Florida's highest court has ruled on the U.S. Congressman's request to halt foreclosures
Posted By
Admin on Sep 29, 2010 8:11am PDT
Florida's highest court has ruled on a U.S. congressman's request to halt foreclosures in the state while three foreclosure law firms are being investigated.
The state Supreme Court has declined U.S. Rep Alan Grayson's (D-Fla.) request to halt all foreclosures being handled by the three South Florida law firms under investigation by the attorney general, saying the high court has no jurisdiction.
Grayson asked for the action to target the law offices of David J. Stern, Marshall C. Watson, and Shapiro & Fishman, which he said represent about 80 percent of the foreclosure proceedings in the state.
Florida Default Law Group of Tampa, a fourth firm also under state scrutiny, was not named in Grayson's Sept. 20 letter to Chief Justice Charles T. Canady. But Grayson spokesman Todd Jurkowski later said the congressman was "equally concerned" about that firm and "any other corporation that is under investigation for profiting from mass forgeries."
The court's response, issued Tuesday, said the Florida constitution and court rules did not give the chief justice authority to intercede in pending cases involving attorney misconduct, or to investigate allegations of fraud or misconduct in foreclosure cases. The fraud cases must first be ajudicated in trial courts, according to the response.
While the supreme court does have jurisdiction over attorney discipline, misconduct investigations first must be handled by the Florida bar, according to the response signed by Clerk of Court Thomas D. Hall. It suggested Grayson ask the bar to take action.