ACT I
From: Lisa E. <lisabep@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 2:32 PM
Subject: Foreclosure Crisis
To: slee@pbcgov.org
Dear, Chief Judge Peter D. Blanc,
My name is Lisa Epstein. I am writing to you to introduce myself and ask for a meeting to discuss some of the issues with the current state of our county’s foreclosure crisis. I would especially welcome the opportunity to walk you through a sampling of the foreclosure files and the official land records filed in your court. I will show you the same signatories signing as officers of a multitude of different banks, with many variations of their signatures. I will show you original notes stamped VOID. I will show you notes with restricted endorsements to a party who is not the Plaintiff and no allonge or other form of assignment of rights or entitlements to the Plaintiff bringing the foreclosure action.
Judge Blanc, take a moment to please lay aside the stigma of the “deadbeat borrower” who lied on their mortgage application and is trying to scam a free home. Most people in foreclosure today are hard working, everyday Americans who have been victimized by a Wall Street leviathan which shoveled into it’s ravenous maw millions of loans created by highly incentivized, reckless, predatory, fraudulent lending practices which have felled our entire country and have taken down the global economy to boot. We are in desperate straits, after draining our savings and other access to funds (retirement, college, rainy day, credit cards, loans from relatives), etc. Most of us were purposefully held off, deceived by unfulfilled promises of loan modifications, while we struggled to pay an unexplained, ever-increasing monthly mortgage payment. Now newly unemployed, out of safety net options, no modification in sight, served with foreclosure lawsuits, our families are facing homelessness. We were recently productive members of society, working and enjoying the recreational offerings of our lovely state. We were sold loans, based on criminally over-inflated appraisals, where we qualified only for the “teaser rate” but were hornswoggled by commitments of fee-free refinances prior to the rate reset. We are not experts in mortgage products, housing market price fluctuations, fair market value, etc. We trusted the professed experts in their fields, as we do when we are diagnosed with an illness, require auto repairs, or have our taxes prepared. Many of us had our property insurance canceled, and then a five-fold increased cost forced-place insurance dumped on our loan (called “loan packing”), manufacturing a default and subsequent foreclosure.
Foreclosure mill attorneys and their clients bamboozle their way into court. The foreclosure cases, not to mention the official public land records, are a gallimaufry of fabricated, forged, and altered documents proffered as proof of the right to foreclose and evict a Floridian family from their home. Judge Blanc, if I pulled any one of these stunts, even once, I’d be slapped with felony criminal charges, yet these acts occur thousands of times per day in our courts. I am deeply concerned that the senior judges who may be unaware of the issues discussed in this email and the attached documents might be adjudicating these foreclosures without an updated knowledge base. One judge explained, “The lawyers for the banks will tell me about the case. Since they are officers of the court, I can trust them at their word.” Judge Blanc, I fear that there may be repercussions down the line from tens of thousands of unfounded, but granted foreclosure actions. Repercussions that negatively impact the integrity of our public land records, the public’s trust in the judicial system, and thousands of houses with cloudy titles sitting empty and unsellable.
As a weekly observer in foreclosure court, I see all walks of society losing their homes, many without alternative housing options. To me, the worst is the families with young children, pets, and the most horrifying is the elderly. Judge Blanc, Florida’s elderly! Some in their 80s and 90s, whose homes were fully paid off, yet were lured into over-inflated, teaser rate loans, and now are in foreclosure. Some of these older Floridians have no living children, no lifespan left in which to recover from this economic blow, and no place to go! My G-D, what is to happen to these people? I question daily how we as a society can treat our citizens of all ages, and our beloved pets this way, evicting them from the only homes they know.
I have been working tirelessly, contacting all three branches of our state and federal government and law enforcement agencies on every level. In my work, I have seen levels of fraud and corruption that started prior to individual loan origination and continues past the post-foreclosure sale. I have reported criminal acts to the Florida Office of the Attorney General and to the U.S. Department of Justice.
I offer emotional support to hundreds of people in foreclosure across our nation. I own and manage a website where people can post their stories in a safe place. I host a monthly Happy Hour for professionals who strive to help Floridians defend their homes.
