Matt Weidner – Fighting With The American People

Posts Tagged ‘hb 1523’

Good work everyone!

News outlets across the state are picking up on the growing groundswell of opposition to the absurdly titled “Homeowner Relief and Housing Recovery Act“.

Please contact your local news media outlets and let them know that you are opposed to legislation that would strip consumers of their right to appear before an elected judge.

Let’s get the message loud and clear from Key West to Pensacola that Floridians will not sit back and turn our homes over to bankers meeting in private tribunals.

The Circuit Courts of this State and the Judges we elect are our only safeguard against the gross abuses of power we’re seeing the banks wield right before our eyes.

Call your newspaper, radio, television stations.

Attached below is the actual house bill, the house analysis and a press release prepared.

House Bill 1523

houseanalysis

pressrelease

Just google your favorite news outlet, then contact the newsroom, read the documents above so you are properly informed and send a message loud and clear to Tallahassee!

Florida Attorneys Defending Homeowner Rights Will Be Traveling to Tallahassee on Wednesday April 21, 2010 to Urge Members of Both Houses Not to Vote on Anti-Consumer Foreclosure Legislation.  The Bankers Are Moving Faster and Will Vote to Have This Legislation Approved This Week.

If you are a consumer…drop what you’re doing and contact the members below….tell them NO TO THE BANKS AND NON-JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE!

Attached here is the Staff Analysis for House Bill 1523 that is set to turn Florida into a non-judicial state.  Due to a few provisions, the practice of foreclosure defense will be severely curtailed. From the Analysis:

As to homestead residential real property, the complaint must be filed within 45 days of receipt of the notice of foreclosure.  The complaint must state a bona fide defense to the foreclosure, and must include a certificate under oath certifying that the complaint is not being filed for the purpose of delay.  If the court finds that the complaint was filed solely for delay, the court must dismiss the action.

If the debtor is represented by an attorney, the attorney filing the action must certify to the facts represented by the debtor.  A lawyer representing a debtor in such action must also, in writing, inform the debtor that electing court action means that the debtor may be subject to a deficiency judgment and a negative credit rating.  The writing must be acknowledged by the debtor.  The bill provides that failure to provide this notice is “negligence per se.”  If the court finds that the affidavits are false or without a reasonable basis, the debtor and his or her attorney are jointly and severally liable for the costs and fees of the foreclosing creditor.

This bill is a HUGE gift to the lenders and banks I’ve dedicated my life to fighting.  They are engaged in systematic and widespread fraud as they march across the state trying to take people’s homes in many cases lacking the proper evidence to do so.  They apparently can commit fraudulent and criminal acts and apparently do all of this with no fear of any consequences.  Now, in an effort to squelch attorneys who defend homeowners, they want to place unheard of liabilities on Defense practitioners….this will severely limit the defenses homeowners will be able to raise.

THIS BILL MARKS A SHOCKING AND PROFOUND CHANGE IN THE RIGHTS OF HOMEOWNERS ACROSS THE STATE OF FLORIDA!

Below are the Tallahassee numbers for the members who sit on the committee that is set to consider this bad legislation today.  It only contains their Tallahassee numbers and no faxes.  If someone could get email addresses and fax numbers both for Tallahassee offices and their districts back home that would be most helpful.  They meet today beginning at 1:00 p.m. please try to get your calls in and register disapproval before then…contact the newspapers for their districts as well.

Capitol Office
417 House Office Building
402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Representatives:
Domino, Carl J. (R)    Chair 850-488-0322
Weinstein, Michael B. (R)Vice Chair 850-488-1304
Soto, Darren (D)    Democratic Ranking Member 850-488-9240
Eisnaugle, Eric (R)    850-488-9770
Fetterman, Adam M. (D)    850-488-8749
Flores, Anitere (R)    850-488-2831
Frishe, James C. (R)    850-488-9960
Gibson, Audrey (D)    850-488-7417
Gonzalez, Eduardo (R)    850-488-1683
Grady, Tom (R)            850-488-4487
McKeel, Seth (R)    850-488-9890
Murzin, Dave (R)    850-488-8278
O’Toole, H. Marlene (R)    850-488-5991
Poppell, Ralph (R)    850-488-3006

Staff:
De La Paz, David    Staff Director
Ingram, Michele    Administrative Assistant

There is no Senate analysis of this bill yet, but it will be considered during the Senate Commitee meeting, on TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010.  Following are contact numbers for these members, please contact them and demand they vote against Senate Bill 2270!

