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88 Alabama Hugh Morrow AGENT/BROKER REO; Short Sale reopreferred@gmail.com (205) 871-9966 www.hmorrow.remax-alabama.com FLORIDA Florida Bill Would Expand Lienholders' Rights During Foreclosure A bill has been introduced in the Florida State Senate that would give lienholders more rights in cases of residential foreclosure. Florida H.B. 471, proposed by State Sena- tor Jay Fant, a former Chairman and CEO with First Guaranty Bank & Trust Company, "authorizes certain lienholders to use certain documents as admission in action to foreclose mortgage; provides that submission of certain documents in foreclosure action creates certain presumptions; authorizes lienholder to make request for judicial notice," according to the language of the bill. e bill authorizes a lienholder to use any documents from the mortgagee's bank- ruptcy case that indicates an intention by the defendant to surrender the property. If the defendant does not withdraw the document in question, that document submitted, along with a bankruptcy discharge, "creates a rebuttable presumption that the defendant has (1) surren- dered to the lienholder the defendant's interest in the mortgaged property and (2) waived any defenses to the foreclosure." e defendant's legal recourse in such a case includes "raising a defense based upon the lienholder's conduct subsequent to the filing of the document filed in the bankruptcy case that evidenced the defendant's intention to surren- der the mortgaged property to the lienholder." e bill was filed with the House in Florida on January 24, and would go into effect on July 1, 2017, if it passes. Morgan Weinstein, Attorney with Florida- based Van Ness Law Firm, said the language of the H.B. 471 might prove to be problematic. "e statute, in combination with the Failla decision (Failla v. Citibank in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2016) and what will be sub- sequent state decisions on that issue, will make it so that the plaintiff can use the request for judicial notice pursuant to the statute in order to prevent the defendant from either attempt- ing to deny the plaintiff 's claim or engage with an affirmative defense," Weinstein said. "If the drafters of the statute wanted the defendants to be able to continue to assert denial, it would have said 'affirmative defense' rather than 'defense.' e wording of the statute does not track the language of the 11th Circuit opinion, and that could lead to litigation." Florida was one of the states hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis, though the rate at which foreclosures are being completed has declined substantially over the last few years. For the 12-month period ending November 30, 2016, there were approximately 48,000 residential foreclosures completed in Florida, compared with 83,000 for the 12-month period ending November 30, 2015, according to data from CoreLogic. Federal Agencies Fine ServiceLink $65 Million for 'Improper Actions' by Predecessor LPS e subsequent settlements from the 2008 financial crisis can take considerable time to work their way through the legal system. As such, one company is just now being penalized by multiple federal banking agencies for its actions leading up to the recession. e company, Lender Processing Services (LPS), was merged in 2014 into a subsid- iary of Fidelity National Financial known as ServiceLink. Regulatory bodies released a statement concerning the fine in January. e joint news release issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Cur- rency can be seen below: "e federal banking agencies today fined ServiceLink Holdings, LLC (ServiceLink Holdings), $65 million for improper actions by its predecessor company, Lender Process- ing Services, Inc. (LPS), which resulted in significant deficiencies in the foreclosure- related services that LPS provided to mortgage servicers. e penalty assessed by the three federal banking agencies—the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corpo- ration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency—against ServiceLink Holdings satisfied the document review provision of the previous enforcement action. e agencies continue to monitor the company's compliance with other provisions of that order. e fine will be remitted to the U.S. Treasury." e official document containing the de- tails of the fine states that the cease-and-desist order, also known as the 2011 Consent Order, which was issued to LPS in order to certify that the company was operating within legal bounds, "alleged that LPS and its employees engaged in unsafe or unsound practices in providing default management services to examined servicers." It further details how the ServiceLink board of managers authorized Paul Perez, Chief Compliance Office, to enter into an agreement to settle the penalty on January 17, 2017. GEORGIA Ocwen Prevents Foreclosure for 75,000 Homeowners Ocwen Financial Corporation recently an- nounced that the company has helped approxi- mately 75,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure through the U.S. Department of the Treasury Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and proprietary modifications for homeowners who were ineligible for HAMP. According to a press release, Ocwen grant- ed approximately 42,000 loan modifications through HAMP last year, many of which in- cluded a reduction in principal. e company also completed more than 14,500 streamlined modifications in 2016 and is expecting that number to increase as additional homeown- ers change their trial plans into permanent modifications. Ocwen will continue to work with families impacted by financial hardship through community engagement and innovative loan modification solutions, despite the expiration of HAMP at the end of 2016. Ron Faris, President and CEO of Ocwen, said the servicer will ensure that homeowners will avoid foreclosure when getting serviced by Ocwen. "Ocwen is recognized as the industry leader in responsible home retention through foreclosure prevention," he said. "ere is

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