Although I am not an attorney, I have acted as an “Interested Person” (example Case No: 502007CA008051) and an ” Amicus Curiae” (example Case No: 502008CA016305) in several foreclosure cases. I have submitted comments to the Florida Supreme Court which can be found at these links. I attempted to attach another comment which was recently submitted on 4/12/10 and is currently under review.
- See 10/7/09 for my first comment to the Florida Supreme Court (scroll down to EPSTEIN 10/7/09): http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info/foreclosure_comments.shtml
- See 10/21/09 for my second comment to the Florida Supreme Court and exhibits (Scroll down to EPSTEIN 10/21/09) http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info/summaries/briefs/09/09-1460/index.html
- See 10/26/09 for the FL Supreme Court’s response to my comment (Scroll down to EPSTEIN 10/26/09) http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info/summaries/briefs/09/09-1460/index.html
I spent numerous hours and effort towards the defeat of the non-judicial foreclosure bills HB1523 and SB2270. I spoke at a press conference on the Florida Capitol steps last week, video here.
Judge Blanc, please, I will work out any meeting time with you individually or in a committee meeting where I can present my underrepresented and unique perspective. Name the date and time. Please note that I have no desire to discuss any matters that involve me personally. The fact that I, a shy quiet woman, would write such an outlandish offer reveals to me the deep level of moral certitude that guides my work in the immoral, unethical, and many times illegal and unfounded foreclosures in America today.
Thank you for taking the time to read my email.
Lisa Epstein
607 Gazetta Way
West Palm Beach, FL 33413
561.512.0972
____________
RESULT: IGNORED
ACT II
From: Lisa E. <lisabep@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 8:38 PM
Subject: Florida Supreme Court Rule 1.110(b) Verified Foreclosure Complaint Ignored by Foreclosure Bar
To: slee@pbcgov.org
Dear Judge Peter Blanc,
I am writing to you again, this time to respectfully plead with you regarding the blatant and disrespectful disregard for the Florida Supreme Court’s rule amendment 1.110(b) by the members of the foreclosure bar. I am uniquely qualified to discuss this with you in light of the fact that I was active in submitting a time-consuming and well researched comment in regards to this case. See my comment here under EPSTEIN on 10/21/2009 and the Justices’ response to me on 10/26/2009. http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info/summaries/briefs/09/09-1460/index.html
I am terribly disappointed and deeply alarmed to see such disregard for the rules set by the highest court in the state! How is anyone to have faith in our judicial system if the opposing counsels’ officers of the court can unilaterally elect to opt out of the Rules of the Court? When one considers that Florida’s Attorney General’s office has opened a case to investigate allegations of false and fraudulent pleadings and exhibits filed by members of the Foreclosure Bar, one is even more concerned! http://myfloridalegal.com/__85256309005085AB.nsf/0/A4F1B85DCC5D5ACD852577130045B63F?Open&Highlight=0,florida,default
Judges are elected to their position and are granted a great responsibility to administer the highest values of our country: fairness, justice, equal treatment under the law.
The ultimate sanctions should be meted out, court ordered case dismissals, sua sponte, WITH prejudice or in the alternative, without prejudice forcing a refiling of the case and a chance to recoup some much needed revenue to prevent layoffs of the hard working employees of the 15th Judicial Circuit.
I respectfully request that you please contact me if you wish to discuss this matter further.
Sincerely,
Lisa Epstein
561-512-0972
______________
RESULT: DENIED
Letter From Chief Judge Blanc RE Foreclosure Crisis
ACT III
From: Lisa E. <lisabep@gmail.com>
To: slee@pbcgov.org
Date Sun, May 16, 2010 at 7:33 PM
Subject Fwd: Florida Supreme Court Rule 1.110(b) Verified Foreclosure Complaint Ignored by Foreclosure Bar
Dear Judge Peter Blanc,
Thank you very much for your reply. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that your fellow judges are beginning to address the issues discussed in my email below!
