Miami Trial Judge Puts Squeeze On Foot-Dragging Lenders With Old Foreclosure Cases That Clutter Judicial System

Buried in a recent Bloomberg story is this excerpt on Miami trial judge Israel Reyes:

• Judge Israel Reyes is giving the biggest U.S. banks a choice: Wrap up the home foreclosure cases clogging his Miami court, or dismiss them and walk away. Most are walking away, Bloomberg News’ David McLaughlin reports.

• “Listen, it’s either settlement or trial today. That’s it,” Reyes, 51, a former homicide detective, said two weeks ago to one lawyer who sought an extension after the homeowner received a temporary loan modification. “This case is over a year old.”

• Reyes, a judge for Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit, is forcing banks to take their cases to trial to clear his backlog of almost 3,000 foreclosures. Instead of moving ahead, the companies are backing down. They’re dismissing their own cases or not showing up to trial because they’re not prepared or, according to lawyers for homeowners, they can’t come up with the evidence required to seize the properties.

Source: Cop-Turned-Judge Challenges Banks to Clear Foreclosure Backlog.