Central Florida Non-Profit Law Firm Says Foreclosure Mill Broke "Fair Debt", State Consumer Laws; Seeks Class Action Status For Clients In Foreclosure

In Sarasota, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:

• A man fighting to save his North Port home is the latest to challenge the law office of David J. Stern, a onetime powerhouse firm handling foreclosures and now struggling under accusations it seized homes using sloppy and illegal paperwork.

• Christopher Contreras' lawsuit accuses the law firm of trying to foreclose on his home, and countless other Florida homes, with paperwork signed by a man who has admitted to signing thousands of documents without knowing what they were. The North Port contractor is asking a judge to let other Florida homeowners in the same position join his claim as a class-action lawsuit.

• Contreras and his attorneys say two documents in Contreras' case were signed by Jeffrey Stephans, whose now infamous sworn statement caused GMAC Mortgage to halt foreclosures nationwide in the past few months. Stephans said in a deposition that he signed up to 10,000 documents a month without knowing what information was in a file, or if the information was correct, earning him the name "robo-signer." He also said notaries who were supposed to watch him sign documents were not in the same room.

• Gulfcoast Legal Services(1) attorney Elizabeth Boyle, who is handling Contreras' case, says it is the first try at a class-action case challenging robo-signing at the state level. [...] Stern's firm "prepared a bogus and false assignment of mortgage in an effort to fabricate a chain of title" needed to retake the home about two weeks before filing, according to Contreras' lawsuit.

• Stephans signed documents as an officer of two different companies, and has said he did not know whether the contents of those documents were accurate, Contreras' lawsuit states. The mortgage assignment says it was executed in February and is signed by Stephans as "Vice President of MERS," or the Mortgage Electronic Registry System. In April, Stephans, this time signing as the "Limited Signing Officer" of GMAC, executed an affidavit concerning the amounts Contreras still owed on the home.

• Contreras's suit says the foreclosure case violates the Fair Debt Collection [Practices] Act and state consumer and unfair trade practices laws.

For the story, see Legal tests mount in robo-signings (FORECLOSURES: North Port suit is first to seek class- action case at state level).

(1) Gulfcoast Legal Services is a non-profit corporation providing free legal aid to income eligible residents of the greater Tampa Bay area, with offices in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota and Hillsborough Counties. They provide legal help with housing and mortgage foreclosure problems, family or domestic violence issues, immigration matters, SSI/disability and consumer matters. They also provide immigration services to residents of Pasco County, and has a special project to help seniors in Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota Counties.