David Stern Disbarred, Recommends Florida Bar Referee

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by Mike on October 28, 2013

The case of Florida Bar v. David J. Stern just reached its next-to-last step, as the judge presiding over the hearing recommended disbarment.

The report is scathing. Read it for yourself: Florida Bar v. David J. Stern: Report of Referee [PDF]

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Can You Cancel Your Mortgage Based on Forged Signatures?

October 9, 2013
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You’ve got a forged signature in your mortgage documents. You’ve got them dead to rights—there’s no doubt it’s a fake. You’re excited, because you think you might have a free house. So, can you cancel your mortgage? The answer may surprise you. Who Else Wants a Free House? A lot of homeowners call us, having […]

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The Florida Bar v. David J Stern: No Harm, No Foul?

October 1, 2013
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Although many people have heard of the Florida foreclosure kingpin David J. Stern, not many of those people get to see him in person.  And I, who have litigated hundreds of cases against his law firm, never saw the man before today, when I testified in the trial of the numerous bar complaints against Stern. […]

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The Mandate from Tallahassee: Ease Up on Banks or Crack the Whip?

September 27, 2013
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The Angry Judge and the Mandate from Tallahassee We had settled the case, and the judge was furious. She stood up from her seat, looming over us from the bench, and yelled at the at me and the bank’s lawyer. We had dared to agree to postpone the foreclosure sale date so the bank would […]

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Is Smith, Hiatt, and Diaz (SHD Legal) about to go under?

June 6, 2013
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The law firm of Smith, Hiatt and Diaz has been in trouble before, but since January of this year there have been several warning signs that the firm may be in fatal trouble. I thought it was strange when, in January, the firm failed to show up for two hearings in a single week—one of […]

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The biggest mistake you can make in fighting your foreclosure: hiring the WRONG lawyer

May 17, 2013

Don’t hire the WRONG foreclosure defense lawyers Sometimes having the wrong lawyer is worse than having no lawyer at all. Here’s a redacted paragraph out of a recent decision by Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal about the shoddy work of one defense law firm: The quality of the legal work performed by [defense] attorneys […]

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David J. Stern: Florida Bar files 17-count complaint

April 18, 2013

Almost everyone knows that the Law Office of Davis J. Stern has been out of operation for more than two years now,even though the legal entity still exists (mainly for the purpose of suing its former clients for fees). But Stern himself looks like he’s about to lose his license. On April 17, the Florida […]

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Big Four Banks Apologize for Wreaking Economic Havoc and Promise to “Make it right.”

April 1, 2013
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NEW YORK, April 1—The leaders of the nation’s largest banks held a press conference today to apologize to the nation for the disastrous impact their greed and short-sightedness has had on the U.S. economy since the turn of the century. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and JP Morgan Chase all vowed that they would […]

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Only 15% of national mortgage fraud settlement benefits Florida homeowners

February 23, 2013

Remember when the feds and the Attorneys General of the various states announced the settlement of claims arising from the robo-signing scandal? Remember how they promised that $26 billion dollars would go to help victim of foreclosure fraud? Will you be surprised to learn it didn’t exactly happen that way? Me neither. A new report […]

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Pinellas Residents:
Contact Florida Senator Jack Latvala to OPPOSE foreclosure fast-track legislation

February 11, 2013
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No Senator has yet introduced a companion bill to HB 87—but rumor has it Sen. Jack Latvala will be instrumental in one when it gets drafted. Here’s the Senator’s information: latvala.jack.web@flsenate.gov Tallahassee Office: 408 Senate Office Building 404 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100 (850) 487-5020 Please contact Set. Latvala today Our sources tell us […]

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Florida’s foreclosure fast-track bill may expose state to billions of dollars in liability under Bert Harris Act

February 11, 2013

The Florida legislature is once again considering a bill to fast-track foreclosure cases in the judicial system—even though no one wants to use the expedited procedure that already exists—and one of the most dangerous provisions the bill contains is the so-called “Finality of judgment” section. The finality provision This finality provision is backed by well-funded […]

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VOTE NO ON HB87:
An open letter to Florida’s lawmakers

February 6, 2013

Dear Subcommittee Members, Party Leaders, and all Legislators: Vote NO on House Bill 87. If you’ve never stepped foot in a foreclosure courtroom, vote NO HB 87, because you cannot understand what the real problem is. If you think that the speed of foreclosure is the fault of Florida’s homestead property owners, then vote NO […]

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The “Bring a court action” language does not substantially comply with Paragraph 22, says Broward County judge in blistering opinion

January 24, 2013

What’s the biggest battle raging on the front lines of the foreclosure wars? The failure of nearly all the banks to comply with the pre-acceleration notice requirements contained in paragraph 22 of the mortgage. The bank’s breach vs. substantial compliance On the defense side, we see that nearly every letter that goes out contains some […]

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Another one bites the dust: Spear and Hoffman, minor foreclosure mill, to close its doors

January 8, 2013

A day after we learned aout the impending closure of Marshall C Watson, P.A., we have now learned that Spear and Hoffman P.A., a relatively small foreclosure mill based in Miami, is also shutting its doors soon. This one seems to be financial, rather than any wrongdoing—the firm had a much smaller volume than most […]

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Marshall Watson to surrender law license and close law firm

January 8, 2013

Marshall C. Watson, the lawyer at the head of one of Florida’s most notorious foreclosure mills, will soon surrender his law license and shut down his infamous law firm, reports the Palm Beach Post’s Kim Miller. According to the Post: The owner of the Fort Lauderdale-based Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson has agreed to […]

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One little letter to save your home: Florida appellate court rejects “substantial compliance” in Judy

December 1, 2012
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One little letter stands between you and the bank that wants to take your home, if you’re in foreclosure. Those of you following recent developments in foreclosure law know that a defense, first developed by the foreclosure lawyers at Ricardo & Wasylik, has been taking the state by storm: the defective notice letters sent by […]

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Florida Default Law Group, Under Investigation Again, Changes Name to Ronald R. Wolfe & Assoc.

May 28, 2012

Notorious foreclosure mill Florida Default Law Group has changed its name to Ronald R. Wolfe & Associates—possibly after a sale of the troubled firm—is under investigation again, this time for offering fake cash-for-keys deals to homeowner facing foreclosure: Christian Flint jumped at a chance to make $2,000 by leaving his rented home in Winter Springs […]

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The Law Office of David J. Stern Still Operating in 2012

May 27, 2012

Despite earlier reports that The Law Offices of David J. Stern has shut its doors forever, the firm still appears to be functioning. According to documents filed with Florida’s Secretary of State in early 2012, the law firm is still operating at a Brickell Avenue address with Stern’s long-time partner-in-foreclosure Forrest McSurdy taking the helm.

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Mysterious New Signals from Bank of Amercia: Is it About to Bust?

May 17, 2012

I’ve gotten confirmation now from multiple sources that Bank of Amercia is acting strangely in several of its foreclosure cases. Apparently officials at the highest levels of the bank have thrown the brakes on most or all pending foreclosure matters—even to the point of droping the cases rather than proceed—due to an unspecified “Depertment of […]

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