Members:

• Chair: Senator Garrett S. Richter (R)
• Vice Chair: Senator Christopher L. “Chris” Smith (D)

• Senator JD Alexander (R)
• Senator Michael S. “Mike” Bennett (R)
• Senator Mike Fasano (R)
• Senator Alfred “Al” Lawson, Jr. (D)
• Senator Joe Negron (R)
• Senator Jeremy Ring (D)
• Senator Ronda Storms (R)
• Senator J. Alex Villalobos (R)

It used to be said that we were a nation under the rule of laws.  Sure, some folks still utter such phrases, but the truth of the matter is we’re getting further and further away from that each day.  The breakdown of the rule of law is most evident to me in the midst of the foreclosure crisis and the most disturbing aspect of this breakdown is the role lawyers and judges are playing in this fundamental breakdown.  As the Florida Legislature is set to consider anti-consumer foreclosure legislation like the absurdly titled House Bill 1523 the Homeowner Relief and Housing Recovery Act, I propose the following alternatives to such actions be pursued first.

A Clear Understanding of the Facts Behind the “Crisis”

The core facts behind the breakdown of the rule of law as represented in foreclosure cases is clear…the lenders and institutions, in their rush to sell their loans up the river, were moving so fast that they stopped keeping the records and evidence that they now need to try and enforce the mortgage obligations.  Rather than own up to these facts then work with courts and borrowers to create a system to re-establish the paperwork, the lenders, their unethical foreclosure mills and other agents like MERS are busy creating and fabricating paper and evidence as fast as they can then submitting this paper and “evidence” in courts all across the country.

What disturbs me most about all this is the lenders have infected the court process such that lawyers and judges have now become complicit in all this unethical, fraudulent and potentially criminal conduct.  I do not mean to say that judges per se are engaging in criminal or unethical conduct, but when the magnitude of these abuses is so widespread, judges simply should not continue to grant summary judgment in foreclosures in this environment.  As I sat in court several times last week I became very upset about the hundreds of summary judgments that were being granted because the homeowner chose not to hire an attorney or file any paperwork.  Judges feel compelled to grant summary judgment in these cases, but it’s just wrong on so many levels.  In the cases where attorneys for the Plaintiffs bothered to show up at all, they don’t even bother bringing their case files.

How can an attorney be representing that their are no facts in dispute when that attorney does not have the case file with her and has never even seen the case file?

An End To Telephonic Hearings

I don’t understand why judges continue to allow the foreclosure mills to appear for hearings telephonically.  Such appearances are a privilege, not a right, and that privilege is so abused that it should be take away across the board. I feel great empathy for the judicial assistants who man the judge’s  telephone lines and manage the chaos of coordinating 100 hearings via telephone when the attorneys don’t care enough about their cases to show up in court (much less even bring the file).  Forcing the attorneys to appear in court with the case file also forces them to sit face to face with me, the opposing counsel.  I cannot get them on the phone and they will not respond to emails, but they cannot ignore me when they’re standing right in front of me.

If the Florida Supreme Court can mandate that clients appear at mediation with settlement authority why don’t local judges require attorneys to appear in person, with their case file prior to hearing and attempt to resolve the matters between themselves prior to taking the court’s valuable hearing time?

A Serious Examination of All Improper Attorney Conduct

Judges across the state should now be aware of gross abuses and questionable evidence that is being routinely submitted in foreclosure cases.  Examples of such abuses….

1. Assignments of Mortgage signed by attorneys or employees employed by the firm prosecuting the foreclosure case.

2. Affidavits of amounts due and owing signed by attorneys or employees employed by the firm prosecuting the case.

3. Assignments of mortgage signed by document mills or robo signers with dates and other important facts supplied by the attorneys prosecuting the case.

4. Attorneys making pleadings before the court with no factual basis for such pleading. (As one judge frequently comments, “A lost note is not the same thing as a hard to find note.”)

5. Attorneys appearing in cases where a conflict of interest exists between the Plaintiff and one of the Defendants with no clear waiver of that conflict. (This appears in many cases where second mortgage holders are named as defendants in cases.)

6. Attorneys filing Affidavits of Attorneys Fees when they’re employed by this state’s top law enforcement officer (Florida Attorney General Bill McCullum), serious questions regarding the veracity of such affidavits have been raised and the attorneys who have signed these affidavits refuse to have their depositions taken.

