"See No Evil, Hear No Evil" Broward County Chief Judge Knew Exactly What He Was Doing After All!

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Broward/Palm Beach New Times reports:

• If you're a foreclosure defense lawyer doing work in Broward County, there are lots of reasons to think Chief Judge Victor Tobin doesn't side with homeowners. In his tenure at the top of the county's legal system, he has instituted rules that make it tougher on homeowners to fight foreclosures and resisted changes that would protect them from cases being rushed through the system.
• The widespread belief that he's biased toward banks seemed supported this week when Tobin announced that he'll be leaving the bench for a job at the law offices of Marshall C. Watson, one of the largest foreclosure firms in the state. It's a move that angers foreclosure defense lawyers who say it appears as if Tobin established a system that will favor his new position. Worse, Tobin may have been negotiating his new job while creating rules that will benefit him later.(1)

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• Tobin's reign at the top of the judiciary included several "administrative orders" changing the way the county handles foreclosures, many of them favoring lawyers representing the banks. The most contested of them forbids foreclosure sales from being cancelled ten days before the auction is set to take place. That means homeowners who strike a last-minute deal with the bank to save their home have no choice but to watch their house go to the highest bidder. [Foreclosure defense attorney Mike] Wasylik says the rule solidified "the perception that Broward is a place where it's easier for banks to litigate."
• Last summer, Tobin added to the pro-bank rules by instituting what's referred to as the "rocket docket." It requires foreclosure judges to move hundreds of cases a day with almost no discussion. Judges simply have no time to consider complex paperwork filed by foreclosure defense attorneys, says Fort Lauderdale lawyer Jason Weaver.

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• And just two weeks ago, Tobin instituted another rule hampering homeowners who want to fight foreclosures. Previously, attorneys representing homeowners could schedule online what's called a "special set" hearing. The hearing allows homeowners' attorneys to make complex legal arguments that can't be heard during the rocket docket. Tobin's new rule required that a hearing be set during the rocket docket in which attorneys must ask for a longer hearing.
• Homeowners typically have little money to fight foreclosures, and the extra bureaucracy means they must pay their attorney to appear at a hearing simply to ask for another hearing, says lawyer Margery Golant. "In Broward, defendants have fewer rights and fewer due process options," Golant said.

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• Judges in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties have worked to protect homeowners facing bogus foreclosures, attorneys say. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey, for instance, famously threw out 15,000 foreclosure cases for filing irregularities, served on a statewide taskforce on mortgage foreclosures, and was recognized with a community service award for her work protecting homeowners from bogus cases.

For more, see Before Joining Foreclosure Firm, Broward's Chief Judge Created a System That Favors Banks.

For earlier posts on Judge Victor Tobin, see:

• "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" Broward County Court Chief Quits Post; Follows The Money By Hopping Aboard Recently-Slammed Foreclosure Mill,
• Fort Lauderdale-Area Court System Not Immune To 'Kangaroo-Itis' In Foreclosure Actions As Local Chief Judge Takes "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" Posture.

(1) Tobin appears to be the latest addition to the line of judges of questionable conduct passing through the Broward County, Florida court system. See:

• South Florida Daily Business Review: Courts Answering ‘a Call for Help’, summarizing the recent alleged escapades of several Broward County judges,
• The Miami Herald: Is Dr. Phil the answer for errant judges in Broward? (Broward's judges are a dysfunctional family in need of treatment, according to a group of high-powered lawyers),
• CNN: If Anna Nicole Smith case is a circus, judge is ringmaster, on now-former Judge Larry Seidlin, the judge who humiliated himself by weeping on national television when presiding over a part of the late Anna Nicole Smith child custody proceeding several years ago.

See also, Victims-Of-Law: Judging the Judges, a summary of stories on the antics of some of the members of the judiciary throughout the State of Florida.