Florida foreclosure law firm lays off hundreds
Lawyer News
A Florida law firm once used by mortgage finance giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and now under investigation for its handling of foreclosure cases has laid off hundreds of employees, a lawyer for the firm's owner said on Thursday.
The Florida attorney general's office is investigating the law offices of David J. Stern in Plantation, Florida, and has publicly released a deposition of one employee alleging workers at the firm forged notarized documents.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have said they have ended their relationship with the Stern law firm because of questionable practices.
Jeffrey Tew, a lawyer who represents Stern, said the firm has cut its staff from 1,000 employees to around 400 to 500 in recent weeks "as a result of Fannie and Freddie and some other clients not continuing to send work."
A wave of layoffs came on Thursday, he said.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and attorneys general from the other 49 U.S. states are probing allegations lenders like Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Co and GMAC Mortgage, among others, failed to properly review foreclosure processes and may have submitted faulty documentation to evict delinquent borrowers.
Florida, which has the third-highest foreclosure rate in the United States after Nevada and Arizona, is a base for some of the biggest law firms handling foreclosures.
Fannie Mae has identified and issued retention letters to nine new law firms to help manage future foreclosures, according to a recent letter sent to Congress by the company's chief executive, Mike Williams.
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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.