Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

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.

President of the Florida Bar, Mayane Downs, says that the Bar has seen an increase large increase in the number of complaints and investigations of attorney misconduct as a result of foreclosure fraud and some may pay the ultimate professional price, disbarment. The Florida Bar, the body responsible for monitoring and investigation attorney conduct, has seen the number of fraud cases and the number of attorney's under investigation rise from 28 investigations on 23 attorneys in 2010 to 222 investigations on 157 attorneys open so far in 2011.

The substance of the investigations are not made public but complaints normally range from forged signatures on court documents, forged notarizations on documents and other illegal and unscrupulous activities designed to speed up the foreclosure process. These investigations do not include the wide-ranging investigations into the 8 Florida "foreclosure mills" including the now defunct Law Offices of David J. Stern. Many foreclosure defense attorneys question why no one from any of the "foreclosure mills" has yet to be suspended or face professional sanctions as a result of the investigations.

Many attorneys didn't believe that the media allegations of foreclosure abuses would result in official investigations by the Florida Bar but that appears to not be the case. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit where one of the 8 "foreclosure mills" is opposing counsel, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

In an unexpected announcement, which coincides with the offering of a free continuing legal education seminar aimed at improving the foreclosure processes in Florida, the Florida Bar is now requiring all attorney's to notify foreclosure judges about potential fraud in their cases, including those cases that are closed and the home sold. With 1.2 million foreclosures being filed in the state of Florida since 2007 and countless accusations of fraud from the five Florida "foreclosure mills" no one can accurately estimate the impact on foreclosure cases in the state. This announcement represents the largest step toward preventing fraud the Florida Bar has ever taken.

Attorneys are now instructed to report the fraud to the court, but are instructed not to do so in a public court hearing. Instead, attorneys are instructed to ask for a private, "in camera", hearing with the judge in order to determine whether any fraud was perpetrated. Many foreclosure defense lawyers have bristled at the idea of more, private hearings and point to the fact that foreclosure hearings are civil matters and are, and should be, open to the public. It remains to be seen what judges will do once they are alerted to fraud, as the consequences range from doing nothing to dismissing the action.

A Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer hopes that this latest step to prevent fraud has a profound effect on foreclosure courts and Florida homeowners facing foreclosure. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

New Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is expanding the investigation into the foreclosure mess begun by her predecessor beyond the initial allegations of the falsification of court documents and widespread "robo-signing." The Attorney General's office did not give specifics as to which firms are facing allegations and nor did it indicate a timetable for the investigation to be finalized.

The investigation has now been expanded to include allegations of misconduct by attorneys and other staff who worked at the large Florida law firms many are now calling "foreclosure mills." In addition to the allegations of attorney misconduct, the investigation will include: law firms padding their bills in order to obtain higher final judgments for mortgage lenders during the foreclosure process, law firms filing foreclosure lawsuits before the lender or servicer actually shows it has an interest in the mortgage, lawyers and law firms routing business to title companies owned by other attorneys in their law firm, and lawyers presenting blank bills to the court that do not show the actual cost of their services.

A Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer is glad that the new Attorney General has continued, and even widened, the investigation into the practices of the notorious Florida "foreclosure mills." If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and want to see what defenses may be available to you, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

With 11 law schools located within Florida there is no shortage of new, young attorneys looking for work. Now many of those attorneys may face Florida Bar investigations as a result of their role in the foreclosure crisis that has gripped the state. More than 260 attorneys work at Florida's four largest "foreclosure mills" and 48 percent of those have been practicing for less than three years. Homeowners advocates are now beginning to place blame on these inexperienced attorneys by calling into questions whether the foreclosure crisis would have reached these levels if "novice lawyers" had not been doing the legal work.

After being laid-off from their positions at the Law Office of David J. Stern, many of the new attorneys have had little trouble finding work. The attorneys, many who had been employed by the firm for less than one year, have been scooped up by other existing "foreclosure mills" and other firms who are looking to create foreclosure practices.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit brought by one of the notorious Florida "foreclosure mils," contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to have your case reviewed to determine what defenses may be available to save your home.

With scores of complaints from Florida homeowners, foreclosure defense lawyers and investigations by both the Florida Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Congress, the Florida Bar says they are not getting formal complaints against attorneys who commit foreclosure fraud. While the Florida Bar has suspended or disbarred over 200 attorneys so far this year none have been a result of complaints of foreclosure fraud. But by taking several proactive steps, the Florida Bar thinks this trend will quickly change.

