Foreclosure Mill Shutdown Leaves Mess Behind For Tampa-Area Court System

In Tampa, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:

• As many as 20,000 foreclosure cases in the Tampa Bay area have been left in limbo by the virtual collapse of the David J. Stern Law Firm, once Florida's most prolific foreclosure "mill.'' The firm's implosion gives many borrowers at least a temporary reprieve from foreclosure and means that thousands of cases could be dismissed unless lenders quickly hire other attorneys.

• "It's a mess,'' Pinellas-Pasco Chief Judge Thomas McGrady said Tuesday. In a letter dated March 4, Stern notified McGrady and other chief judges that as of March 31 the firm will end its involvement in all 100,000 foreclosure cases statewide in which it is still listed as attorney of record. Bank of America and other Stern clients jettisoned the firm last year because of its allegedly sloppy, fraudulent practices, but in many cases have yet to hire anyone to replace him.

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• Attached to each letter was a list of Stern cases in that particular judicial circuit. In Pinellas-Pasco, the list is 251 pages with a total of about 10,000 cases — a third of all pending foreclosures.

• McGrady said his staff is working on orders requiring banks to show cause why their foreclosure suits should not be dismissed if they fail to get timely substitute counsel. In some cases, McGrady said, a new attorney has appeared but without proper legal authority. In other cases, more than one law firm has claimed to represent the same bank. "Then what do we do?'' he asked.

• In Hillsborough County, Stern is still attorney of record in just under 10,000 cases, of a total of 25,000 pending foreclosure suits. Chief Judge Manuel Menendez Jr. said he doubts that Stern's letter frees him from the responsibility of legally withdrawing from the cases. "You can't just walk away,'' Menendez said. "I think he's written the letter in attempt to circumvent the rules of judicial administration.''

For more, see Collapse of David J. Stern law firm throws foreclosure courts into disarray.