Posts Tagged ‘Daily Business Review’

Oppenheim in the News: State Mediation Program Helps Few Florida Homeowners

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

It’s a case of: The Three Stooges and Mediation.

Roy Oppenheim and his client shared their recent story in this week’s Daily Business Review with an inside look at the trials and tribulations of a system where one asks: Who is on first?

Under a state Supreme Court order issued 18 months ago, banks have been paying third-party mediators to perform outreach and mediation in an effort to keep Floridians in their homes. But in spite of spending at least $750 per case, the lenders rarely get homeowners into mediation.

According to defense attorneys, lenders appear unprepared to mediation, only prolonging a foreclosure case. It took homeowner Juan Picasso, who went into default after his son was diagnosed with a rare cancer, 26 months to get a modification on his mortgage. Deciding to do the application for modification himself, Picasso’s application for modification was denied three times and it wasn’t until he sought foreclosure defense attorney Roy Oppenheim’s help, that the case was settled with the bank.

Picasso described a mediation session that could have been in a Three Stooges short film.
Oppenheim, a foreclosure defense attorney in Weston, produced the letters as proof and noted the bank kept losing its copies of Picasso’s financial information and the bank’s responses.

“They kept saying all kinds of different things. They force-placed insurance on the property. They said Mr. Picasso’s insurance ran out so they put a ridiculous insurance policy on the property, which quadrupled the cost of insurance. He was in default because they were not keeping track of the insurance they put on his home.”
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Daily Business Review: Roy Oppenheim Applauds Investigation on Filing Faulty Foreclosures

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has issued subpoenas to three South Florida foreclosure law firms seeking detailed financial, client and employee records.

McCollum’s economic crimes division is investigating the Law Offices of David J. Stern of Plantation, the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson of Fort Lauderdale and Shapiro & Fishman of Boca Raton and Tampa for possible unfair and deceptive actions in handling foreclosure cases.

Florida attorneys including foreclosure defense attorney and legal blogger Roy Oppenheim questioned the timing of the investigation, suggesting it was politically motivated by McCollum, a Republican candidate for governor. In a Mason-Dixon poll taken only a week ago, McCollum trailed by 6 points – 31 percent to 37 percent.

“Why didn’t he do this two years ago?” Oppenheim asked. “He knows the allegations have been out there. He knows complaints have been made. I think the timing is a little off. I’m thrilled he’s doing this, but I would have preferred he do this one-and-a-half years ago. Many people who didn’t have attorneys didn’t have the support of his office.”

Oppenheim also wishes McCollum would extend his investigation to lenders and mortgage holders for filing faulty foreclosures.

“He’s investigating the law firms, but he should be investigating the banks,” Oppenheim said. “He should also be looking into banks trespassing onto peoples’ properties. The law firms are the scapegoats. I see them as pawns.”

Check out the entire Daily Business Review article in the Oppenheim Law Newsroom

Daily Business Review Spotlights Oppenheim Law and Strategic Default in Today’s Economic Outlook

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Daily Business Review Oppenheim Law

Is strategic default nearing its peak? Oppenheim Law doesn’t think so.

Pointing to recent positive indicators in the economy and real estate market, today’s Daily Business Review poses this question to foreclosure defense attorney Roy Oppenheim in today’s Economic Outlook.

Signals of stabilization in South Florida real estate include:

  • The Florida Association of Realtors reported May data showing year-over-year increases in the median prices of single-family home sales.
  • Default Research of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, reported that initial foreclosure filings in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties fell 51 percent in May, compared with April.

A turnaround in home prices could eliminate the incentive to voluntarily enter foreclosure through strategic defaults. “If prices start going up, they wouldn’t be upside-down anymore,” Oppenheim said in the Daily Business Review. “But I don’t see that happening for awhile.”

Check out the entire Daily Business Review article in the Oppenheim Law Newsroom.

Florida Court of Appeals Tells Judges: Stop Being Compassionate

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

As discussed today in the Daily Business Review (see article below), the Third District Court of Appeals criticized a Miami Dade circuit judge for extending a foreclosure by one month. In essence, the Court reversed the judge’s opinion by stating that a courtroom is no place for compassion!

While it is inappropriate for an attorney to criticize the appellate court for possibly being uncompassionate, it is fair to say that a good foreclosure defense will go a long way in preventing a judge from having to attempt to be compassionate. Rather the Rules of Civil Procedure, the Florida Constitution, and the idea that the bank comes to the foreclosure with unclean hands will go a lot further than begging the court for mercy.

Typically circuit court judges were permitting extensions of foreclosure dates in order for homeowners to be able to complete a mortgage modification or a short sale. Ironically enough, if the banks didn’t drag their feet in approving short sales and approving modifications, the judges would never have been put in this terribly uncomfortable position in the first place.

Thus, in an ironic twist, we thank the appellate court for further justifying what we do every day and that is to defend homeowners with legitimate legal defenses in a foreclosure. The banks have done enough things incorrectly that will provide a trial judge an opportunity to delay a sale, should they want to, through the use of appropriate legal arguments.

The only unfortunate aspect of the appellate court’s ruling is that unrepresented clients will now be further churned and spit through a process that is only accelerating because of the increased workflow and reduction in court staff due to budget cuts. It is ironic that the bank even brought this action to the appellate court but it was through abuse by the homeowner that ultimately frustrated the bank in pursuing this appeal. Frankly, I would always prefer to have a strong legal argument than to beg for compassion from the court. So now you know the truth, don’t ever expect judges to be compassionate– even if it was their true desire.

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