The head of the Florida Bar, Mayanne Downs, is now asking judges statewide to report any and all instances of foreclosure fraud or fraud on the court, including sending copies of orders judges write where they mention some form of misconduct. While judges will now be on the lookout for foreclosure fraud it is up to Florida homeowners and their attorneys to challenge the fraudulent behavior in front of the court so judges are aware that the fraud is happening. To deal with the anticipated increase in foreclosure fraud complaints the Bar has instituted a new category solely dedicated to tracking foreclosure fraud complaints. In the month of November, the Bar is already investigating 43 reports of foreclosure fraud.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you feel that a foreclosure fraud has been perpetrated against you, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary case review.

US Rep. Alan Grayson, asked the Chief Justice Charles T. Canady. of the Florida Supreme court to halt all foreclosures being handled by the law office of David J. Stern, Marshall C. Watson, and Shapiro & Fishman.

Here is a copy of his letter:

September 20, 2010

Chief Justice Charles T. Canady
Florida Supreme Court
500 South Duval Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1900

Dear Chief Justice Canady,

I am disturbed by the increasing reports of predatory 'foreclosure mills' in Florida. The New York Times and Mother Jones have both recently reported on the rampant and widespread practices of document fraud and forgery involved in mortgage assignments. My staff has spoken with multiple foreclosure specialists and attorneys in Florida who confirm these reports.

Three foreclosure mills - the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, Shapiro & Fishman, and the Law Offices of David J. Stern - constitute roughly 80% of all foreclosure proceedings in the state of Florida. All are under investigation by Attorney General Bill McCollum. If the reports I am hearing are true, the illegal foreclosures taking place represent the largest seizure of private property ever attempted by banks and government entities. This is lawlessness.

I respectfully request that you abate all foreclosures involving these firms until the Attorney General of the state of Florida has finished his investigations of those firms for document fraud.

I have included a court order, in which Chase, WAMU, and Shapiro and Fishman are excoriated by a judge for document fraud on the court. In this case, Chase attempted to foreclose on a home, when the mortgage note was actually owned by Fannie Mae.

Taking someone's home should not be done lightly. And it should certainly be done in accordance with the law.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Alan Grayson
Member of Congress

In Jacksonville theThe Times Union reported that Florida's Attorney General Bill McCollum launched an investigation on August 10th to determine whether or not three of Florida's largest foreclosure law firms are using unfair and deceptive trade practices. The three law firms that are being targeted in this probe are The Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A.; The Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, P.A.; and Shapiro & Fishman, LLP. This comes on the heels of McCollum initiating a similar investigation into the Florida Default Law Group and Fidelity National Financing, a Jacksonville-based corporation. It appears as if the state's Attorney General is finally getting fed up with the fraudulent practices of Florida's "foreclosure mills."

The unfair and deceptive trade practices used by these firms put homeowners at a severe disadvantage when they are attempting to save their home from foreclosure. If you or anybody you know has received a foreclosure notice from any of the law firms that have been named in this article, it is imperative that you contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or Florida Foreclosure Lawyer.

The office Attorney General Bill McCollum announced the investigation of the practices of three Florida foreclosure mills; The Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, P.A., Shapiro & Fishman, LLP and the Law Offices of David J. Stern. Foreclosure mills are large law firms hired by mortgage servicers to begin foreclosure lawsuits when homeowners are behind on their mortgages and these are three of the largest foreclosure mills that a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer has seen.

The investigations, which will be conducted by the Attorney General's Economic Crimes Division, center on allegations of the falsified documents being created and introduced in court proceedings in order to speed up the foreclosure process and obtain final judgments against potentially thousands of Florida homeowners. Subpoenas have already been served on each of these firms.

This investigation is just the latest step in the fight of Florida homeowners against banks and lenders who may improperly attempt to foreclose on your home. In order to protect your interests, you should contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today who can review the circumstances of your case and determine what defenses may be available to you.

Since May, the blog 4closureFraud.org, a project of the Law Offices of Carol C. Asbury, has done a very good job of chronicling the circumstances surrounding the Florida Attorney General's Office investigation of an assistant attorney general, Erin Collins Cullaro, and her relationship to one of Florida's largest foreclosure mills, Florida Default Law Group.

