2nd South Florida Foreclosure Mill Bites Dust; Outfit Cuts Loose Another 146 Employess As State Bar Confirms Pending Probe Into Firm's Partners

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:

• A second South Florida law firm is shuttering its foreclosure business following a three-month fall from grace marked by a contempt of court charge against the firm's co-founder and loss of major clients. The Fort Lauderdale-based firm of Ben-Ezra & Katz gave layoff notices to 146 employees Thursday, with another eight from its title agency receiving the same news, said a spokesman, Ray Casas.
• Once one of the larger so-called "foreclosure mills" in Florida with nearly 600 employees, Ben-Ezra & Katz has been cutting staff since February when it was fired by federal mortgage backer Fannie Mae. Before Thursday's announcement, the firm had already laid off 280 employees, according to records filed with the state.

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• A day after the Fannie Mae announcement, a Miami-Dade circuit judge found the firm's founding partner, Marc Ben-Ezra, in contempt of court for a shoddily handled foreclosure case.(1) The judge has yet to release a final written order and the firm has filed affidavits in its defense hoping to soften the blow.
• Kenneth Marvin, director of lawyer regulation for the Florida Bar, said Thursday it has open investigations into both Ben-Ezra and firm partner Marvin Katz.

For more, see Ending foreclosure business, Ben-Ezra lays off 154.

(1) See:

• "The Eleventh Judicial Circuit Does Not Have A Rocket Docket!" Says Judge As She Dismisses Foreclosure Action, Cancels Debt Over Sloppy Paperwork,
• Head Of Florida Foreclosure Mill Ordered Into Court To Explain Dubious Document Filings In Recently-Dismissed Suit.