The Constitution of the United States of America protects every American. Black, white, rich, poor, in foreclosure or not. We all need to recognize that long established rules and procedures are the backbone of the protections we are all given in the United States Constitution. If we stand aside and let those protections be trampled because, “this is only foreclosure”, then what’s to stop them the next time there’s any other kind of dispute? This country was a model of freedom and justice, but now it is completely transparent that the banks call the tune…..I’d like to say more, but I’m constrained by the loss of that other right we formally enjoyed, so I’ll leave the critical analysis to a professional who still might be protected by the First Amendment…..
Article from Daily Finance:
Lee County, Fla., has become infamous for speeding foreclosure cases through its courts. The supercharged system — or “rocket docket” — can dispense with a foreclosure case in minutes, sometimes mere seconds. In the interests of speed, the courts have even refused requests for a delay from foreclosing banks that want to get their papers in order, and they’ve exempted banks from rules that apply to others.
Lee+county+starnes+rule+1.440+does+not+apply+in+lee+county+12+2010
In Lee County it is obvious there is no constitutional protection for those facing foreclosure. This is a Circuit of shysters in black robes who vacate the rights of the defendants and their constitutional protections. This Circuit is a joke. Each and every defendant who loses their case in this robo-court fraud system needs to keep appealing, keep challenging the fraud with law-suits, and filing complaints to the Florida Bar. The shysters want everyone to believe their case is hopeless and they cannot win. Look these demons in the eye and tell them you will be back. Do not give up. Stay in your homes. And fight the good cause of home ownership. Lee County judges are the crossbones and skull pirates of central Florida.
Litigant, being from the Charlotte part of 20th, I certainly KNOW what you are talking about, and you are dead on! The problem is 97% are so scared and misinformed, we need to educate those 97% to fight back!
Don’t Bite the Hand That Feeds You?
Most foreclosure defense attorneys continue to complain about how judges respond to what appears as foreclosing plaintiff blatant disregard for the rules of civil procedure. Sometimes the response by judges not only appears lackadaisical, but outright favoring the offending plaintiff and their attorney. It is entirely possible that even attorneys for the plaintiff are surprised too, even if only once awhile. Nonetheless, there seem to be two sets of rules ““ one applying to every other type of case and another that applies to mortgage foreclosures. And, many judges readily allow violations of the rules with such cavalier attitude that it is offensive to those that are charged with a duty to protect the integrity of the legal proceedings, attorneys who are also officers of the court.
The problem with pleading verifications, as an example, is multi-dimensional. First, where a plaintiff fails to comply with a Supreme Court mandated requirement to verify a foreclosure complaint ““ which can only be viewed as intentional ““ it opens the door for the plaintiff to offer up pleadings, allegations, documents and facts that may be pure fiction. Second, this deliberate disregard for the verification rule further masks the real identity of the foreclosing plaintiff, or at a minimum helps shield the party bringing the action from being held accountable under the verification standard imposed by Rule 1.110(b). Third, the failure to comply exposes every defendant to respond to the action and defend against an entity that, aided by its attorneys, has bypassed a consumer protection important enough to have been instituted by the Florida Supreme Court. In the end, without any accountability the plaintiff that intentionally perpetrated the violation by failing to verify its complaint is left to commit courtroom sin with impunity. This sin impacts the lives of families who are oftentimes displaced from their homes under the force of the law.
When judges refuse to enforce the rules of civil procedure it signals to the offending party that ” it’s ok to do this in my courtroom ““ don’t worry about it.” It also signals to others that the court is biased in favor of foreclosing plaintiffs, the banks. But why would judges do this in light of the fact that there are many types of cases coming before them other than foreclosure? What is the impression that litigants and their attorneys get when witnessing the judge’s outright disregard for the rules of civil procedure and often long-standing case law? And, what would give a judge the motivation to reach and maintain this posture for such an extended period of time? Any observer really paying attention will be hard pressed not to reach the conclusion that there is something really wrong here.