Please see the attached order from your colleague in the 12 Judicial Circuit. The 3rd directive of this Honorable Judge’s order speaks to an issue which seems apparent in almost every foreclosure complaint filed in your court; exhibits which do not refer to the foreclosing Plaintiff whatsoever.
From my own research, the Law Office of David Stern seems to be the worst offender with 100% non-compliance with Fla.R.Civ.Pro 1.110(b). Law Offices of Marshall Watson is close behind with an estimated 20% of their foreclosure complaints with verifications. The other foreclosure bar firms do flirt with compliance in the loosest, mildest way. Law Office of Daniel Consuegra filed my personal favorite, see (Consuegra HSBC Maria Vadney.JPG (image/jpeg) 214K). Florida Default Law Group places a free form verification that addresses some but not all of the allegations in the complaint (something which your colleague directly addressed in the attached order). FDLG’s free form verifications do not address who is the holder of the note in the foreclosure action or if the note has been lost, regardless of the fact that those facts are alleged in the complaint. I’ve attached several examples of “verifications” for your review so you can come to your own conclusions regarding compliance with the intent of the Florida Supreme Court’s amended rule. (Please take note the titles, place of notary, etc of these documents).
The bonuses for the 12th Judicial Circuit are 1) earned respect for insisting on officers of the court comply with the intent of the orders of the highest court in our state and 2) the additional and significant revenue upon the foreclosure bar’s refiling of hundreds, if not thousands, of foreclosure cases which had been (and will be) dismissed for non-compliance.
Thank you once again for your time and attention.
Lisa Epstein
RESULT: IGNORED
Guess the efforts failed…
At least she tried…
~
Dear Judge Peter Blanc,
I bought a new home in 2007 and Chase funded it. I was to be called to the closing table when the certificate of occupancy was issued. Guess what I was locked out of the house for over 9 months and Chase expected me to pay the mortgage. Bowman in Broward county is not helping me. What is wrong with this picture
Thank you for all who are helping. Looking for someone to help save my homes.
I am looking for help to save my home. Fraudulent documents, unknowlageable supposedly foreclosure attorney (criminal) attorney did not do much but take a lot of money. I acturally had to tell him of the fraudulent activities regarging the documents (mostly lost) asssignment problems. The true owner of my homes unclear and there were many other problems such as not even able to talk in court and an illegal mediation that was court ordered. I had to go in to chapter 13 but need an attorney to help me with with the banks and lower or terminate payments due to all the lies and legal fees I’ve paid. I thank all who have helped us in our time of need. I would really like to keep my home.
UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!
I think Chief Judge Peter Blanc may feel a little foolish now.
Judges asking for more evidence on foreclosures
October 18th, 2010 by Kim Miller
Palm Beach County judges are going to be looking closer at foreclosure filings, asking for evidence to be attached to affidavits instead of taking them at face value.
The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure requires affidavits to not only include sworn knowledge as to the statements made in the affidavit, but also to have “sworn or certified copies of all papers or parts thereof referred to in an affidavit” attached.
foreclosure-notice1
Chief Judge Peter Blanc said with the volume of foreclosures judges were processing in the past, uncontested cases were not being questioned as to the attachment of documents.
But considering recent revelations that the affidavits were likely flawed, he thinks it’s a good idea to start requiring the supporting evidence.
“In the past, the judges weren’t requiring the attachments, now we’ve got something in the record saying there may be a problem, so now they should attach the documents,” Blanc said. “Dealing with the volume we are dealing with, we want to make sure all of our i’s are dotted and t’s crossed.”
Foreclosure defense attorneys have been trying to draw attention to the affidavit issue for months, including objecting to summary judgments based on the lack of documentation.
Tampa-based attorney Mark Stopa said it was the judges duty to require the attachments.
“It’s still (the judge’s) obligation, even inan uncontested case, to make sure the plaintiff has met its burden of proof. The volume of cases before you does not change the plaintiff’s burden,” Stopa wrote.
In other foreclosure news, more sworn statements were released today by the AG’s office. In one, a David J. Stern employee not only backs up previous statements about foreged signatures, but also says that problem files were hidden from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac auditors. Basically, employees would change the client names on the files and then put them in another room. When Fannie and Freddie left, they would put their names back on the files.
