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Beware of Zombie Foreclosures! Cases Dismissed Months Ago are Now Back from the Dead

Wed Jul 13, 2011 by on Florida Foreclosures

It’s a case of Dawn of the Dead called zombie foreclosures. In addition to the wave of Florida foreclosure cases expected once the banks get their paperwork in order and begin to foreclose on new homes again, a different wave of foreclosure cases is also ready to crest. The second wave is the zombie foreclosure wave.

The zombie cases are the ones that were dismissed without prejudice, meaning that they can be re-filed; because lawyers for the banks didn’t show up to hearings or the cases were dismissed due to legal and technical irregularities. Typically, such cases were handled by large foreclosure mills that had sloppy practices.

Now banks are getting a second shot at the cases, which will further clog the court system with even more cases. However, the backlog in the courts and the long periods of inactivity in the zombie cases does buy homeowners more time.

The future surge of cases also creates the danger that the “cookie-cutter” approach lambasted by Judge Jennifer Bailey, the head of the Miami-Dade civil court division, will once again be used by lawyers overwhelmed by the sheer number of cases to deal with. The problem is that the cookie-cutter approach was what allowed the banks and mortgage servicers to fraudulently foreclose on homeowners in the first place.

There is the potential, with the anticipated surge in foreclosure cases, for further fraud and abuse.

The irony is it could be happening with the exact same foreclosure cases that the document mills mishandled in the first place!

Tags: florida foreclosure, foreclosure mill, mortgage servicers, zombie foreclosures

8 responses to “Beware of Zombie Foreclosures! Cases Dismissed Months Ago are Now Back from the Dead”

  1. […] South Florida Law Blog Filed Under: Foreclosure Law News, Foreclosure News Tagged With: Florida, foreclosure, fraud, […]

  2. You can call me AL says:

    Oh for the love of God! Just when I think I’ve heard it all, “Zombie Foreclosures.” Braiiiiiins, the bankster body snatchers want to eat our braiiiiiins! Once again, I don’t know whether to have another cup of hyperinflated coffee or shoot myself. And the “cookie-cutter” approach? What’s that? “We’re too busy with too many cases, so put more people to live in tents under a bridge, but make sure to do it pronto.” Land of the free and home of the brave seems to be loooong gone. I wonder if we’ll ever get it back. Sigh 🙁

  3. markbrian says:

    Scary scary stuff. To me the question is how long will the American people allow this to continue?

  4. Mario Kenny says:

    well this time I am putting counter claims in the 40 million mark, come on Deutsche Bank or who ever bank wishes to come I am ready for you and waiting.

  5. […] prices will be difficult with the ending of government programs, new foreclosures hitting, and “Zombie” foreclosures coming in because there simply isn’t enough economic […]

  6. […] an attorney I’ve been dealing with zombie foreclosures for a number of years. A zombie foreclosure starts out like any other […]