7. Attorneys or employees of law firms that obtain title to properties soon after the certificates of title have been issued by the Clerk of the Court.

8. Attorneys demanding that the evidence used to grant summary judgment be returned to them (the promissory notes) and Clerk’s of Court or judges returning such evidence to them which will result in such evidence being unable to recover when subsequent investigations and court proceedings will require this evidence. (The Chief Judges in each circuit should issue orders directing that all evidence be preserved in court files effective immediately.)

9. Attorneys just blatantly ignoring Orders of the Supreme Court of Florida….(We don’t verify no stinkin’ complaints!)

And now the last, worst and most disturbing new trend that’s only just appearing this week…..

10. Attorneys who accept representation asserting to defend homeowner’s who are in foreclosure when they share office space and in fact are member/employees of the law firms pursuing foreclosure cases. (This is a brand new one here folks…think about it carefully.  You’re a consumer and hire an attorney who you think will defend your case.  When you call your attorney for information about your case or stop by the office to discuss your case, you find out “your” attorney also works for the foreclosure mill that’s working day and night to take homes from you and your neighbors.  I cannot wait to see how this stinking pile develops, but motions have been filed on this particular matter so stay tuned for updates when this develops. )

Substantive Direction to Support  a Moratorium on Foreclosures

With all of this, and so much more, how can judges continue to grant foreclosures?

Isn’t it time to take pressure off our circuit court judges and issue a moratorium on foreclosures?

Can’t our federal prosecutors, bankruptcy courts and federal investigators make public the nature of their investigations to support judges in declaring such a moratorium?

When the results of widespread investigations reveal the full breadth and depth of all the fraud that exists how will the judges that summarily granted summary judgment based on improper evidence and procedures be able to undo the mess that’s been caused?

The citizens of the State of Florida– and Americans across this country– are sick and tired of watching the banks and institutions receive billions of dollars in aid and preferential treatments while they struggle to keep their jobs and try to save their homes.

Florida House Bill 1523, the absurdly titled Homeowner Relief & Housing Recovery Act is the latest example of the banks and institutions potentially receiving grossly unfair benefits while those who fund these benefits—your constituents and taxpayers, are victimized.  This bill offers no relief for homeowners and it will not contribute to recovery of the housing market.  Accordingly, I must respectfully suggest that any legislator considering this bill—and any other anti-consumer rights bill—vote against such harmful and improper legislation.

I am an attorney who has dedicated my practice to:

1)       Helping homeowner’s save their homes;

2)      Defend consumer’s fundamental rights;

3)      Restoring the dignity and respect for judges, our courts and the rule of law; and

4)      Opposing the gross abuses and systemic fraud being perpetrated on this country by unrestrained, unregulated and unaccountable lenders and the agents who perpetuate their fraud practices in courts—the foreclosure mills.

I currently represent hundreds of homeowners across the State of Florida who find themselves in foreclosure.  I see first-hand, every single day the profound effects the foreclosure crisis is having on consumers, institutions and our communities.

While the lenders and foreclosure mills are correct that there is a major problem with foreclosures in this State and indeed the country, I urge the members considering any anti-consumer foreclosure legislation to remember that the problems faced by the lenders are problems they created. Furthermore, the problems related to foreclosure have only worsened because the players who created this crisis are engaging in improper practices in foreclosure courts and failing to implement pre-foreclosure diversion programs that could resolve many foreclosures before they are  even filed.

I. The Banks And Foreclosure Mills Are Not Entitled to Any Legislative Relief Until They First Implement Programs And Procedures That Will More Effectively Address The Crisis Through Private Initiatives.

In comments published by the Florida Supreme Court’s Residential Foreclosure Task Force, the banks and lenders admitted that they have not organized the physical infrastructure  or procedures to effectively communicate with property owners before or after they file for foreclose.  As an attorney who meets with homeowners every day I can confirm that one of the biggest problems faced by homeowners is they simply cannot get their lender on the phone and if they do get them on the phone they cannot get them to confirm receipt of information they have received time and time again.  Even after a foreclosure is filed, the lender’s own attorneys frequently have no better means to communicate with their own clients than faceless operators on phones in some foreign land.  Until such time as the lenders devote sufficient resources to address the institutional and logistical problems they face, this legislature should not try to solve their problems for them.The Foreclosure Mills Could Process Their Foreclosures Much More Quickly if They Did Their Job Properly.