Florida Judges, conservative by nature, have been made to act in a manner contrary to their oath, duty and past history in large part because there is currently a significant conflict of interest built into the system. That is, the judiciary’s budgetary constraints ““ think money ““ has been significantly impacted in large part by the very entities that violate its rules. That makes the courts of our state and our elected judges beholden to the banks and other foreclosing plaintiffs, plain and simple. The judiciary needs the foreclosure filing fees for their very survival. A foreclosure moratorium, mythical and fictional by any stretch of the imagination, would leave the Florida court system feening for another shot. The impact would be devastating by some accounts. Anyone doubting this issue exists can simply refer to comments made recently by the highest judicial officer in our state, Chief Justice Charles Canady. The good justice, while urging against continued cuts to the court system budget, appeared worried about the reduction in filings by foreclosing plaintiffs when he said ” we’ve seen a drop in the filings”. He goes on to say that “Lenders, because they didn’t have their act together, they’ve not been filing the way that was anticipated.” Apparently there was some expectation regarding the number of foreclosure filings that did not happen and that had a big impact on the judiciary’s budget.
In all fairness the Chief justice was also saying that these filing fees are not going to bridge the budgetary gap in the short-term or the long-term. However, it becomes one of these duh moments when any casual observer might conclude, wait a minute ““ the courts need money and the biggest source of money is coming from these foreclosing banks ““ of course the judges aren’t going to rule against the banks and bite the hand that feeds them. The appearance of bias and conflict of interest is inescapable. The state court system’s $370 million trust fund gets 80% of its money, or $285 million, from foreclosure fees. What circuit court judge is going to destroy their career by bucking the system? So what if some rules are not followed and that fraud has overtaken and compromised the integrity of the courts. The trust funds must be protected ““ or so we have been told. History will record this period as yet another example of how financial institutions corrupted even our most trusted institution, the judiciary, and how the people eventually lost faith. It’s scary to think where all of this will go when the people no longer believe in the fairness and impartiality of what was once the best legal system in the world.
So when you hear foreclosure attorneys complain about plaintiff violations of rules of civil procedure and the court’s departure from essential requirements of law, take a step back and put it all into perspective. The plaintiffs have essentially bought themselves an entire state judiciary ““ even if only in appearance. Ironically, this out-in-the-open strategy is very different than when a judge is compromised by a bribe in some back office. In the latter case there is someone to charge, prosecute and remove from the bench. It’s a very high price to pay for such a fall. However, in the current context where the entire judiciary has been systematically hijacked, the price to be paid will be borne by all Floridians for years to come. Florida will be plagued with clouds on property titles for years. And, who in their right mind would want to relocate their company to Florida when there is little to no confidence in the state’s ability to resolve disputes? Every principal, associate, supplier or employee relocating to Florida would be exposed to buying property that may be subject to future attack on title, or perhaps entirely be ineligible for title insurance. That is assuming the new buyer can even obtain a loan because of the history of the title is in question.
This is what those filing fees have purchased. Want the fees to continue? Then don’t rule against the banks. Want a balanced system of justice everyone can believe in ““ restore the faith of the people by eliminating the appearance of bias and ruling according to the law before it’s too late. So much has already been lost.
why are these Judges still covering the foreclosures??? is the BIG question.
GET RID OF THEM — and to those of you who have already been foreclosed upon by these HORRIBLE bought judges, don’t forget your lawsuit against them.
JUST SICKENS ME !
What really should be happening is judges must
refuse requests for a delay from foreclosing to get their papers in order!!!
THEIR PAPERS SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN ORDER BEFORE THEY GOT TO COURT!
Only a JUDGE in his/her right mind should be turning around and dismissing the foreclosure with prejudice then in the same breath filing a CONTEMPT OF COURT on the banks and their atty’s for submitting fraudulent shoddy paperwork. PERIOD.
Nothing more Nothing less.
We need to recognize that long established rules and procedures are the backbone of the protections we are all given in the US Constitution. If we stand aside and let those protections be trampled since ” this is only foreclosure”, then what’s to stop them the next time there’s any other kind of dispute?