<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
span.EmailStyle19
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black;}
span.BalloonTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Reese:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><u><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Regarding HB 145</span></u><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>, "Florida Mortgage Collection Fairness Act," the remedies seem too broad and out of place. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Paragraph 2(a) seems to be an appropriate subject for FDUTPA, although I am concerned about eroding protections for items offered in the context of a judicial proceeding. I am also not certain that "knows to be false" is the best standard. I can envision significant litigation over the question of what is "known" and whether something known by one department (<i>e.g.</i>, the title review department) was known by an attorney making an argument before the judge. Is it "known" if the title review was performed by an outside, but captive, company? The proposed statute does not provide any guidance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Paragraph 2(b) is a breach of contract. The firm is not a party to the mortgage modification agreement between the borrower and the mortgagee, so it doesn't make sense to me to say that a "mortgage collection firm may not . . ." Perhaps the remedy should be attorney's fees, which could be statutorily imported, but it is not the firm that violates Paragraph 2(b), it is the mortgagee. I also have a concern that mortgagees will say that the "agreement" was not a "bona fide mortgage modification agreement," because of language that they will insert that says that they can back out of the agreement (thus, with no mutuality, rendering the agreement either voidable or void). This simple addition to the agreement would render this provision of the statute useless.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Paragraph 2(c) has several problems. The mortgagee cannot "retake" what it never had. Furthermore, if it were to do so, it certainly would not be deceptive. At best, it is unfair. Again, how can the firm violate Paragraph 2(c)? The mortgagee takes possession, the firm does not. This "violation" does not meet the condition that the firm must have violated Paragraph 2. There should also be a savings clause: It should be absolutely clear that, if a foreclosure judgment, sale, and certificate of title are vacated, then the taking of the property (and current possession) by anyone pursuant to the issuance of the certificate of title that is now vacated does not constitute a violation of this provision, unless the mortgage collection firm violated Paragraph 2(a) in order to procure the now-vacated judgment <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>I would also be in favor of more specific remedies for a violation of Paragraph (2)(c). Perhaps the statute should provide for owner's moving expenses (both out of and back into the subject property), rental and related costs, reimbursement of damages for any rental agreement that the owner must breach in order to be able to move back into his house, etc. These may (or may not) all be "damages" under FDUTPA, but the improperly displaced owner should be able to bring his list of expenses to a judge without the need of an attorney, and the judge should know for what basic expenditures the owner is entitled to receive reimbursement. The owner will be entitled to attorney's fees if he retains an attorney, but he probably does not have an attorney, and he probably will not know that he is entitled to reimbursement for his attorney's fees under the Statute.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><u><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Regarding HB 149</span></u><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>, regarding website notice, this is a clear attempt to make it less likely that owners will be notified of foreclosures. Given an epidemic of Affidavits of Diligent Search in which foreclosing firms say they have conducted diligent searches to find and serve owners when they clearly have not, there are significant constitutional concerns about making it easier to hide suits from owners. Publishing in a newspaper allows for some (albeit small) possibility that someone will see the notice and inform the owner. The website approach undermines any chance of that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><u><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Regarding HB 65</span></u><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>, the "Foreclosure Debt Claims Act," is there a reason why homestead property is not defined by reference to the meaning of the term under the Florida Constitution? I am not sure why we need yet another definition of homestead. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Why is "Corporation" not defined, and why is it not capitalized in Paragraph (3)? Is there another corporation involved in administration? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Why is "waiver of deficiency," as used in Paragraph (5), not defined? Can it be conditioned? On what? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Assuming that all the funds have not been disbursed and the program funds depleted, for how long after settlement may a claim be filed pursuant to Paragraph (6)? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><u><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Summary</span></u><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>: I acknowledge the evils that these Bills are aimed at combatting, but I do not think that any of these addresses the concerns with sufficient specificity. With no offense meant to the drafters, I also believe that they could be crafted better.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>Scott<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'>E. SCOTT GOLDEN, ESQUIRE<br>GOLDEN & LaNEVE<br>644 Southeast Fourth Avenue<br>Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301<br>Tel: 954-764-6766 <br>Fax: 954-764-6789<br> <br>This document may contain privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the addressee, please immediately telephone the sender at (954) 764-6766 (collect, if long distance) and delete this document from your computer. Do not print the document. If you are not the addressee, printing, keeping, copying, or disseminating a copy of this document is strictly prohibited.</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> constructionlaw-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org [mailto:constructionlaw-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Reese J. Henderson, Jr.<br><b>Sent:</b> Friday, October 07, 2011 10:45 AM<br><b>To:</b> RPPTL constructionlaw<br><b>Subject:</b> [RPPTL-constructionlaw] Foreclosure-Related Bills Filed<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>CLC Members,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We have been asked by the RPPTL Section leadership to provide comments on the attached proposed legislation, if we have any. Please let me have your comments no later than next <b>Thursday, October 13</b>, so that I can incorporate them into a consolidated response.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Reese<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='border:none;border-left:solid black 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><div style='border:none;border-bottom:solid black 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 4.0pt 0in'><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><strong>Reese J. Henderson, Jr.</strong><span style='font-size:9.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt'>Board Certified Construction Attorney <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=5 cellpadding=0><tr><td style='padding:3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt'><p><img width=414 height=98 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image005.jpg@01CC881D.C8F8CF00" alt="Description: cid:image001.jpg@01CC880D.28763690"><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-size:9.0pt'>707 Peninsular Place<br>Jacksonville, Florida 32204<br><br>Phone (904) 354-5200<br>Facsimile (904) 354-5256<br></span><a href="mailto:%5Be-mail%5D"><span style='font-size:9.0pt'>Reese.Henderson@tritthenderson.com </span></a><span style='font-size:9.0pt'><br></span><a href="http://www.tritthenderson.com/"><span style='font-size:9.0pt'>www.tritthenderson.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p></td><td style='padding:3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt'><p align=center style='text-align:center'> <img border=0 width=117 height=154 id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image006.jpg@01CC881D.C8F8CF00" alt="Description: cid:image002.jpg@01CC880D.28763690"><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></table><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:9.0pt'>CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information and all attachments contained in this electronic communication are legally privileged and confidential information, subject to the attorney-client privilege and intended only for the use of intended recipients. If the reader of this message is not an intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, use, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately of the error by return email and please permanently remove any copies of this message from your system and do not retain any copies, whether in electronic or physical form or otherwise. Unauthorized interception of this e-mail is a violation of federal criminal law.<br><br>TAX ADVICE DISCLOSURE: Pursuant to the requirements of Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we advise you that any federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of: (1) avoiding penalties that maybe imposed under the Internal Revenue Code or (2) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed in this communication.<br><br>Disclaimer regarding Uniform Electronic Transactions Act ("UETA") (Florida Statutes Section 668.50): If this communication concerns negotiation of a contract or agreement, UETA does not apply to this communication; contract formation in this matter shall occur only with manually-affixed original signatures on original documents.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>