II. The Foreclosure Mills Could Process Their Foreclosures Much More Quickly if They Did Their Job Properly.

The lenders and their agents, the foreclosure mills, correctly assert that it takes many, many months to process a foreclosure case from start to finish.  The truth about this issue is that if the foreclosure mills would get their information and documentation together correctly before they file, their cases would move much faster through the system.  Instead, the lenders and their foreclosure mills fail to collect (or fail to fabricate before they file [see LPS allegations below]) the documents they need to support their alleged right to foreclose prior to filing the complaint.  Post-filing they collect or fabricate the documents they need to support their alleged right to foreclose and send these documents, in a shotgun approach, to courts across the state.  The piecemeal and inconsistent manner in which the lenders and their foreclosure mills—in addition to the questionable veracity of such evidence—is an important factor in their inability to proceed with cases in a more timely fashion.  As will be discussed in detail below, one of the main  reasons whey the lenders and their foreclosure mills cannot timely or ever produce such vital documentation is the simply do not possess the documents they need to proceed with their foreclosures and they may lack the legal capacity to proceed with them under any circumstances.  If the lenders and their foreclosure mills had a more solid legal basis to support their actions–and the documentation to support these rights–their cases would move forward in a much more timely fashion.  The fact that cases are not moving quickly is thus not necessarily an indication the system is broken, instead it is, in many cases, an indication that the cases themselves are flawed.

III. The Banks and Foreclosure Mills That Are Pushing For This Bill Are Engaging in Gross And Systemic Fraud In Courts Around The Country.

All members considering any anti-consumer foreclosure legislation should be aware of reports recently appearing in the Wall Street Journal which indicate that that Lender Processing Services (LPS), a major provider of services to the lending industry, is currently under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors.  Circuit courts and increasingly bankruptcy courts are uncovering and collecting mountains of evidence that suggest the fraudulent and improper practices engaged in by LPS and others is widespread across the industry.  LPS is just the first shoe to drop.  In the months and years to come many more examples of such improper practices will be established through civil and criminal investigations.  That being said, if the lenders and their attorney are so brazen that they are willing to engage in systematic fraud before judges in state and federal courts across the country, they certainly cannot be trusted to demonstrate integrity in a non-judicial forum.  Accordingly any legislation that moves foreclosure away from judicial oversight should be rejected.

IV. The Banks and Institutions That Are Pushing For Anti-Consumer Foreclosure Legislation Are Engaging in Grossly Abusive Practices That Threaten Consumers’ Most Basic and Fundamental Rights.

Under the guise of “property preservation” or “winterization” agents acting on behalf of lenders are kicking down doors, changing locks, destroying property and terrorizing homeowners. I have several cases from across the state where lenders have in fact done each of the things I describe above.  There are enough reports of these actions by other attorneys and consumer groups around the state to suggest this has become a pattern or practice routinely engaged in by lenders.  If they are willing engage in such in cases where there is judicial involvement and supervision, they will be further emboldened to engage in such actions if any form of non-judicial foreclosure legislation is passed.  For this reason, members should reject any anti-consumer foreclosure legislation.

V. The Banks and Institutions That Are Pushing for Anti-Consumer Foreclosure Legislation Are Failing To Work In Good Faith With Consumers To Resolve The Foreclosure Crisis.

The vast majority of my foreclosure cases would settle overnight if the lenders and their attorneys would engage in good faith, practical settlement negotiations.  The vast majority of my clients are ready, willing and able to continue making mortgage payments immediately.  They have worked diligently to come to settlement or modification terms that are very reasonable under the circumstances.   Other consumers are judgment proof, they may have already left the property and simply want to negotiate a settlement that concludes the litigation. Some have worked hard to present entirely reasonable short sale offers to lenders that would result in a net recovery to lenders that is far greater than what they could ever hope to recover.  Whatever the case, the lenders across the board are failing to enter into settlement talks that are objectively in their best interests.  I can only assume based on my experience that their are larger and hidden perverse financial incentives at play that are preventing such responsible settlements from occurring.  Until such time as we understand what these factors are that are preventing responsible settlement, members must reject any anti-consumer foreclosure legislation.

