Im sorry, but even as a foreclosure defense lawyer I have to disagree here.
You consistently mock the “must clear the foreclosure backlog” statement; but what other solution is there? Continue to dump non-existent money into the courts to let cases pend 5+ years? This is 90% of the problem; not the volume of cases, but how long that volume of cases stay in the court system.
I am not saying that the rush on the cases and the rush that these “foreclosure trials have become are not shams. But we have defense lawyers dragging out cases 5 years that should take 1 year max. Part of the problem IS the defense lawyers. Part of the problem is bank lawyers who don’t move cases, yes I get that too.
To clarify, while you may not, and I do not, plenty of lawyers are billing monthly and stalling cases are in their best interest. Filing extension or time after extension of time; not because more time is needed, but purely as a delay tactic they know they can get away with. This is unethical conduct on the defense lawyers’ parts if you ask me to intentionally delay proceedings when the basis of the extension is BS to begin with and not based in good faith.
So half of the problem is the defense lawyers delaying cases to the point that the courts MUST move them. Again, not to say that I agree the court has any right to set a case for trial sua sponte either. And not to say the bank lawyers forget about cases for months at a time either. But the court definitely has grounds to push the parties to settle or move the case when it ties up the court system for years at a time; multiplied by hundreds of thousands of cases.
Second, you continue to say “the poor homeowners being thrown out.” They didn’t pay their mortgage!!! If I do not pay my cell bill my service gets shut off. If I do not pay my electric bill the service gets shut off. If I do not pay my mortgage, I go into foreclosure! I mean what did these people expect? And no, not all were told to stop paying their mortgage so that is no excuse. In fact the majority of foreclosures I have seen the homeowner couldn’t afford their mortgage, period.
And no, the bank has no ultimate duty to give EVERY person a mod or try to help them keep their house. Yes, I understand the mortgage settlement blah blah; but this settlement does NOT state EVERY mortgage gets modded. Only a certain number per the settlement terms. Whether you agree with the settlement is another story. But there is no inherent right to aid from the bank and to get a mod to keep the property.
I’m just getting tired of hearing about the “poor homeowner” constantly. If you cannot afford your home, you should not be a homeowner; or should find a cheaper home that you can afford. I’m sick of people defending to the death only those who DO NOT meet their financial obligations. Yes, I have heard all of the sob stories too, and things do happen in life, but that does not mean ANYONE is entitled to aid. Aid is given as a courtesy not a mandate of any known rule or law that I am aware of.
Hard working individuals who pay their debts are paying for this all over the board, especially in taxes. Taxes that could go to better uses like healthcare programs, funding state and city governments and projects, etc. Not to aiding people who didn’t pay their obligations and to courts to deal with these people.
Finally, the default rate of modified mortgages in 2009 is over 40%!! Clearly, this is not a case of the “poor victim homeowner” who just needed a break and a lower payment. These are people who simply do not and cannot manage their finances and do not pay their obligations in life. It is clearly evident that all of that money used to help these homeowners (OUR taxes) was for naught, and that dumping millions into these programs and the courts simply is not helping the situation. It is more than the “evil banks” and “evil courts,” it is the very people you stand here and defend that are a good majority of the problem itself.
I hope this attorney’s retainer agreement comes with a note disclosing the views posted. Interesting lack of indignation over inflated appraisals and fraudulent court docs. I am sorry, buy if the loan docs were real then we would not be in this mess. If I tried to do in a court in this state what most bank attorney try DAILY, I would be in jail. Selective indignation, gotta love it.
No one has to disclose their personal views “D” if that is your real name. Post your real name if you want to be hypocritical about disclosure.
This isn’t about real loan docs. There has never been any dispute there is rampant fraud in the courts and the loan docs in transfer or presented to courts.
People are “in this mess” because they hit a hardship and could not pay their mortgage, period. If we polled all FL homeowners in foreclosure you would see 95% or more defaulted on their own due to not having the money; not because the bank screwed them or misapplied payments.
Again, I am sure there are a small percentage of cases where the bank misapplied payments and caused defaults, but these are EASY for any even hack lawyer to prove in court and get the case settled.
This is about people trying to play the system and they lost. They got taken by the fraud after thinking they would just stop paying because the bank could never win their case. People’s choices.
Matt, can you provide the link to the original article that you are addressing here? The one where a fellow foreclosure attorney says you all are part of the problem. Taken out of context it sounds more like you are bashing homeowners than defending foreclosure defense attorneys.
The cases would run through the system rather quickly if the banks weren’t hiding all kinds of malfeasance. 4+ years in and I’m just starting to find out who might have owned my note and when … and SHAZAM , the plaintiff was NEVER the owner or holder.
You want the backlog to clear … have the banks start being truthful … have them take THEIR losses and pay off investors when appropriate and not try to do a cram down on the homeowners 100% of the time.
Really? And the defense lawyers who file 60 day motions for extension of time beyond the 20 days to respond to the initial complaint are not the problem at all?
Believe me, it doesn’t take 80 days to read a 3-5 page foreclosure complaint, view the attached note and mortgage, and hypothesize a defense in either a motion to dismiss or answer (mind you form motions that any practicing defense lawyer has drafted and just need to be tweaked to the facts). This is dishonest and should be unethical in my opinion.
I dont care what the reply of “oh the bank lawyers x and y” are. This is about the defense lawyer point solely right now. Every lawyer is responsible for their own conduct.
This is just one example of the the intentional stall tactics I speak of to bolster that defense lawyers are part (not all or even close to 50%) of the [backlog] problem.
