DS News

86 FLORIDA Clarifying Contested Foreclosures After Bankruptcy Florida Gov. Rick Scott recently signed off on Senate Bill 220, a new law addressing the property rights of defendants pertaining to bankruptcy and foreclosure proceedings. DS News spoke to representatives from several Florida-based Legal League 100 law firms to get the inside scoop on what Senate Bill 220 means for the industry. During the foreclosure process, debtors will sometimes file for bankruptcy. In Florida, when the debtor does this, they must also declare their intentions toward any property that is securing their debt, which can include a home. e debtor has several options, includ- ing surrendering the property to the lender or retaining it and making payments to whittle down the debt. But if a debtor does agree to surrender the property in order to clear their mortgage debt, can they then contest the foreclosure to try and delay the process while they remain in the home? Some Florida debtors have attempted to do so in recent years and Senate Bill 220 sought to address this problem. "is bill, which codifies the 2016 U.S. Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit decision in Failla v. Citibank, N.A., expands the rights of lienholders in foreclosure actions by authoriz- ing documents filed in a federal bankruptcy proceeding to be admitted as evidence in a foreclosure action," said Amy Kiser, Manag- ing Bankruptcy Attorney for Gilbert Garcia Group, P.A. "is helps us to overcome de- fenses raised in a foreclosure case, based upon the borrower's surrender of real property in a bankruptcy case." Robyn Katz, Managing Partner, Florida Foreclosure for McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC further explained, "Once a debtor agrees to surrender the property that is the subject of the mortgage, the secured creditor can commence or continue foreclosure or other proceedings to sell the property to attempt to satisfy the creditor's claim. is will prevent unnecessary litigation by the debtor surround- ing a property that has already been surren- dered in bankruptcy court and will expedite the foreclosure timeline in these cases." Roy A. Diaz, Managing Shareholder of SHD Legal Group, P.A., praised the bill for articulating the boundaries of the law in a manner that is consistent with the Federal Bankruptcy Courts. "is bill is consistent with the ruling we obtained in the Florida Middle District Case In re Metzler," a 2015 bankruptcy ruling wherein the firm success- fully argued debtors cannot raise defenses once a subject property has been surrendered in bankruptcy. However, Diaz cautioned that the law allows defendants to raise defenses based on the conduct of the lender after surrender- ing the property. Diaz said, "the implications of this provision will certainly lead to some creative defense positions which will have to be worked out in the courts." "Senate Bill 220 is a well-founded and practical solution to arm lenders and their counsel with an avenue to fight back against frivolous dilatory tactics," said Michael J. Barker, Managing Partner, Financial Services and Real Estate Division for Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. "It is unfortunate and troubling that a borrower would avail his or herself of the protections afforded under the Bankruptcy Code and then put forth a disin- genuous position in state court proceedings. Hopefully, this new law will cause borrowers and their counsel to think twice before engag- ing in such unethical tactics." "e Senate may go far by relieving lien- holders from seeking additional recourse in the bankruptcy court to enforce the surrender by arming them with a Florida statute aimed at compelling the surrender," said Jason Weber, Shareholder and Managing Attorney of the Sirote & Permutt, P.C. Fort Lauderdale of- fice. "Crafty defense attorneys will attempt to sidestep the restriction on defenses by raising post-surrender conduct or defenses which are triggered beyond the surrender (i.e., statute of limitations). However, in the end, my guess is this will promote negotiations for resolving contested foreclosures by empowering lien- holders with a clear statutory advantage and chilling the scope of defenses." "e new statute will certainly reduce the legal timeline and litigation costs of post- bankruptcy foreclosure matters," said Robert S. Kahane, Managing Shareholder, Kahane & Associates, P.A. GEORGIA Premium Title Secures Escrow Licensing in Four New States Premium Title, a national provider of title and escrow services based in Atlanta, Georgia, announced it has secured escrow licensing in Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wash- ington. is additional licensing expands the business' footprint and allows Premium Title to now provide clients with direct title/settle- ment services in 45 states, as well as Washing- ton, D.C. "We are dedicated to delivering a scalable suite of title and escrow services that help our customers drive efficiency, responsiveness and process controls required in today's competitive market," said James Weld, President, Premium Title. "Securing our licenses in these addi- tional states is a milestone for Premium Title. It enables us to provide greater access—on a national scale—to the services customers need to help expedite the closing process and accelerate business growth." is announcement comes on the heels of the recent integration Premium Title an- nounced with eClosing technology solutions provider Pavaso, helping lenders across the country to streamline the mortgage closing process and improve the borrower experience. Premium Title is a national provider of title and settlement services to the mortgage and real estate industry. Premium Title issues title insurance and performs closings for refinance, Florida Minority Certified Business MIAMI-DADE & BROWARD COUNTIES 786-499-6994 www.REOPitStop.com Luis@ContinentalRealtors.com RESNET ID: 106089 | Equator ID: 272261 Luis F. Guzman Broker/Owner is how much the sales prices across the Atlanta metro have increased by in a single year— nearly twice the national average of 4.9 percent. Source: RE/MAX Georgia STAT INSIGHT 8%

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