Florida is one of the states that was hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis. Sadly, this also made it a prime target for "foreclosure mill" law firms, or law firms that processed an extremely high-volume of foreclosures for lenders using shady tactics such as "robo-signing."

A year and a half ago, the state attorney general's office vowed to launch an investigation into these foreclosure mill law firms and their possible misconduct. Originally, the AG's office sought to hold the law firms civilly accountable for their actions using the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, which is designed to protect consumers.

But attorneys for the law firms argued that the Act could not be applied because homeowners were not consumers in these foreclosure actions, the banks were. Another blow came when the two assistant attorneys general who were in charge of the investigation were fired. Then, two of the law firms being investigated closed.

In December, after the 4th District Court of Appeal denied a request from the attorney general's office to subpoena the Law Offices of David J. Stern, Attorney General Pam Bondi asked that the issue be certified as one of "great public importance" so that it could be appealed before the Florida Supreme Court.

However, this week, the 4th District Court of Appeal denied the request, effectively halting any further investigations. Additionally, three of the seven firms under investigation have asked for the cases to be dismissed for lacking merit.

The AG's office announced that it will continue to pursue other options for legal redress despite the setback. But in the wake of the letdown, some advocates for homeowners are saying that the attorney general's office dropped the ball on the investigation on purpose, and any effort made now is too little, too late.

Source: Sun-Sentinel, "Attempt to subpoena foreclosure mills stalls," Kimberly Miller, Feb. 6, 2012