The Florida Bar sent out an email today clarifying that service by e-mail will not become MANDATORY until September 1, 2012, in civil, probate, small claims, and family law divisions of the trial courts, as well as in all appellate cases. E-mail service in criminal, traffic, and juvenile matters is not mandatory until October 1, 2013. The Florida Supreme Court's original opinion requiring e-service contained an effective date of July 1, 2012. A corrected opinion and correction notice were … [Read more...]
Amended opinion – e-mail service is not mandatory until September 1, 2012
June 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Save your home by deeding it to a trust?
June 22, 2012 By 1 Comment
The Palm Beach Post published an excellent article about the newest method some underwater owners are using to try to save their homes from foreclosure. Many people consider this a way to "beat the bank in foreclosures." Is it a brilliant legal strategy or just the latest scheme? You decide. The Post reports that at least two different companies (Fidelity Land Trust Co. and Equus Partners) are using a method to try to help underwater homeowners save their homes. [It's a] complex legal … [Read more...]
Service of pleadings via email is mandatory in Florida starting July 1st
June 21, 2012 By 14 Comments
Earlier today, the Florida Supreme Court released Opinion No. SC10-2101. All Florida lawyers need to read this opinion ASAP since it makes MAJOR changes to the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration, with conforming amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Florida Probate Rules, the Florida Rules of Traffic Court, the Florida Small Claims Rules, the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, and the … [Read more...]
Can Florida judges be “connected” with lawyers on LinkedIn?
May 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Can judges be “connected” with lawyers on LinkedIn? According to the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, the answer is a qualified “no.” See Opinion 2012-12. This isn’t the first time Florida's Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee dealt with the issue of judges’ use of social media and interactions with lawyers. In a 2009 opinion, the same Committee ruled that it was not permissible for a judge to approve a lawyer who may appear before the judge as a "friend" on a social … [Read more...]
Should banks be able to avoid judicial fraud inquiries by voluntarily dismissing a case?
May 12, 2012 By 2 Comments
Should banks be able to avoid judicial fraud inquiries by voluntarily dismissing a case? The Florida Supreme Court heard arguments on that issue yesterday in Pino v. Bank of New York. The issue is pretty straightforward, but it is a very important one. In Pino, the Bank of New York filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Mr. Pino. Mr. Pino’s lawyers challenged a document created by the bank’s lawyers (Law Offices of David J. Stern) and sought to question employees about the document’s … [Read more...]
Florida joins in $25 billion foreclosure settlement
February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
It’s official. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi signed off on the record $25 billion joint federal-state settlement agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers over foreclosure abuses and unacceptable nationwide mortgage servicing practices. Forty-nine of the fifty states have approved it, with Oklahoma being the lone hold out. According to the Florida Attorney General’s official press release, the settlement generally releases civil claims related to robo-signing, … [Read more...]
Broward Courts Considering Changes to Residential Foreclosure Mediation Program
January 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I was honored to co-moderate last night’s Foreclosure Crisis Committee which was held by the Broward County Bar Association’s Real Property Section. I previously blogged here about the Florida Supreme Court’s termination of the statewide mandatory mediation program for residential foreclosures. The new Administrative Order provides that circuit chief judges of each circuit may “adopt or employ any measures permitted by statute or court rule to manage pending and new residential … [Read more...]
Palm Beach County Courts Redact Personal Information from Cases Available to Public
January 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Yesterday's Palm Beach Post ran an informative article about the Palm Beach County Clerk's Office redacting personal information from cases available to public. The article explained that certain imaged documents from the court file can now be viewed at terminals at the South County and North County Courthouses. The most interesting part of the article was at the end: Bock also points out that lawmakers have kept in place a restriction keeping court records from public view online. Images of … [Read more...]
Florida Ends Statewide Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Managed Mediation (RMFM) Program
December 21, 2011 By 4 Comments
Florida’s residential mortgage foreclosure managed mediation (RMFM) program is dead. Administrative Order No. AOSC11-44, signed yesterday by Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady, terminates the statewide mediation program. The Court has reviewed the reports on the program and determined it cannot justify continuation of the program. Accordingly, upon issuance of this administrative order, the statewide managed mediation program is terminated. Cases already referred to and … [Read more...]
Your Chance to Vote on New TILA / GFE / HUD-1 Forms
November 10, 2011 By 1 Comment
Our federal government is once again going to make real estate transactions "easier" for consumers to understand. For almost two years, real estate practitioners have been struggling with the new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1 Settlement Statements on all RESPA transactions. The intent behind these revised forms was to make things "easier" for the consumer. The result was, of course, the exact opposite. The new forms are creating a host of compliance issues for lenders and … [Read more...]
