Finally, on April 18, 2013, after years of damage to Florida homeowners, the Florida Bar Association charged that Stern had "violated the Bar's rules of professional conduct " that Stern failed to properly supervise lawyers and non-lawyers at his firm and failed to halt regular violations of Bar rules."
Why did the Bar Association take 11 years, 2002 to 2013, to figure out that David Stern had some very serious problems? Stern shut down his firm but he's a Florida Bar member "in good standing." What's the punishment -- grounding him for the weekend?
A clearer demonstration of the legal climate in Florida came on May 1, 2013 when a Florida District Court of Appeal reinstated a foreclosure case dismissed by a lower court judge. The foreclosure was initially handled by David Stern in 2007. When the bank fired Stern, they failed to follow Florida law to assign a new attorney to the case. The lower court judge finally had enough and dismissed the foreclosure case. But, true to form, the bank case was rescued by the appeals court despite the banks inability to follow rules.
If you think justice and equity suffer with 103,000 foreclosures a year, how about 200,000 a year in Florida? It's not that far-fetched with the new efficiencies. In March, RealtyTrac reported "the annual percent change in foreclosure starts" for selected states. New York foreclosure starts were up 200%, Maryland 194%, and Washington state 154%.
Maybe the underlying purpose of HB 87 is to close the "foreclosure gap" between Florida and the three states just mentioned. Whatever the motive, it's not for the benefit of the people and the legal system that is supposed to protect them.
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Governor Scott - Veto Florida's Foreclosure Act - HB 87
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