It's no secret that Florida is the country's hotbed for foreclosure filings and backlog. Since allegations of fraud and irregularities in the processing of foreclosure documents came to light last year, courts have been demanding that lenders swear the information in their foreclosure lawsuits is true and correct. However, foreclosure documents are still frequently filed improperly, Florida judges told The Wall Street Journal for a recent article.

The Wall Street Journal reported that some judges are saying that the entire foreclosure process is suffering from this problem, which they say is beyond judicial control. One Florida judge said that because judges are very limited in what they can delve into in a foreclosure case, a foreclosure defense attorney is often a homeowner's only hope. Judges have to stick strictly to the information in the foreclosure affidavits and cannot be placed in a position of being advocates for borrowers or lenders, the judge said, no matter how unfair the case may seem.

Unfortunately, many homeowners go into the process without being represented by an attorney, the judge said, so there is no one to investigate the foreclosure filing thoroughly for problems and demand more evidence from the lenders.

Judges do have the ability to toss out foreclosure lawsuits when major problems exist, for example, if the mortgage lender cannot find the mortgage note. But more often than not, attorneys for the lenders are allowed to fix the errors within the paperwork erroneously filed and re-file the case against the homeowners. This presents a waste of time for all involved and furthers the backlog on the courts.

Florida law also allows judges to sanction lenders if they submit fraudulent documents, and they can even hold lawyers in contempt. But despite this authority, it is more likely that the judge will just issue a verbal rebuke from the bench. Thus, according to one foreclosure defense lawyer, there are really no consequences for lenders filing problematic foreclosure documents, except for a bit of uneasy dialog in the courtroom.

Maybe stricter penalties on these attorneys for the banks who continue to use bad practices would help Florida courts deal with its foreclosure backlog. What do you think?

Source: The Wall Street Journal, "Mired in foreclosures," Jessica Silver-Greenberg, Sept. 19, 2011.