PLEASE WAIT TO CONSIDER ANY FAVORABLE VOTES ON ANTI-CONSUMER FORECLOSURE LITIGATION

Myself, along with other attorneys from around the state who have formed a coalition loosely called Lawyers Defending Homeowner’s Rights are coming to Tallahassee on Wednesday, April 21, 2010.  I would respectfully request that you not vote this bill forward until you hear first hand from the attorneys who are working on the front lines of this crisis.  I welcome the opportunity to come before you and present evidence of the issues I have presented in this correspondence.  I challenge their well-funded and experienced lobbyists and supporters to an open debate on this legislation and the topics I have raised herein.  If the members of this committee cannot wait until April 21, 2010, please advise of any date prior to that when a formal consideration and debate on the matter may be held.  I frankly think members of the Florida Legislature owe it to yourselves and to your constituents to  have a full, fair and open debate on these issues before you vote any anti-consumer foreclosure legislation through.

I will travel on a moment’s notice and appear whenever and wherever members request to provide evidence and answer any questions you have regarding the matters contained within this correspondence.  Please contact me directly at weidnerlaw@yahoo.com.  Otherwise, I look forward to meeting with you on Wednesday, April, 21, 2010 along with other

Lawyers Defending Homeowner’s Rights!

Florida Attorneys who are Fighting for Homeowner’s Rights Will Rally on Tallahassee, Wednesday, April 21, 2010, by the Florida Bankers are trying to beat us to the punch by pushing their anti-consumer legislation through before we can get up there to stop it.

On Monday, April 12, 2010, the Florida House of Representatives, Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council will meet beginning at 1:00 p.m.

One of the bills that will be discussed in this meeting is House Bill 1523, absurdly titled, the Homeowner Relief & Housing Recovery Act.

It just offends me how they think they can paint a pig and try to make it a rose. It offends me that bankers can convince our elected leaders to use such blatantly misleading titles to legislation in a concerted effort to fool consumers.

This bill represents a concerted effort by Florida Bankers and other anti-consumer groups to strip citizens of their right to have foreclosure cases heard by judges.

Please click on this link and contact each of the legislators who sit on this committee.  Call, email, fax and tell them you are OPPOSED TO ALL EFFORTS TO TURN FLORIDA INTO A NON-JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE STATE.

Tell them you’re sick and tired of the fraud and deceit used by bankers and their friends on Wall Street and remind them that they work for you, The People of the State of Florida!

Follow this link for a copy of the House Agenda.

More information later…please start sending your email and faxes this weekend so they know where we stand early Monday morning!

It really is scary what this country is turning into….please help to stop this….make those calls and send those emails.

Judge Jennifer Bailey testified before the Florida House of Representatives regarding the Administrative Order issued by the Florida Supreme Court which mandated mediation for foreclosures in Florida.

Attached here is a link to a podcast of her testimony. The testimony regarding these issues starts about midway through the podcast.  What is most troubling about this podcast is the hostility toward the new Supreme Court Order faces before the legislature.  Of concern, the legislators were uniformly hostile to the authority of the Florida Supreme Court to issue the Order which mandated mediation.  After Judge Bailey testified, Staff appears to testify regarding their “concerns” about the Order.  There were several comments regarding potential legislative efforts to challenge the procedural mechanism the Supreme Court used to develop the program.

Next the Florida Bankers testify and develop their arguments against the bill along with representatives from the Florida Community Associations and testimony from a foreclosure mill.

Unfortunately no testimony from Foreclosure Defense or the Foreclosure Fraud Fighters.

foreclosurebillofrights

foreclosurerevenueestimates

Attached is also Senate Bill 1778 the Homeowner Bill of Rights sponsored by Senator Aronberg who is currently running for Florida Attorney General.

Key will be to make sure all elected officials know that non-judicial foreclosure legislation strips consumers of their access to courts is fundamentally anti-consumer and pro-fraud/pro-banker.

Foreclosure
Jennifer D. Bailey, Circuit Court Judge (State Employee) – Information Only
Florida Supreme Court Task Force on Residential Mortgage Foreclosures
73 W. Flagler Street, #1307
Miami Florida 33130
Phone: 305-349-7152

Supreme Court Administrative Order Re: Foreclosure Mandatory Mediations
Marc Ben-Ezra – Opponent
Ben-Ezra & Katz, P.A.
2901 Stirling Road, Suite 300
Ft. Lauderdale Florida 33312
Phone: 305-770-4100