Whacked

Yesterday I had a few scary minutes.

It was about 4 p.m. when I got a phone call from my wife. I picked up the phone but she wasn't talking. Suddenly I hear her yell "You hit my car."

After that Leonita said nothing. I hung up the phone and tried calling her back. She didn't answer, but soon after I hung up again, she dialed back but again Leonita wasn't talking.

Not knowing if Leonita was hurt, whether the other driver attacked her(People are nuts), etc, I jumped into my sister-in-law's car and drove the 1.5 miles to where I believed Leonita to be. My mother-in-law is still hospitalized, and Leonita's sister Nanette is staying with us. If not, I wouldn't have been able to drive over and investigate.

A woman in her 20's backed her Ford Expedition into Leonita and our Maxima as my wife drove through the parking lot of JFK Hospital. Our front passenger door is badly damaged and can't be opened. The car is running and there is no other visible damage. I have collision insurance but rather try to get the other driver's insurance to pay. In a parking lot accident, the driver of the car backing up is at fault.(Leonita tells me the woman yelled at her shortly after the accident. "How did you miss my big ass?") I've already filed a claim with the other driver's insurance company(Equity). An adjustor will soon contact me.

Leonita hasn't been in a accident as a driver ever since she first got her license in 1993. She has never even had a ticket.

Leonita was phyically all right, just a little shaken. I was the same, entirely due to the abrupt phone calls I had. One occupant of the other vehicle was going to the hospital. One of the Atlantis firemen who responded said 'she was playing the game', though she also apparently claimed to be 1-2 months pregnant.

Right now this is all more stress when my wife and I have tons of it already. I do thank God Leonita is safe and unharmed.

Prayers for Nanay

My mother-in-law has lived with my wife and I for most of the last 14 years except for when she has returned to the Philippines for visits. Nanay and I get along very well.

Nanay was diagnosed with thyroid cancer over 10 years ago. Approximately five years later it metastasized to other body parts. Nanay has done both chemo and radiation for her cancer.

It recurred again a little over a month ago. Nanay underwent radiation and shortly these treatments ended, she was re-admitted to the hospital. She was having complications due to cancer treatments.

I won't recall everything that has gone wrong in the last three weeks, but the list is long. Yesterday, Nanay suffered a ischemic stroke and she is back in the ICU. She was confused at first, but remembered everyone last night. She is lethargic however.

Nanay is 75 years old. Please say a prayer for her.

Sealed minds, Sealed cases, Sealed courts,

There's a stink rising out of the Palm Beach County courthouse.

Garret Bender and his wife Gina started a court battle more than a year ago against SunTrust Mortgage, which wanted to foreclose on their Delray Beach house to recoup a $4 million mortgage.

The Benders asked the 4th District Court of Appeal to intervene last week after they came across what many foreclosure defense attorneys call growing and serious problems in South Florida courts — plaintiff substitutions and the increasing use of confidentiality in foreclosures against a backdrop of the muddled world of securitized mortgages.

Lender-plaintiffs have often lacked the documentation to prove they are the actual owner of the mortgage in question. Many loans in foreclosure have been sold in securitized packages numerous times and tracking ownership can be complicated. Critics say judges, overwhelmed by the volume of pending foreclosures cases, have overlooked the critical issue to move cases more quickly, taking away the homeowners’ right of due process.

The Benders filed a petition to quash an order by Palm Beach Circuit Judge Meenu Sasser granting a motion by SunTrust to keep confidential the documents related to the transfer and sale of the Benders’ mortgage. In the petition, the couple also criticized the order that allowed SunTrust to name a new plaintiff to replace itself in the foreclosure action. The order granting confidentiality was decided without a hearing and failed to identify the grounds for making the court records confidential, Fort Lauderdale appellate attorney Laura Watson claims in the petition she filed on behalf of the Benders. Watson did not return a call seeking comment by deadline.

Sasser ordered the documents related to the purchase and servicing of the mortgage be made available to attorneys representing the Benders but otherwise remain confidential. SunTrust claimed in its motion for confidentiality that the documents contained “proprietary commercial information.”

The Florida State Supreme Court laid down strict rules in 2007 for when a civil court case can be sealed. Similar rules were later set for criminal cases. Sasser has some explaining to do on more than one front.

1 Why she made her decision without a hearing?

2 Why she didn't explain her actions?

3 Why is she allowing this suit to go forward since the original suit filed by the attorneys in the case, was so obviously wrong?

Sasser, whose nickname is the Rocket, appears to think herself above the law. This is a very serious matter, because this judge is presiding over thousands of foreclosure suits in Palm Beach County. Lawyers have been claiming for a long time that she is biased in favor of the lenders.

At present

The Florida Attorney General is investigating four law firms for their handling of foreclosure cases
One foreclosure mill withdrew all affidavits signed by Jeffrey Stephan. This after he gave a deposition
GMAC has suspended foreclosure proceedings in over 20 states
A South Florida home was sold at a foreclosure auction when there wasn't even a mortgage on the property
and finally
A Florida Congressman is calling on the Florida Supreme Court to suspend all foreclosures in the state. That would definitely ease Judge Sasser's work load.

Something is seriously amiss in the financial and legal world of South Florida and much of the rest of the United States and the national news media is catching on.

Banks and mortgage lenders are filing foreclosure suits when in fact they aren't the owner of the loan. What happened with the Benders, isn't an isolated case. Some Judges in Florida, and Sasser may be the worst example but not the only one, some how they think ruling quickly in order to clear a docket is justice. Don't they know when they're every bit a criminal as the banks and their attorneys if the foreclosure goes through is actually an act of fraud? The Judges too are criminals, if they ignore the law. If what is said is true in the article above, Judge Sasser is just that and she should be removed from the bench.

