the past about the foreclosure fraud plaguing the process. If you have fallen victim to this fraud, a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney can file a suit on your behalf.

Don't face the banks alone. You have many options at your disposal, and you should have competent legal representation during your foreclosure process. Contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney today.

There are various reasons why a bank might volunteer to dismiss its foreclosure case; reasons can range from the fact you've entered a settlement with the bank or the bank has granted you a loan modification to they cannot correct the errors in their paperwork. But save for the amicable circumstances of voluntary dismissals, do not confuse the dismissal of a foreclosure with complete forgiveness from the bank. In fact a voluntary dismissal is often just the eye of the storm.

Banks, by and large, usually plan to re-file cases that they voluntarily dismiss. In most cases if you receive a dismissal it's due to the fact the bank has made an error in their documentation that creates a legal issue, such as lack of standing to bring the foreclosure. Once the discrepancy is fixed on the banks end, the case will likely be re-filed and the foreclosure will start over from the beginning. One might think this is unfair considering the high cost to defend the initial foreclosure, but the homeowner is not left without a remedy.

The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure provide that a prevailing party can ask the court to award costs and fees from the losing party. When one party dismisses a case, the opposing party is rendered the prevailing party and has a good case to collect fees under this rule. While the rule seems clear, some judges have been reluctant to impose the amount of fees necessary to cover the attorney's fees incurred by the homeowner.

For homeowners in Jacksonville and the surrounding areas, remember that it may be a good idea to contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense attorney if the prospect of Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit is on the horizon. Fast action is one of the most important steps to take when defending a foreclosure case.

Even though homeowners facing foreclosure in Florida have had to fight the expedited procedures of rocket docket and giant foreclosure mills trying to push thousands of foreclosures through the courts at a rapid pace, along with foreclosure processing companies creating and "robo-signing" fraudulent foreclosure documents, there are still over 125,000 properties in some stage of the foreclosure process in Florida.

In the first quarter of 2011, 1 in every 152 housing units in Florida were in foreclosure, which constitutes the lowest level the state has seen in the last four years. The drop in foreclosure numbers has done little to alleviate the foreclosure backlog in the courts. Some foreclosure observers point to the demise of the Law Offices of David J. Stern and its subsequent dumping of 100,000 active foreclosure cases into the Florida foreclosure system.

While Florida Foreclosure lawsuits appear to be on the decline, many experts are saying this may be the calm before another storm. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit now in the near future, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

Courts in Florida cleared greater than 200,000 of the backlogged foreclosure cases that were plaguing the system in 2010. These numbers represent a nearly 43% decline in outstanding foreclosure cases. The $6 million allocated by the Florida Legislature to establish the foreclosure "rocket docket" courts and clear the backlog but the effectiveness of the special courts have been called into question and the 2010 numbers evidence they may not have been as effective as the total number of disposed cases initially leads Floridians to believe.

Almost half of the disposed cases due disposed of due to dismissals by Plaintiff banks. Dismissals can occur for several reasons, ranging from a mutual agreement via mediation to voluntary dismissals on the part of bank. A total of 104,126 were dismissed in this fashion in 2010. Many foreclosure observers are pointing to two primary reasons for the high number of dismissals: 1) the voluntary dismissals on the part of banks due to errors or fraud in the creation of foreclosure related documents and 2) the closing of giant "foreclosure mill" the Law Offices of David J. Stern without officially withdrawing from its cases, which put thousands of cases in limbo.

The unfortunate thing that is hidden by this seeming relief from the foreclosure backlog is that most of the dismissed cases will be refiled. if you are currently facing, or will be facing in the near future, a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a St. Augustine Foreclosure Lawyer today for a free consultation to determine what foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

Apparently the office of the Florida Attorney General is becoming quite the place for attorneys to cut their teeth before moving on to more lucrative positions with many of the primary actors in the Florida foreclosure industry. In recent months, the director of the Economic Crimes Division for the Florida Attorney General's office has taken a position with "foreclosure mill" Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, a former deputy Attorney General has been hired by Lender Processing Services and a former Broward County Judge announced he was leaving his judicial post also to work with the Watson firm.

