Foreclosure Mills Resist Franklin County Court Orders To Personally Certify Authenticity, Accuracy Of Filed Documents

In Franklin County, Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reports:

• In response to a national outcry over fraudulent foreclosure filings, three Franklin County judges are requiring lawyers to verify that all of the documents in residential-foreclosure actions are valid.

• Six of the lawyers affected by the order are fighting back. They have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to prohibit the judges from requiring them to sign "certifications" on behalf of their clients. The dispute could slow the processing of some foreclosure cases.

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• [County Pleas Judge Guy] Reece said there are alternatives for lawyers who don't want to sign the certification. "They have the option of showing up in court, having a hearing and producing the evidence," he said.

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• The controversy was driven in part by the revelation that some law firms and major lenders were using so-called "robo-signers" to complete affidavits on foreclosures without reading the documents or verifying ownership of the mortgages' notes.

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• In October, The Dispatch examined the files of more than 130 people whose houses were slated for auction and identified at least 55 whose foreclosure cases contained mistakes, omissions of crucial evidence or questionable affidavits.

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• The judges told the lawyers that they must "personally certify the authenticity and accuracy of all documents" in support of a residential-foreclosure filing. If a lawyer doesn't comply, the judge will not grant a motion for default or summary judgment, but will instead schedule the case for trial. That could delay a case for as long as a year.

For more, see Local judges get tough on foreclosure documents.