Chronic, Rubber-Stamping Florida Judge Once Again Draws Appellate Court Attention For Denying Plaintiff/Lenders' Motions To Cancel Foreclosure Sales

A recent ruling from a Florida appeals court brings renewed attention to the conduct of now-ex-Volusia County Circuit Court Judge John V. Doyle for issuing rubber-stamped denials of motions to cancel foreclosure sales filed by plaintiff/lenders and allowing foreclosure sales to take place (against the wishes of both the lenders and the homeowners).

Doyle's rubber-stamped denials of these motions have been the subject of three recent appeals heard by Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal. An excerpt from the most recent case (bold text is my emphasis, not in the original text):

• On May 12, 2009, LaSalle filed a motion to cancel/vacate foreclosure sale, stating: "Since the date of the entry of the Final Judgment of Foreclosure and the notice of sale, the borrowers have entered into a Non-FNMA Home Affordable Modification Program in an effort to retain their home and avoid the sale of their home."

• The trial court denied the motion without a hearing, using a "DENIED" stamp with a handwritten date of May 13, 2009. LaSalle then filed a renewed motion to cancel/vacate foreclosure sale, providing: "Since the date of the entry of the Final Judgment of Foreclosure and the notice of sale, the borrowers have entered into arrangements with the Plaintiff for a short sale of the property, which sale is scheduled to take place on May 20, 2009."

• A docket entry indicates that the trial court denied the renewed motion. On May 14, 2009, the foreclosure sale took place as scheduled, at which "Equitable Gain Inc." purchased the property for a bid of $8,000.00.

LaSalle then filed an objection to the sale and an emergency motion to vacate summary final judgment and to vacate foreclosure sale and to return funds to the third party purchaser. The trial court again denied LaSalle's objection and motion without a hearing, using the "DENIED" stamp with a handwritten date of May 20, 2009. LaSalle's subsequent motion for rehearing or in the alternative motion to vacate certificates of sale and title met with the same, rubber-stamped fate.

In addressing this problem, the 5th District Court of Appeal stated (bold text is my emphasis, not in the original text):

• This case is virtually identical in all material respects to two other cases recently before this Court. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. Bjeljac, 17 So. 3d 862 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Lupica, 17 So. 3d 864 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009). The trial judge was the same in all three of these cases and the procedure he consistently followed is the problem.

• In the U.S. Bank case, the lender sought to cancel and to reset a scheduled foreclosure sale, which the court denied without a hearing using a "DENIED" stamp. The lender's subsequent Objection to Sale, Motion to Return Third Party Funds, to Vacate Certificate of Sale and to Set Aside Foreclosure Sale met the exact same fate.

• In the Wells Fargo case, the lender initially sought to cancel the foreclosure sale before it occurred, representing to the court that a modification agreement had been reached with the defendant homeowners. This motion was denied without a hearing, using a "DENIED" stamp. Thereafter, Wells Fargo filed a Motion to Vacate the Foreclosure Sale, again attempting to enter into a forbearance agreement with the defendant homeowner that would provide them with the opportunity to save their home. As with all the other motions, no hearing and a simple "DENIED" stamp disposed of the motion.

• In this case, as in the Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank cases, there is nothing establishing that the documents bearing these executed "denied" stamps were filed with the clerk of the court or when they were filed. As with the Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank cases, these orders cannot be considered properly rendered or final. We elect to treat this matter as a premature appeal and relinquish jurisdiction to the trial court for a period of thirty days for properly rendered orders.(1)

• Because the trial judge involved in these cases is no longer on the bench, the successor judge will necessarily have to consider the motions de novo.

• In this case, as in the Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank cases, there is also no reason we can discern why denial of the plaintiff lender's repeated motions to cancel the foreclosure sale should not have been granted, and the procedure followed by the trial judge leaves us in doubt that the motions were given any merits consideration. Accordingly, in order to enable meaningful appellate review, if the trial court again denies LaSalle's motions, it must provide reasons.

For the latest of the three rulings, see LaSalle Bank National Association v. Alicea, Case No. 5D09-2129 (Fla. 5th DCA, May 21, 2010).

(1) The appeals court expressed some empathy in their ruling in the U.S. Bank case for overworked trial judges, but stressed the importance of jurists refraining from the use of their rubber stamps when ruling on motions (bold text is my emphasis, not in the original text):

• We are mindful of the significant workload faced by Florida’s trial judges, particularly with the flood of foreclosures inundating the court system and the staff reductions necessitated by budget shortfalls. Nonetheless, for an appellate court to provide meaningful review of a trial court order, particularly when the trial court possesses significant discretion, some indication of the reasons underlying the trial court’s ruling is helpful. “It is not the function of an appellate court to cull the underlying record in an effort to locate findings and underlying reasons which would support the order.” Jacques v. Jacques, 609 So. 2d 74, 75 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). Here, the trial court’s “denied” stamp does not help us determine if the trial judge abused his discretion or not. Some basis for the ruling would be instructive both to the parties and this Court.