Lenders Face Difficulties In Scramble To Find Qualified Attorneys Willing To Pick Up Dumped South Florida Foreclosure Mill's Caseload
In Plantation, Florida, the Daily Business Review reports:
- As the one-time largest plaintiffs foreclosure law firm in Florida, the Law Offices of David J. Stern at its peak handled 20 percent of all foreclosures in the state, processing more than 70,000 foreclosure cases on behalf of major lenders like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase in 2009.
- Now that the Plantation law firm has been dropped by a number of lenders and servicers including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ex-clients are scrambling to find law firms and lawyers to fill the void.
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- But the replacement law firms haven't found it easy to find enough qualified law firms to take the work, and the transition has slowed a system already clogged with overwhelming numbers of cases. Some judges are not willing to delay cases due to the change in attorneys as Stern files are turned over to new
lawyers.(1) More and more counties are requiring in-person rather than telephonic hearings.
For more, see Lenders, Servicers Scramble to Shift Foreclosure Cases to New Firms (The head of one coverage attorney service has been swamped with requests but says there's a shortage of qualified attorneys).
(1) Reportedly, transitioning cases from Stern's firm to others has not been seamless, judging by one hearing. According to the story, some banks have assigned their main counsel as transition firms to farm out the work. That is the case with CitiMortgage, which handed Akerman Senterfitt 30,000 residential foreclosure files. According to a Nov. 23 hearing transcript obtained by the Daily Business Review, Edmund Whitson III, a Tampa-based Akerman attorney, pleaded with a Punta Gorda judge for a postponement on a 2-year-old foreclosure case, and the judge wasn't happy.
1 comment:
Whether or not some people never should have been given mortgage loans; and whether or not homeowners realize any legal basis to challenge foreclosures, it is urgently important to look white collar foreclosure activities! Also, illegal, fraudulent foreclosure causes useless deeds for property sales; title insurance denials, blight –and more. http://chn.ge/eU2zAm
Furthermore, some PREDATORY mortgage loans are issued for the very purpose of default so that properties can become flipped, repeatedly (hence blight); and lenders gain tax credits, mortgage-default insurance, and more! Additionally, too often, not only has the lender NOT filed foreclosure, certain homes wound up being flipped by the foreclosure mill lawyers who execute simulated auctions whereby “straw buyers” fraudulently “credit bid”!
White collar foreclosure fraud entails intentionally fraudulent foreclosures naming defunct mortgage companies, or having no ownership of notes; unfair fees beyond “Acceleration Clauses" that impairs borrowers’ ability to repay arrears; falsified Bankruptcy Court motions to “Lift Stay" for accomplishing"simulated" foreclosure auctions via “straw buyers." And lawsuits against foreclosure lawyers for fraud and “Unfair Debt Collection Practices," generates more lawyer fees.
Scores of homeowners do not contest foreclosures because of: not having knowledge of the law in order to recognize legally challengeable foreclosures or fraud; lack funds to pay for attorneys to represent them; homeowners are told to come to foreclosure auctions with money that they do not have, so they stay away from foreclosure auctions. It is extremely troubling that there are families living outdoors whose homes have been confiscated via real estate racketeering!
Foreclosure lawyers are officers of the court; knowledge of applicable laws and civil procedure is not required from mortgage lenders, nor loan servicers. In states that require judicial foreclosures, FORECLOSURE LAWYERS are the ones who file lawsuits to seize and sell property; and lawyers are responsible for filing and recording foreclosure property deeds. *Request for Congressional Foreclosure Panel to Examine Foreclosure Lawyers @ http://www.change.org/petitions/view/request_for_congressional_foreclosure_panel_to_examine_foreclosure_lawyers#
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