Day after day, all across this state, judges are granting summary judgment when….
THERE IS NO ADMISSSABLE OR PROPER EVIDENCE AT ALL TO SUPPORT FORECLOSURE
Some well meaning judges are falling into these absurd orders granting extended sale dates but allowing the parties to mediate before the sale.
Most of our judges are good, honest and ethical and their decision to enter summary judgments in these cases is first and foremost representative of the fact that we only recently learned just how widespread and systematic the fraud and abuses are. The second force that compels our judges to push these cases through is immense pressure from the Florida Legislature to “Solve The Foreclosure Crisis”. Ignore the fact that this push comes from special interests who are stuffing cash in the legislator’s pockets and ignore the fact that fraud and other crimes committed by the architects of the crimes are the foundation of this “crisis”, that’s old news. Today, let’s focus on the important point that
Judges Cannot Ignore the Inequity Being Perpetrated in Their Courtrooms in Order to
Churn out Foreclosures
This is a fact that we must continue to scream every time we get in front of our judges. We must remind them and their staff, that they should not feel compelled to be the menservants of the financial services industries who created this mess, and they should not feel compelled to improperly churn through foreclosures because they are being improperly coerced or extorted by the legislative branch of government. This is not just an opinion or an essay by an interested party, THIS IS THE LAW. I will be quoting and developing this more in the coming weeks, but here is the basic case law to get us all started:
By both statutory order and case law, foreclosure proceedings are actions in equity. See Fla. Stat. §702.01 (2009) (providing, in pertinent part, that ” [a]ll mortgages shall be foreclosed in equity.” Bold emphasis added); Swan Landing Development, LLC v. Florida Capital Bank, N.A., 19 So.3d 1068, 1072 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) (providing that ” [f]oreclosure of a mortgage is an equitable remedy”). See also, Singleton v. Greymar Assocs., 882 So.2d 1004, 1008 (Fla.2004); Smiley v. Manufactured Hous. Assocs. III Ltd. P’ship, 679 So.2d 1229, 1232 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996).
Historically, equitable courts developed to provide a forum of justice for litigants when law courts, which contained rigid principles and restrictive technicalities, were deficient. See Hedges v. Lysek, 84 So. 2d 28, 31 (Fla. 1955). As such, equity courts were created to do justice between the litigants. See e.g. Banks v. Shaw, 144 Fla. 550, 198 So. 341 (1940); Atlantic Nat. Bank of Jacksonville v. Simpson, 136 Fla. 809, 188 So. 636 (1938). Therefore, ” a court of equity is a court of conscience; it should not be shackled by rigid rules of procedure and thereby preclude justice being administered according to good conscience.” Demorizi v. Demorizi, 851 So.2d 243, 246 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003), appeal dismissed 851 So. 2d 168 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003) (quoting Wicker v. Board of Public Instruction of Dade County, 106 So.2d 550, 558 (Fla.1958)). Finally, with respect to foreclosures, ” the general rule in Florida is that”¦[the] foreclosure must not be unconscionable or inequitable.” Pezzimenti v. Cirou, 466 So.2d 274, 276 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985).
The bottom line is all officers of the court have an obligation to serve the court and to importantly serve the principle of EQUITY. We must continue to make our judges aware that the short term goal of cramming these improperly documented cases through will result in long-term negative consequences. The treatment of this crisis manifests itself primarily as an erosion of respect for the courts (the flagrant evidentiary and ethical abuses, ignoring laws of the Supreme Court) but succumbing to the outside pressure of the legislative branch who have not properly funded our courts represents a
FUNDAMENTAL THREAT TO THE CORE PRINCIPLES OF OUR ENTIRE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
The assembly-line Plaintiff-friendly foreclosure courts represent a de-facto takeover of our judicial branch by the very Wall Street interests that caused this whole mess in the first place. Every single time a judge grants foreclosure on questionable evidence (it’s all questionable), she confers more power to the shadowy interests that are infecting and choking our country and our entire system of justice. We all have a responsibility to help our judges understand the damage done with every foreclosure and give them the insight and courage to stand up to these improper forces. Don’t just win your motion and leave….and especially don’t lose your motion and leave….remind the judges (and their JA’s) of these issues every time you enter the courthouse…REMEMBER, YOU TOOK AN OATH:
“I do solemnly swear:
I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida;
I will maintain the respect due to courts of justice and judicial officers;
I will not counsel or maintain any suit or proceedings which shall appear to me to be unjust, nor any defense except such as I believe to be honestly debatable under the law of the land;
I will employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to me such means only as are consistent with truth and honor, and will never seek to mislead the judge or jury by any artifice or false statement of fact or law;
I will maintain the confidence and preserve inviolate the secrets of my clients, and will accept no compensation in connection with their business except from them or with their knowledge and approval;
I will abstain from all offensive personality and advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged;
I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay anyone’s cause for lucre or malice.
So help me God.”
