I arrived at Broward County Courthouse a little after nine o'clock this morning. Patrick met me coming into courtrooms 519/518, where approximately 300 foreclosures cases are heard each day. He then informed me that his hearing on the Motion to Cancel Sale was cancelled, no reason given and the reset date to be determined. We discussed his case for a few minutes, he then left the Courthouse but I decided to spend the day "occupying the Courtroom."
At about 10:05 a.m. in Judge Haury's courtroom there were approximately fifteen (15) attorneys and I'm guessing four (4) of them represented homeowners. I had the pleasure of meeting Gloria H. a victim of an illegal foreclosure and a Pro Se litigant. Her bank is Deutsche Bank and the attorney representing Deutsche is Mark Stuart, Esquire of Morris, Hardwick, Schneider out of Tampa, Florida. Gloria informed me that after many hours researching case law and the Rules of Civil Procedure, Statutes and appeal cases, she has been able to keep the bank-at-bay.
Gloria was in Court this morning on her Motion to Compel Discovery and Request for Interrogatories. Mr. Stuart had no inkling that homeowners could be smart and capable of filing proper documents in a Court of Law. Gloria H. requests stopped him in his tracks. He proceeded to object to everything but Judge Haury in his wisdom, granted him (the bank) a second extension in which to file the requested discovery and continued the hearing to November 27, 2012. It was fun watching this bank's attorney get his ass handed to him.
I spent some time in Judge Lazarus's courtroom but nothing as interesting was happening there as all the action was in Judge Haury's. Mr. Watson informed me that Judge Haury will be leaving the foreclosure bench on Januay 11, 2013 which is unfortunate, as he is such a considerate, thoughtful, fair, emphatic and intelligent judge. It will be a lost to homeowners.
So, that was my day in Court. I took copious notes and there are many Statutes I now have to go over but what concerns me most, is the lack of homeowners present in the Courtrooms. Judge Tuter noted on Friday at the Seminar "View From the Bench" that there are about one thousand nine hundred (1900) foreclosures filed each month in Broward County. My hope is that homeowners are not appearing in court because they have all hired qualified attorneys to represent them but something tells me that perhaps, they have just walked away.
