Florida's Rocket Docket and Bank of America forgets to call the court

She began sending in her payments and was thrilled until she came home from work one day. "I had a note stuck on my door from a gentleman that had bought my home at auction the day before," DePuy says. "So, Bank of America [had] never contacted the courts to let them know we were in a modification and not to sell my house."

NPR
By Greg Allen
10/21/10
Two of the nation's largest mortgage lenders, Bank of America and GMAC, say they're resuming foreclosures with new procedures in place to ensure their paperwork is legal and accurate.

Those banks, and several others, froze foreclosure proceedings when evidence emerged that employees were falsifying affidavits and cutting corners to speed along the legal process.

In Fort Myers, Fla., the number of foreclosure cases being heard immediately fell by at least a third. Even so, this is still one of the nation's busiest foreclosure courts.

A 'Rocket Docket'

Among attorneys, homeowners — and even the judges — it's known as the "rocket docket." Since 2008, courts in Lee County have been hearing as many as 200 foreclosure cases each day.

On a recent day in Judge James Thompson's courtroom, proceedings were a little more measured. Thompson is one of four senior judges brought back from retirement specifically to hear foreclosures in Fort Myers.

He's hearing a request from defense attorney Ryan Dugan to dismiss a foreclosure. It involves a property on which Wells Fargo says it has the mortgage. Dugan points out to the judge that the documents indicate it's owned by another company.

"My point, your honor, is that there's nothing that was attached that shows anything to support the transfer from United Mortgage Corp. to Wells Fargo," the attorney says.

Missing Paperwork

This kind of missing paperwork is routine in foreclosure courts in Florida and across the country. Dugan says requiring the banks to find the missing documents buys time for defendants to try to negotiate with their lenders or stay a few more months in their home, but rarely changes the end result.

Now it appears some problems with mortgage documents may be more widespread and more systemic than previously suspected. Multiple federal agencies and attorneys general of all 50 states are investigating — with Florida taking a leading role.

The allegations led Bank of America and other lenders to temporarily suspend foreclosures. But in Fort Myers, even attorneys who represent homeowners say the new questions about mortgage documents are likely to do little to slow the momentum of the rocket docket.

"It is going to be a road bump," Dugan says. "The question is, is it only a pebble? Or is it a large speed bump? But, either way, it's only going to delay it for a while."

A Surprise Home Sale

That's not to say that everyone in Fort Myers is happy with how the courts handle foreclosures.

After Nicole DePuy was forced to take a pay cut in her job with the Lee County schools, she began having trouble making her mortgage payment. So she began negotiating with her lender, Bank of America. In January, after more than a year of talks, the bank finally agreed to modify her loan to a monthly payment she could afford, DePuy says.

She began sending in her payments and was thrilled until she came home from work one day. "I had a note stuck on my door from a gentleman that had bought my home at auction the day before," DePuy says. "So, Bank of America [had] never contacted the courts to let them know we were in a modification and not to sell my house."

DePuy immediately hired a lawyer and went back to the rocket docket with a motion seeking to overturn the foreclosure. The judge ruled against her — and said it was a justified sale. "The judge actually admitted she had not read my affidavit or any of the information because she had too many cases to listen to that day," DePuy says. "So, I think that's a big part of the problem right there." NPR complete article