Fla. AG Seeks State High Court Ruling On Applicability Of Deceptive Practices Law To Attorneys Creating, Using Invalid Assignments In F'closure Cases

In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:

• Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi wants the Supreme Court to weigh in on her failed bids to investigate foreclosure law firms, saying unlawful practices have put homeowners "at considerable risk."



• In what one lawmaker called Bondi's first aggressive move against so-called "foreclosure mills", she filed a request Wednesday for the 4th District Court of Appeal to send a query to Supreme Court justices about her investigatory authority.



• State subpoenas against the Law Offices of David J. Stern and the Boca Raton based-Shapiro and Fishman, were quashed in the 4th DCA with judges ruling the state has no power to pursue firms under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices. The losses effectively killed the state's ability to pursue civil charges against seven Florida firms currently under investigation.



• While this week's request is just the first step in getting a Supreme Court decision, some foreclosure defense attorneys and lawmakers lauded the move, saying high court rulings are needed to sort out the state's foreclosure morass.

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• At issue in Bondi's request is whether the creation of invalid assignments of mortgages by a law firm and the use of the documents in court is an unfair or deceptive trade practice subject to state investigation.



• Assignments of mortgage are typically issued to banks as a way to show ownership. They have played a bigger role in foreclosure cases since the real estate bust as the chain of ownership records were obscured when loans were securitized.



• Earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court took the unusual step of deciding to take up an already settled foreclosure case involving an allegedly backdated assignment. The opinion, the majority of justices wrote, could impact the "mortgage foreclosure crisis throughout this state."

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• Bondi is besieged by critics who say she has been apathetic about the foreclosure investigations she mostly inherited from former Attorney General Bill McCollum. The furor came to a head over the summer when it was learned two of the leading foreclosure investigators had been forced to resign despite stellar performance evaluations.

For the story, see Florida's AG files motion requesting Supreme Court decision on foreclosure cases.