Where's the dramamine? Chapter Twenty Eight

Compare the headlines of the Sun-Sentinel and Palm Beach Post today for two stories on foreclosures in Palm Beach County. First we have the Post-

Analysts wary of drop in foreclosure filings

Now the Sentinel-

Foreclosures accelerating in Palm Beach County

Just unbelievable, isn't it? Especially since both these newspapers share stories with the other and both articles cited the same report from a California firm. Does anyone actually read them?

In all seriousness, when will the South Florida media pick up on the outrage known as the 'Rocket Docket'? Judges, here in Palm Beach County it is mostly the work of Meenu Sasser and Roger Colton, are ruling on foreclosure cases in a matter of minutes.(Please read this court transcript carefully. Especially on page 8 where Colton asks 'Where are my lawyere?' when referring to plaintiff's counsel) Criminals get months in the courtroom before losing their liberty. A homeowner is lucky to get more than five minutes. Some but not enough judges in Florida are catching on to the fraud being done by banks and their attorneys in foreclosure filing. One day I expect a big expose to be written about it but it will probably be too late for thousands of homeowners.

Where's the dramamine? Chapter Twenty Seven

There was a fire Saturday night at a home very close to where I live. First WPTV Channel Five's coverage of the blaze.

Shortly before 9:00 p.m. Saturday, a fire raged downstairs in Lisa Poplardo's Lake Worth home.

"She got a call from one of the neighbors that the house was on fire. She came home and the whole house was engulfed in flames," said Mike Marzigliano, Lisa's brother.

She's been renting the home for a little less than a year, and shares it with her two daughters.

*****

"She had several animals, three dogs and nine cats, all perished unfortunately," said Marzigliano.

I'm a pet lover but twelve of them under one roof is a lot. What a tragedy for the family who ended up experiencing two fires in one evening. The second at a hotel the Red Cross put them up at.

Now the Palm Beach Post has their own version of what happened.

A two-story home caught fire Saturday, displacing two people and killing some pets, Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Capt. Don DeLucia said.

The home, in the 6300 block of Lantana Pine Circle, had five cats and two dogs in a back bedroom, DeLucia said. He did not know if any survived.

Two people versus three, five cats and two dogs versus nine and three. How can two articles be so mixed up on the same story?

I make a bet the Palm Beach Post reporter Adam Playford never came to the neighborhood here and interviewed any of the neighbors. Leg work as a part of news reporting must not be taught at New York University anymore. Either that or Playford skipped or snoozed his way through those classes.

Not standing Pat

The release of QB Pat White and WR Patrick Turner were two of over 20 players the fins cut loose yesterday and today. It wasn't surprising news. Especially to Dolphins fans who questioned the selections of White and Turner on 2009 NFL Draft Day.

I wrote this about White last year.

Huh?

Miami needs a wide receiver but White was a college Quarterback at West Virginia. He’s got good speed, and size is adequate. The need for the Dolphins at WR is indisputable but to draft a player who for it who didn’t play it in college. Yes Miami used the Wildcat last year, but that’s a gimmick offense that was the league was catching to to as the year progressed.

The best WR on the board was Georgia’s Mohamed Massaquoi. I’d gone for him not White.

White is not a factor in the quarterback picture, though I got to guess that John Beck is unlikely to be on the Dolphin roster for the 2009 season.

ESPN writes-

White is yet another player who doesn’t have a great fit at the NFL level. He isn’t tall or accurate enough to develop into an every-down quarterback and he is a raw receiver who is going to have to learn how to run routes before pushing for playing time in that kind of role. On the flip side, he can do a number of different things for your team and is the kind of player you want in your locker room.

This pick is a definite a head scratcher for Miami Dolphin fans.

The most memorable moment of White's tenure in Miami was the concussion he suffered after a helmet to helmet hit in the 2009 season finale.

White finished his time in Miami 0 for 5 as a passer, ZERO receptions as a receiver, and 81 rushing yards. That and his being a 2nd round draft selection label Pat White as a draft bust.

Now this is what I wrote about Patrick Turner on 2009 NFL Draft Day.

This is another puzzling choice made by Miami. There had been a rush of Wide Receivers before the Dolphins made their pick, but there were much higher ranked(Scouts Inc. had him as the 38th best WR and he was the 14th selected) available receivers out their than Turner. Turner at 6’5 has size, but alot of question marks.

Draft expert Mel Kiper questioned the Turner selection when it happened.

Turner was even less productive than White in the NFL. Not one regular season down played.

So Turner and White were both mistakes. The thing is, they were avoidable mistakes. It was obvious Miami was reaching on draft day. Other selections made by the new Tony Sparano and Bill Parcells regime are also questionable or works in progress. Take for instance the currently suspended Phillip Merling. He was a 2nd round draft selection in 2008. His legal problems, Achilles tendon tear, and so far unamazing play leave his Dolphin in doubt.

Quarterback Chad Henne, another 2nd round selection in 2008, has been brilliant and erratic. His first year as a starter wasn't Dan Marino like. Where will he go from this point?

Defensive Backs Vontae Davis and Sean Smith were 1st and 2nd round selections in 2009 and started every single game. The Miami Dolphin pass defense was ranked 25th in the NFL in 2008 and was worse last year. Are these guys going to step up?

Jake Long is the one unqualified draft success Sparano and Parcells have to date in Miami. I'm not optimistic they have changed the Dolphins much from the disastrous Dave Wanstedt-Nick Saban-Cam Cameron days. My prediction for Miami in 2010- 6-10.