Fought for 3 years all the right motions to compell documents etc judicial notice of DOJ cases and OCC cases. After bank told me to stop paying illegal loan That’s right bank tricked me into foreclosure. With promises of modification. BS. I think not. Believe it !!!!
Was not allowed discovery and court set trial despite pending motions and objections
Being there is no assignment of mortgage or record of loan at all in county records. The bank said assignment was by merger
Didn’t do much right in trial but did get Wells Fargo witness to testify note was never transferred which confradicts every peice of paper in case
Wrote appellate brief explaining the lies and the answer brief said she was mistaken in trial and it was transferred such and such a date,
Only problem the date they said was before the merger… Assignment of title by merger ????
In my reply brief I am sticking to the old case of the tipsy coachmen…… Basically saying they cannot change their answer … It was not brought up at trial.
Obviously no one knows or cares how corrupt the courts and banks are here in Lee and Collier counties
I stood there and accused them of fraud and my eve fence was handed back to me. And I was told ” we are not here to talk about fraud”.
My advice. Get a good lawyer who is not just looking to stall. And always bring your own stenographer What a joke.
2DCA. Barron vs Wells Fargo.
Mr. Weidner,
Thank you for taking the time to read and publish my comment from a prior post of yours.
To respond to neidermeyer’s post, while again I obviously could never advocate the gross fraud that the banks have pulled on the court and the conduct of the judges (completely unheard of in the history of our legal system), my point merely was that they are not 100% of the problem that is causing the reaction of the judiciary and legislature. Yes, they are likely 95%+ of the problem, but not 100%.
My point was more central to the fact that there are MANY unscrupulous defense attorney’s out there padding their pocket on large monthly fees simply “defending” cases by filing needless extension of time after extension of time; in bad faith and solely for the purposes of delay. 1, 2, and 3 sets of discovery asking for essentially responses to the same questions and production of the same documents. Baseless motions not founded in any known case law and leaving them pending until they are set for hearing and then withdrawing them to not have to waste time at a hearing on a frivolous motion.
Of course the defense lawyers are not even close to the majority of the problem, but some of the not so honest ones (a good majority of defense lawyers I have met along the way actually) are a small % of the delay in the court system.
I think this is a point the public needs to know when hiring a defense lawyer. Ask what they do, what they file. I have never refused to discuss strategy with my clients and give them copies of documents filed or explain what I filed for them. Ask what result they intend to achieve. If the lawyer say something that sounds too good to be true (ie. that “free house”), find someone else. I have never told a client I will win their foreclosure case; these wins are far and few between. I tell clients very honestly and openly that I will get the best result for them I possibly can- be it modification, short sale, deed in lieu with waiver, or dismissal if possible. I charge 1 low fee for foreclosure defense, no ridiculous $300-500/month. I do not charge for modification up front, but only if the client get a mod do I get a small fee.
This is what defense lawyers can do for their part in this situation.
So…………The BANKS cause People to lose their jobs or lose their pay and They want to reap the benefits of it? They caused their OWN harm! They should not be able to reap benefit from their own CRIME! And since they chose to take the PEOPLES money that they made indigent then YES, they should have to give Modifications! And shame on the AG’s for not making that the penalty for the BANKS failure to Protect Home Owners Notes and Mortgages by allowing them to be mult-pledged!
Ma’am please explain how the BANKS cause people to loose their jobs? How did the bank cause Mr Joe Smith to loose his auto manufacturing job because jobs were shipped overseas?
This is a classic scapegoat case. BANKS did not cause most of the people out there to lose their jobs, the president YOU voted in has tanked the economy with frivolous spending, Obamacare, wars over nothing, etc.
So, you charge a one time small fee for what. If your not going to try to win, why bother, you should work for the other side and see how ethical the banks and their attorneys are. You cant start with it is homeowners fault because if we all waited to pay cash for our homes the banks would not exist. Not to mention the billion dollar bailout of all the banks, from who??. The very same people they foreclose on. The tax payer Me and You (assuming you don’t find ethical ways to pay your share) Where’s our return?? The parties responsible for this mess are government and banks period. And to prove that, just look who has grown bigger and bigger since 2008. Read the Constitution it will help.
Yes every lawyer fights to win but you cannot always win! That is the point. There is not always an argument despite what you think you know about law from watching law and order on TV. Not ALL loans were transferred, The public seems to thin every single loan was this fraudulent, robosigned, securitized mess, and this is simply not close to reality. Sometimes the original lender is foreclosing, and there are very few arguments to make against that.
A lawyer’s job is to DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR CLIENT, be it in court or out of court resolution. I have 10% of my clients in loan modifications this year already, some with principal reductions; half in trial mods and half got permanent mods.
So you’re telling me that I am the problem because I am not a martyr for the cause dragging my clients through the ringer to the point I leave it up to a judge, a far less than 50/50 chance of winning in most FL counties, but instead settle my cases positively for the client? That’s a pretty dense attitude. Your attitude is why lawyers don’t help more people out of refusing to pay the lawyer or filing bar complaints for crazy reasons. Why should we expose ourselves to help people who don’t appreciate it and don’t want to pay their bill to us (or say you did nothing for me)? Defense lawyers hear this crap daily.
And to further rebut your argument, clearly at least a good number of my clients are getting a benefit from the benefit/mortgage settlement dollars as they are getting good modifications and even some principal reductions. If your lawyer is not trying to positively resolve a case for you the client at the same time as fighting in court then these lawyers are doing a great disservice for you and not acting in your best interest, but instead in their best interest to “further the cause” and/or be martyr using you as the sacrifice. If you want to lose your house in the name of the cause, or your lawyer’s reputation, then go right ahead.