In a standard foreclosure action, the lienholder with a first position of priority files suit to foreclose out all junior lienholders and recover the outstanding balance on a promissory note secured by the mortgage. But what happens when a junior lienholder decides to foreclose on its lien? The scenario is […]
Defaulted borrowers often attempt to argue that the waiver of defenses language included in loan documents is unconscionable and therefore unenforceable. However, for a contract to be held to be unenforceable under Florida law, the contract must be both procedurally and substantively unconscionable. See Golden v. Mobile Oil Corp., 882 F.2d 490, 493 (11th Cir. 1989); Gainesville Health Care Center v. Weston, 857 So. 2d 278, 284 (Fla. 1 st DCA 2003). If a contract is found to be either procedurally or substantively conscionable, then the contract is enforceable. See Eldridge v. Integrated Health Services, Inc., 805 So. 2d 982 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)(emphasis added).
By: Charles B. Jimerson, Esq.
In 1992, Congress passed the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act (the “Act”) which requires banks to report suspicious activities to the appropriate federal authorities. Cotton v. Privatebank and Trust Co., 235 P. Supp. 2d 809, 812 (N.D. Ill. 2002). The laudable goal of the requirements contained in the Act was to encourage banks to make such reports related to criminal activities. Id. In fact, the stated purpose of the Act is to:
require certain reports or records where they have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory investigations or proceedings, or in the conduct of intelligence or counterintelligence activities, including analysis, to protect against international terrorism. 31 U.S.C § 5311.
Have you ever represented a creditor in a bankruptcy action where the debtor and/or the debtor’s attorney seem to be dragging their feet in moving the action forward? In these situations, it may feel like your client will never see relief for its claim. However, there are multiple methods of […]
Florida’s Banking Statute of Frauds was enacted in order to curb a 1980’s trend of increasing lender liability lawsuits. The enactment of this statute has made it difficult for Plaintiff’s to maintain tort based claims that might otherwise flow from the written loan documents. Typically, such claims involve oral promises pertaining to breach of an oral commitment to lend, breach of an oral agreement to refinance an existing loan, breach of an oral agreement to forbear from enforcing contractual remedies or breach of an oral agreement to take certain actions in connection with the underlying loan. By requiring that loan documents be in writing for a borrower to sue a lender on those types of claims, the Banking Statute of Frauds prevents borrowers from pursuing claims based upon oral representations or understandings. The effect of the Banking Statute of Frauds is to bar tort claims that otherwise may have been colorable under common law.
In order to state a cause of action in Florida for breach of fiduciary duty, there must exist a fiduciary duty, a breach thereof, and resulting damages. Gracey v. Eaker, 837 So. 2d 348,353 (Fla. 2002). In Doe v. Evans, 814 So.2d 370 (Fla. 2002), a fiduciary relationship was characterized as follows:
Prior to 2005, bankruptcy courts across the nation were plagued by fraudulent bankruptcy filings by individuals who just wanted to get rid of their debt, but who did not necessarily qualify for such relief. To deal with the overwhelming number of abusive bankruptcy actions, Congress passed into law an act […]
The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has been providing small businesses with loans since its creation in 1953. Its mission statement is “…to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation.” It […]
By Austin Calhoun, J.D. 2013
It takes on average 600 days for a party to litigate a foreclosure through trial in Florida. Successful summary judgment motion practice may squeeze that time down to as little as 180 days. Even better, under the proper conditions, a diligent plaintiff can shorten foreclosure time down to less than 60 days by properly utilizing Florida Statute 702.10. If you’re interested in bypassing the foreclosure log-jam to obtain a speedy foreclosure – read on.
By: Harry M. Wilson, IV, Esq. and James D. Stone, III
Sometimes, either intentionally or inadvertently, a debtor will fail to list a creditor or schedule a debt in a bankruptcy proceeding. When this happens the creditor can often be unaware of the proceedings and, as a result, miss the deadline for filing a proof of claim. However, a debt owed to a creditor who had neither notice nor knowledge of the bankruptcy in time to file a proof of claim or to file a complaint for determination of dischargeability of the debt under section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code will not be discharged. . . click the title to read more. . .