Florida Judiciary, State Bar Continue Attracting Media Attention Arising From Use Of Dubious Documents By Banks In Foreclosure Actions

AOL's DailyFinance reports:

• A Florida appeals court has asked Florida's Supreme Court to decide how much freedom trial judges have to punish banks that submit false foreclosure documents. Specifically, if fraudulent documents have been submitted, but nothing much has happened yet -- that is, if the documents haven't been used to get the court to do anything -- can courts prevent banks from using voluntary dismissals to avoid being punished for attempting to foreclose on homes using bad documents?

• The situation plays out like this: Bank submits obviously false documents when it starts the foreclosure action. The homeowner's attorney points out the problems and seeks to investigate the documents by deposing people, but rather than let that discovery go forward -- at least according to the dissenting appellate judge -- the bank takes the papers back, and voluntarily dismisses the case for awhile.

• Then some days, weeks or months later, the bank restarts the foreclosure proceedings with different documents that are not as obviously false -- though not necessarily genuine or accurate either.

• The question is this: Regardless of whether the second set of documents is true, should the courts be able to punish the bank for starting the proceedings fraudulently in the first place?

• Or can the banks seal off the bad documents -- and avoid being held accountable for the fraud against the court they represent -- by dropping that case and starting fresh later?

• The question isn't theoretical: Not only are fraudulent documents rampant in Florida, voluntary dismissals by the banks are happening by the thousands each month.

For more, see Will Florida Finally Punish Banks and Lawyers for Foreclosure Document Fraud?