I have just learned that the Attorney General’s office has taken action today to fix one of the largest flaws in the Foreclosure Rescue Act. I don’t have the exact language, from from what I’ve been told, it uses the “express authority” provision in 501.1377 (2)(b) 2. to authorize certain Florida attorneys to provide foreclosure-related rescue services… thereby excepting those attorneys from the definition of “foreclosure resuce consultants.”
More on this as I get details.
UPDATE: Here’s the Letter from Attorney General Bill McCollum to Florida Bar President Jay White.
Dear Mr. White:
It has come to the attention of the Department of Legal Affairs that there is some question about whether attorneys providing legal counsel to homeowners facing foreclosure, most particularly when such persons are in bankruptcy, are subject to the provisions of the Foreclosure Rescue Act, Section 501.1377, Florida Statutes (2008) effective October 1, 2008. In order to ensure that the attorney/client relationship is not adversely affected by this new provision, the Office of the Florida Attorney General, Department of Legal Affairs, provides as follows:
Pursuant to its authority under Section 501.1377(2)(b)2, Florida Statutes (2008), the Office of the Florida Attorney General, Department of Legal Affairs, hereby approves for exclusion from the definition in this provision of a foreclosure rescue consultant, a person licensed to practice law in this state, when such person provides legal representation to a client with respect to a foreclosure.
Please disseminate this information to members of the Florida Bar by any method you deem appropriate.
Sincerely,
Bill McCollum
This solution is so simple, elegant, and effective I’m a bit chagrined I didn’t think of it myself.
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