Source: http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/realtime/2010/10/18/judges-asking-for-more-evidence-on-foreclosures/
This is an e-mail sent earlier today…let’s see if the cops come bust down my door…
To: Florida Supreme Court
Attn: Supreme Court Justices
Apparently I am an idiot, or I am presumed to be in reference to reality. My reality is that I have personally witnessed a judge disobey the law during my hearing for the illegal foreclosure of my house. As did many attorneys who are “powerless” to do anything about it. When I quote the law as it is written, to the judge, and the judge deliberately ignores me as if I weren’t there I would equate that as I do not exist. So, since I don’t exist, the case doesn’t exist either, right ?
There is nobody there to actually witness the judge breaking the law and do anything about it (baliffs are just watchdogs, ignorant of the law), so does that mean that it didn’t happen? There is no recourse in this matter other than to go to trial. OR, for an actual Supreme Court Justice, that allegedly represents the people, to sit and watch the due process of law being ignored.
I “served” this country for 11 years in the Army to defend the Constitution of The United States. To defend the Constitutional Republic. I guess my reality is scewed once more. Unless one of you guys cares to admit that this country is no longer a republic and merely a private corporation, but I regress, I am still, an idiot.
The Rule of Law no longer exists. Simple example- traffic violations, IF they are a crime, then why cannot the state show Corpus delecti ? Where is the “injured party” ? Where is the “injury to person or property” when going through a Stop sign? What is the cause of action, going against an arbitrary idea ?
And you people let this happen ?
Oaths ? What are those ? Things on paper and in peoples dreams.
I would simply ask that one of you judges go to a foreclosure hearing and witness the fraud and dare say that it is legal. Oh no, we don’t do it that way…we are not here to seek solutions for the public, just interpret the law. Well, here’s your chance, go see it for yourself.
My 9-yr old daughter is a wonderful little love machine. She is beautiful, and sweet, and kind and compassionate. She is growing up experiencing one of the worst times in written history. YOU tell ME why a judge can LIE and SHE cannot.
Scewed reality I suppose.
Thank you,
Wayne Lewis
We no longer have a system of justice, all we have are judges ignoring the law and doing the will of their masters.
The solution is to file criminal complaints against the robo-signers where there is evidence of fraud and civil or class action suits against the plaintiffs, the fraudsters at the mills and the employees of both the mills and plaintiffs that are committing perjury and fraud.
We need to overwhelm the courts with civil and criminal actions against these fraudsters.
Lisa you are an awesome woman! I say this because you have the courage of Jael and the wisdom of Haddasah. Do not expect these courts of Babylon (confusion) to be anything but temples of little gods pretending to be holders of the divine secrets of law. Behind these judges is a history of legal abuse but they can get by with it because they are given immunity. They cannot be taken into account. They are not accountable and they know it. They know they can be appealed but they do not care if they are over-turned. These are never placed on any public record like a police record. I am ashamed there is no justice in most Florida courts. And if a judge slips up and makes a good ruling, he is taken aside and given his warnings and he will not render another one like it. Show me where any judge has give the same decisions on multiple cases? I have yet to see the record. Someone is strong-arming the judges. I cannot believe all these men of the robes fall into the same mind-set without special training and intense brainwashing. I believe these judges are being secretly trained. Thanks Lisa, we know who can help us win this battle against injustice.
You forgot the petition to issue an order to show cause for indirect criminal contempt, based on verified and easily verifiable, overwhelming, evidence that Stern ignored a court order to mediate. He actually doubled-down on that one, the mediation firm sent the defendant a letter implying she was responsible for the fees — when the court order said the exact opposite — then sold the house while the mediation order was outstanding.
So .. verified contempt of his own judges orders: Ignored. Of course, we have a long list of similar cases, and could find even more, with the Court’s help.
As it turns out, of course, Stern’s public company, DJSP, reported about $450,000 in Q2 revenues for their newest line of business … mediation. He didn’t break down whether he owns a mediation firm or if that money is from something else.