Clarification Of Judges' Legal, Ethical Duties In Hearing Uncontested Securitized Mortgage Foreclosure Cases To Be Addressed By Florida Task Force

The Miami Daily Business Review reports:

• Florida Supreme Court task force on home foreclosures plans to propose uniform case management and design a model mediation program to deal with the glut of foreclosure cases tying up the state’s legal system. In an interim report released this week, the task force said uniform statewide solutions are needed “to avoid a patchwork of independent and confusing requirements.” But the task force is short on details, making it difficult for those working on foreclosure cases to comment on the proposals.

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• The task force plans to offer recommendations that would be cost-effective and affordable while staying consistent with existing laws and policies. A pending issue is the “clarification of legal and ethical obligations of circuit judges in hearing uncontested securitized mortgage foreclosure cases.”

• Homeowner defense attorney Roy Oppenheim of Oppenheim Pilelsky in Weston seized on that point, claiming the constitutional rights of distressed homeowners may be sacrificed at the hands of overworked judges. “Why do we need clarifications if judges are really, really doing their jobs?” he asked. “It’s saying in a nice way that judges are not fulfilling constitutional obligations to protect those people not represented by counsel.”

• On Sunday, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported(1) foreclosure lawyers for lenders are giving false statements in court and the lies and errors are slipping past overworked judges.

For more, see Task force hopes to standardize management of excessive foreclosures.

(1) See Lies a new tool in foreclosure (Lawyers, in rush to regain properties, can exploit judges' workload). Also from the Sarasota Herald Tribune this week:

• Two minutes, and home goes away,
• Enforce letter of the law and check for little lies. EpsilonMissingDocsMtg