Following on the heels of a New York ruling that lawyers must sign affidavits attesting to the truthfulness and thoroughness of their foreclosure filings, a Florida judge has found one of Fannie Mae’s former law firm’s partners in contempt for “sham” foreclosure documents that wasted the court’s time[1]. Marc Ben-Ezra, a founding partner of Ben-Ezra & Katz, received the contempt charge. Even though he was not the direct attorney handling the case that led to the charge – a foreclosure case in which the original note and original mortgage were claimed to be lost, then filed, then revealed to be not only improperly signed and notarized, but also for a different property than the one in foreclosure – the judge ordered the owner of the firm to appear in court, and so Ben-Ezra did so. At that time, the foreclosure case was dismissed and the lender was prohibited from re-filing the case. Fannie Mae dismissed the firm last week due to “execution issues,” and Ben-Ezra & Katz responded, saying that although it was in the process of correcting “technical paperwork issues…Fannie Mae did not give us the chance to execute that plan.”
Cases like this are likely just the tip of the iceberg. In New York last October, a judge ruled that all foreclosure cases must be accompanied by a sworn statement from the lawyer handling the case “certifying to the best of their knowledge, bank paperwork contained no false statements”[2]. In the ensuing scramble in that state to procure such paperwork – and the subsequent impossibility of getting such a statement in many cases – the area has experienced a 59 percent drop in foreclosure filings, and many attorneys report that homeowners previously facing foreclosure are now in negotiations with their lenders.
In Florida and around the country, many lenders are having trouble finding anyone to represent them. Fannie Mae is having particular difficulties in Florida, where replacement lawyers are unwilling to take on new cases and, in many cases, unable to do so because Fannie Mae’s previous law firms, David J. Stern and Ben-Ezra & Katz among them, have not turned over paperwork. In fact, many foreclosure cases remain lawyer-less, and one Royal Pam Beach firm has started asking judges – with some success – to dismiss lawyer-less cases and just wait to see if they are re-filed.
How many times do you think a lender should be able to re-file a foreclosure if some type of “fraud” is at the root of the suit?
Thank you for reading the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter!
Your comments and questions are welcomed below.
[1] http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/foreclosures/lawyer-held-in-contempt-over-fraud-in-foreclosure-1248825.html
[2] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704858404576134333741564532.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
The innocent too are victims, as the greedy banksters continue to amass all wealth. Do you see any criminal charges here? Why was the Atty that was there found in contempt and booked. Common criminals are and this RICO conspiracy is bigger than all.
This is just the tip of the ice burg of the corruption that has been going on throughout the US. Just today on the news, Madoff (his name fits — made off with billions) is now stating the banks and Wall Street knew there was something wrong, but allowed him to continue. Let’s talk about a bigger ponzi scheme the US government has been playing with Social Security. The government robbed the SS fund years ago and now expect future contributors to pay the bill — are any of them going to jail like Madoff? What a joke…
Having watched over many years the banks and other financial institutions break the law, the homeowners, whether current, in foreclosure or having been foreclosed on and anyone else who may ever desire to own property are starting to realize that this is not just about foreclosure this is about CLEAN TITLE to property. I have been working on educating and it would be a great benefit if attorneys and judges understood the magnitude of the true outcome of this lawless act. We, the banks, lawyers, title companies, counties nor the homeowners know who owns the title to our lands whether the mortgage is paid or not. This has caused a problem of double jeopardy and lack of revenue due our counties to protect our homes and land. We need to come together to educate and bring back true title ownership while helping reduce the debt and strain on our country. When is the last time we saw government agencies firing their attorneys? Let’s Bless America!
The substance of most foreclosures is the borrower did not pay, and the agreement with the lender was broken. Technical issues, like original documents being missing are secondary. Recorded documents are recorded for a purpose. Are we going to start requiring property owners to provide original deeds to prove ownership? Let’s burn all the county records and start a new system. Call it Chaos.
When a loan is closed by the lenders attorneys, I was always under the impression that the “original” mortgages, notes and titles were on file in every county courthouse records department in Florida and most if not all other states in the USA. Forgive my ignorance, but why are the banks having trouble proving that they are the rightful owners and have the right to foreclose? Does the presense of MERS in the mortgage and notes of many have something to do with it. Is the fact that through securitization, loan ownerships changed multiple times without notifying the counties that there was a change in said ownerships?