Florida judge: We don't look at the mortgage foreclosure paperwork we processIsn't anything going to be done about this? Oh, never mind. What was I thinking?
Shortcuts on the foreclosure paper trailShortcuts on the foreclosure paper trail
By Todd Ruger
Published: Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, November 27, 2010 at 7:26 p.m.
To get a sense of the lawlessness in Florida's court-run foreclosure process, look no further than public records at the Sarasota and Manatee county courthouses.
There, on foreclosure documents open to everyone, is the evidence that at least one law firm's employees repeatedly broke a state law in a rush to push cases through the courthouse so banks could seize people's homes.
The evidence -- missing signatures and misdated documents that could not have been signed on the dates specified -- can be found on an important document called a "mortgage assignment." The paperwork helps prove a lender has the legal right to seize a property.
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State regulators, who were given evidence that Stern-generated documents contained legal errors, dismissed them as isolated incidents, gave the notaries involved written reprimands and allowed all but one to continue processing documents.
"It's mind-boggling that these are in the public records," said St. Petersburg foreclosure defense attorney Matt Weidner. "It's mind-boggling that there is this volume. And somebody doesn't go, 'Wait a minute, something's not right here.'"