The last thing I want to do is scold a judge. But once again foreclosure judges down in Miami-Dade are resorting to old habits, and there is no way I can stand by idly and let the rule of law be trampled on.

Because the rocket docket has risen from the grave and returned to South Florida. Don’t believe me?

The judge seeing the cases said it for me! He was quoted in the Miami Herald, calling his court a “rocket docket” and admitting he holds about 50 trials a day.

Courts across Florida have received hundreds of thousands of dollars to add judges and staff to their undermanned courtrooms. That’s good. But the response in Miami-Dade goes right back to pushing homeowners and lenders back onto an industrial pipeline.

Roy Oppenheim’s commentary was originally published on Yahoo Homes! and is being republished on South Florida Law Blog with their permission.

In all the fanfare about last night’s last-minute buzzer-beater agreement to avert the fiscal cliff, you may not have realized that a major component to the housing market’s revival actually survived.

Mortgage loan forgiveness is alive and well my friends.

Why this hasn’t garnered more headlines is beyond me, because this is excellent news for homeowners.

If you are trying to renegotiate your mortgage or are looking to engage in a short sale, you can breathe a bit easier.

Steve Dibert, MFI-Miami

On the Friday before Christmas, while the media was focused on the funerals of the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre and pre-Christmas retail sales figures, the Michigan Supreme Court quietly handed down a significant ruling that will affect nearly $3.75 billion worth of mortgages former Washington Mutual mortgages that JPMorgan Chase acquired from the FDIC after Washington Mutual went into FDIC receivership in 2008.

The Michigan Supreme Court upheld a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling from January that calls for a strict interpretation of a Michigan law that states that if a foreclosing party is not the originating note holder they must be able to show a record chain of the mortgage.

Someone (Michael Spicer) beautifully narrated this Barclays Ad to illustrate the subtle undertone of their interest rate rigging in the LIBOR scandal. That little scandal that cost us all a lot of money and that no one seems to care about.

Steve Dibert, MFI-Miami

A former Philadelphia Traffic Court judge maintains he did not intend to show photographs of his genitals on his phone to a Philadelphia Parking Authority contractor.  However, the Court of Judicial Discipline disagreed with his claim and found that he did intentionally show the images. Judge Willie F. Singletary said he did not recall that the two photographs were on his phone.

Court of Judicial Discipline ruled that Judge Singletary brought the judicial office into disrepute in violation of the state constitution, said the judges on the Discipline Panel. The panel of judges agreed the standard of evidence was clear and convincing.