Investigation Into Foreclosure Mills Hits A Snag
Recently, the Florida Attorney General began investigating several law firms handling large numbers foreclosure cases which have been described as “foreclosure mills” for filing fraudulent documents with the court.
Unfortunately, investigation hit a bit of a snag on October 4, 2010; hopefully it will just be temporary. In a hearing on a motion to quash a subpoena against one of the firms, the judge ruled the Florida Attorney General’s subpoena was overbroad and unduly burdensome.
Normally, that issue can be resolved by fine-tuning the subpoena more narrowly and then building upon what you discover later. However, the judge went further and called into question the Florida Attorney General’s constitutional authority to even investigate law firms as they are regulated by the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Bar.
The Florida Attorney General is bringing this action under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA). The judge stated it “the attorney general does not have the constitutional authority to travel under the FDUTPA to investigate and/or discipline [the firm’s] alleged malfeasance in its practice of law.”
While the issue was not before the judge and is therefore not yet decided, it opens the door for the firm’s next move in its litigation defense chess match. I disagree with the judge’s stated opinion and hopefully if the matter is ultimately decided against the Florida Attorney General, his office will take action to appeal the decision.
This Blog was written by Attorney David Fineman, Esq. of The Dellutri Law Group, P.A. Mr. Fineman practices Bankruptcy Law, Fair Credit Reporting Act Law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Law and in other areas of Consumer Law.
