Real Change Requires Action from the Judiciary
As a foreclosure defense attorney for hundreds of homeowners throughout Florida, I’m constantly being asked:
“What do recent reports of a ‘foreclosure moratorium’ mean for my case?”
This is a perfectly legitimate question. After all, with the flood of media attention on foreclosure fraud in recent days, and the ever-increasing number of banks halting their foreclosure proceedings, you’d think there would be a drastic impact on foreclosure cases. Unfortunately, that’s simply not the case. Generally speaking, it’s “business as usual” in Florida courtrooms.
It seems hard to believe, I know. Numerous high-ranking politicians, Congressman, and Attorney Generals (not to mention many of the best reporters in the country) have voiced their displeasure at the foreclosure fraud that is permeating our courtrooms. Mainstream America is getting more and more angry at the manner in which banks have fraudulently “pushed through” foreclosure cases. So what’s the problem?
Amidst it all, the judiciary remains silent.
I’ve seen no changes in procedures, no announcements about taking a closer look at files, no elimination of “rocket dockets” – essentially, it’s business as usual for judges in Florida courtrooms. Respectfully, I find this bitterly disappointing. Some of the highest-ranking officials in the country are crying for change, banks have admitted pervasive fraud throughout our courts, yet our judges remain silent. With all of the outcry from Congress, AGs, and the media:
The silence from the judiciary is deafening.
Here’s the sad reality, folks. The media, Congressman, AGs, foreclosure defense attorneys – we can all agree that widespread change is necessary. But until judges start to act differently in our courtrooms, nothing will change.
You may think the banks have changed, as evidenced by their self-imposed moratoriums. I couldn’t disagree more. All the banks are doing is giving lip service to Congressman and title insurance companies. Soon, they’ll all be saying “See? We changed our procedures. Everything is fine now.”
Eliminating the foreclosure fraud that has become commonplace in our courts requires our judges to acknowledge the fraud and take appropriate action. At this point, that hasn’t happened (certainly not on a widspread level). That makes it all the more important that homeowners facing foreclosure retain a competent foreclosure defense attorney to defend their foreclosure case. After all, from what I’ve seen so far, unless a lawyer is pointing out the flaws in the bank’s paperwork, nobody else involved in the case seems to care.
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