All the moves prompted assistant state attorney general Andrew Bennett Spark, of the Tampa office of economic crimes, to write a 16-page memo he distributed to several Florida media outlets. The memo outlines several concerns Mr. Spark has with the overall AG's office while focussing on the firing of two former state foreclosure investigators and the flight of staff members to foreclosure companies. Mr. Spark wrote "the people of the State of Florida are entitled to fair and honest government, independent of personal connections and powerful interests."

The Law Offices of Marshall C Watson has responded saying their hirings are within the ethics code and having such experienced counsel overseeing the litigation and compliance departments will "further enhance our practices" and prevent the unethical practices that were rampant in previous years.

If you are one of the thousands of Floridians facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free consultation to determine what foreclosure alternatives may be available to you.

The term "too big to fail" has been used to describe the strength of banks entrenched in the mortgage foreclosure battle with homeowners. Florida has become a sort of poster child in foreclosure cases where more residents enter foreclosure each day. For now, the momentum seems to be shifting in favor of the consumer especially in light of a new development from the Florida Bar charging Florida attorneys with the duty to disclose shoddy foreclosure paperwork to the Court.

This development was reported in a Florida Bar News article which details a meeting of the Bar's Professional Ethics Committee at the Bar's Annual Convention in June. The committee voted 20-6 to uphold a Bar staff opinion advising a lawyer representing a bank that the duty existed.

The lawyer posed this scenario to Bar staff: a bank uses two employees to review and prepare affidavits necessary in a foreclosure. Employee one personally verifies the figures in the affidavit and signs off in the presence of a notary. Employee two uses an assistant to verify figures but signs off as if she personally reviewed them, sometimes not even in the presence of a notary. The lawyer wanted to know if he was required to report this client's activities. He also asked whether that duty remained when the disclosure would not change the outcome of the case, or if the case was closed or pending.

The Ethics Committee responded by saying that it doesn't matter what stage the case is in, but that Florida Rule of Professional Conduct 4-3.3 Candor Toward the Tribunal makes shoddy documents "false evidence", and proper for disclosure without condition. The opinion also cites Rule 4-1.2(d) prohibiting assistance of criminal or fraudulent client conduct, Rule 4-3.4(b) that prohibits fabrication of evidence or assisting a witness in false testimony, Rule 4-8.4(a) prohibiting violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct or assisting another in doing so, Rule 4-8.4(c) barring an attorney from conduct that constitutes dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation and Rule 4-8.4(d) which prohibits a lawyer from conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice as violations for a failure to disclose faulty foreclosure docs.

The Bar's opinion concluded that the attorney should advise the client to correct the affidavits or that he would have to withdraw and disclose the issue to the Court. The attorney also should withdraw from further representing the client in cases where they refuse to disclose the truth, being careful to make minimal disclosures when doing so.

This is just the latest development in the fight against some of the unscrupulous tactics that many banks and their attorney's have been perpetrating for a number of years. A Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer hopes this latest measure by the Florida Bar stops many of those actions.

On May 20, 2011,two of the lead foreclosure fraud investigators in the Florida state Attorney General's Office were brought into a meeting and told to resign or that they would be let go immediately. The force-out occurred during a meeting between Theresa Edwards, June Clarkson and former South Florida bureau chief for the Economic Crimes Section of the attorney general's office Robert Julian, who relayed the information to the investigators. The move was an abrupt surprise to Edwards and Clarkson as they have been subjects of only stellar performance reviews in the past.

A Palm Beach Post article provides the details of just how astute these employees were. An April 22 performance review of Ms. Edwards by Mr. Julian is evidence to this. It reads:

"During this interim period, Ms. Edwards has, along with another attorney, achieved what is believed to be the first settlement in the United States relating to law firm foreclosure mills." It goes on to say, "her work has been instrumental in triggering a nationwide review of such practices." Ms. Clarkson received "above expectation" or "exceptional" rankings during a performance evaluation, given by Mr. Julian, on 14 out of 15 categories.

The duo was critical in securing a $2 million settlement from the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson back in March.

This force out has put the motivations of Florida Governor Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi under much scrutiny.No matter what Florida leaders decide to do there are still many people are fighting for homeowners' interests. If you are facing the realities of a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer as soon as possible to determine what options may be available.