ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Foreclosures being handled by three Florida law firms should be temporarily halted, a congressman says.
U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, a Democrat who represents an Orlando-area district, urged the state Supreme Court to take action, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Friday. The state attorney general's office is investigating the firms of David J. Stern, Marshall C. Watson, and Shapiro & Fishman, which represent lenders in 80 percent of the foreclosures in Florida.
Grayson made a request to Chief Justice Charles Canady. He said the court showed, when it ordered mediation in foreclosure cases, that it has authority over how lower courts handle them.
"The problem is that people are being thrown out of their homes unjustly," Grayson said.
Florida has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. Critics say legal proceedings are being hurried with homeowners being denied real hearings.
Jeffrey Stephan, an employee of GMAC Mortgage, acknowledged in a deposition given last year in a Florida lawsuit that he signed as many as 10,000 documents a month. He admitted he did not review the documents or sign most of them in the presence of a notary.