The investigation stems from the AG's investigation into Florida Default Law Group and its practice of "fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading documents in foreclosure cases" and the apparent inconsistencies in purported signatures of Erin Cullaro on various affidavits and Notary affirmations.

These are just a few of the examples of the types of brazen fraud that those who are attempting to foreclose on Florida homes are providing to the courts everyday. Banks and Mortgage companies have lawyers working for them to evict you from your home, it is in your best interest to contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer to fight your Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and save your home.

The 4closureFraud.org Blog has a comprehensive article on the Fraud.

To have your Florida Foreclosure reviewed for potential fraud by a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer by contacting us.

Circuit Judge J. Michael Traynor dismissed a St. John's foreclosure case filed by Florida Default Law Group (FDLG) because the bank that they named as owner of the note, U.S. Bank, did not own the note. FDLG then amended their complaint to name the correct mortgage holder, HSBC Bank, but falsely claimed that HSBC was a successor to U.S. Bank. Both of these claims were obviously false because U.S. Bank was never the holder of the note.

This may be a simple clerical error made by the FDLG, or it may not seeing that FDLG is currently being investigated by the economic crimes unit of the Florida Attorney General's Office. The Attorney General's website claims that FDLG "appears to be fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading documents in foreclosure cases." If your home is in foreclosure and Florida Default Law Group is involved in any way, protect yourself by contacting a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer

A Key West judge has dismissed a foreclosure lawsuit filed by the Florida Default Law Group (FDLG) filed on behalf of Bank of New York for failing to comply with the discovery requests of the Defendant. In response to the discovery request filed on behalf of the homeowner FDLG filed a Motion for Extension of Time for an indefinite period. FDLG did not respond to the homeowner's lawyer's good faith request about the length of time required under the extension. It was not until a year after the homeowner had filed their discovery request that FDLG finally replied by objecting to nearly everything that had been requested. The judge dismissed the case because FDLG had intentionally failed to comply with the discovery requests. FDLG cannot re-file the case unless it fully complies with the homeowner's discovery requests.

This is another victory for homeowners in foreclosure. Judges are beginning to tire of the lender's lack of compliance with the Rules of Civil Procedure in foreclosure cases. As the foreclosure filings continue to rise, hopefully we will see more judges take a stand against the unethical legal tactics employed by these lending companies.

Florida Default Law Group, one of the countries largest foreclosure law firms, is being investigated by the Florida Attorney General for filing false assignments of mortgages, affidavits and other court documents that have "later been shown to be legally inadequate and/or insufficient," according to a press release from the Florida Attorney Generals Office announcing the investigation.

Homeowners have filed dozens of complaints about Florida Default and their filing of questionable documents with the Attorney General's office. Florida Default is one of several "foreclosure mills" located in Florida that handle most of the foreclosure cases filed in the state. Most foreclosure cases aren't usually contested so "foreclosure mills" can generally get away with these fraudulent practices.

When the foreclosure cases are contested, Florida Foreclosure Lawyers request copies of the note and the mortgage to ensure that the lender bringing the suit actually owns the mortgage. These documents can be hard for the lenders to find because they have usually been sold several times so these types of law firms often times produce documents that were recorded long after the foreclosure lawsuit was filed, creating fraud.

If you have been served with a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you have concerns about the practices of your lender or their attorney's, contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer. Florida Foreclosure Lawyer know what to look for and can spot this type of violation and providing the homeowner with a defense to a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit.

The good news is that Foreclosure filings declined nationwide in May. The bad news is that foreclosure filing in the Jacksonville area have risen more than 55%. According to the Florida Times-Union, foreclosure filings in Jacksonville area rose from 2,415 in April to 3,789 in May. The sharp increase may have been caused by more homeowners trying to renegotiate their mortgages and falling victim to foreclosure or the fact that mediation between the lender and the borrower is now required in all residential foreclosure cases. Unfortunately for Jacksonville homeowners, foreclosure filings could continue to rise throughout the year due to high unemployment rates and the continuing failure of government mortgage-assistance programs.

Simply because you have been given a foreclosure notice does not mean that you automatically lose your home. In many cases a foreclosure lawsuit has legal defenses that a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer can advise you of. Many people are under the mistaken belief that they do not need to answer the lawsuit properly because of a scheduled mediation. This is not true and even if you elect to participate in a court ordered foreclosure mediation, you must respond timely to the foreclosure lawsuit. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer to discuss your options and rights.