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April 17, 2022 – Birthday, A Poem by Ryan Torrens

A Birthday Poem Another year gone, another birthday to cheer. Each year that goes by, we hold life more dear. Each moment’s a blessing, life is just too short. There will always be another argument, another battle for court. ...

April 10, 2022 – Justice, A Poem By Ryan Torrens

Justice They say just...

March 29, 2022 – Morning, A Poem by Ryan Torrens

Morning I�...

March 27, 2022 – Words, A Poem by Ryan Torrens

Words I am a lawyer. I do battle with words. But some things are just too deep for words to say. To express our pain, we must find another way. Poetry has its own language, the...

March 25, 2022 – Tonight, A Poem By Ryan Torrens

For some reason, I wanted to write a poem tonight when I got home. I don't know how to write one, but that's okay. I'm going to write one anyway. Maybe it's the many things in my head that need to c...

March 25, 2022 – Increased Alcohol Addiction: Another Collateral Consequence of the Pandemic

The New York Times published a disturbing yet informative article on March 22, 2022, detailing how alcohol-related deaths increased by 25 percent in 2020 compared with 2019. In fact, among adults younger than 65, alcohol-related deaths actually outnumbered deat...

March 21, 2022 – The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

This weekend, I finished reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and wanted to share a few thoughts on it.

March 18, 2022 – Rich Roll’s Inspiring Interview with Tim Ferriss

The other day I listened to an inspiring podcast interview and felt compelled to share about it. It was Tim F...

March 12, 2022 – The Role of The Lawyer

Sometimes the practice of law can get so busy that it can be healthy to step back for a moment and reflect on what it is that you are doing after all. Recently, I have been putting some thought into the role of the lawyer and what my responsibility is as an advocate. ...

February 12, 2022 – Bank Must Prove Amounts Due and Owing (To A Penny)

In foreclosure cases, don’t forget that the bank must not only prove a loan default and legal standing...

January 20, 2022 – Important Change to Florida’s Surplus Proceeds Law

If a purchase at a Florida foreclosure sale pays more than the judgment amount, there are surplus proceeds held by the Clerk of Court. There is a Florida law, Florida Statute 45.032, that governs how the surplus proceeds are to be disbursed. An important change has been...

November 25, 2021 – Is Your Mortgage Company Ignoring Your Loan Modification Paperwork?

Oftentimes when a homeowner is applying for a loan modification, the mortgage company (especially the big mortgage servicers) will lose the homeowner’s loan modification paperwork and will ask for the same documents over and over again. This can be a very frustrati...

November 6, 2021 – Reflections of 5 Years in Recovery

I recently celebrated 5 years in recovery from addiction to alcohol. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for being granted this gift of recovery, a gift so many struggling with addiction find illusive. I will never know why I was given this opportunity to live ...

November 6, 2021 – A Tale of Two Cities

My wife and I recently went on a trip to Islamorada in the Florida Keys for our third wedding anniversary and to Palm Beach for a business meeting. What a striking reminder that we very much still live in a Tale of Two Cities. At lunch and dinner, my wife and I would...

October 26, 2021 – Using Requests for Admission in Your Foreclosure Case

If you have been sued for mortgage foreclosure, don’t forget the importance of Requests for Admission. Under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.370, you can send Requests for Admission to the lender’s attorney, demanding that the lender make certain admissions. Fo...

October 24, 2021 – A “Belt and Suspenders” Approach to Challenging the Bank’s Compliance with Conditions Precedent

In most cases when a bank is getting ready to file a foreclosure suit against a homeowner, the bank is require to fulfill what are called “conditions precedent,” which are actions the bank legally has to take before it files the action for foreclosure. O...

October 10, 2021 – Does The Bank Really Have Legal Standing to Foreclose on My Loan Modification?

When a bank or mortgage company is trying to foreclose on a note that has been sold numerous times, their most common strategy is to add an endorsement on the note called an “endorsement in blank.” For example, let’s say Bank ABC is your original lender and you...

October 9, 2021 – How Can The Bank Foreclose on a Loan Modification?

At our firm, we often see foreclosure cases where the lender is trying to foreclose after the borrower defaulted on a loan modification. What is required under Florida law for the lender to foreclose when the mortgage has been modified? A few important things to know...

October 9, 2021 – The Practical Challenges of Perfecting An Appeal of A Foreclosure Judgment

One question I get a lot in our law practice is “If I lose the foreclosure case and I appeal, is the foreclosure sale automatically cancelled?” Pursuing an appeal after suffering a foreclosure judgment can be challenging and complicated. The main reason is the fo...

October 4, 2021 – Don’t Forget About The Surplus!

Under

September 26, 2021 – What Is Your Mountaintop?

I was taking some time today to think and reflect and I was thinking abou...

September 25, 2021 – The Reality of Mortgage Deficiency Actions in Florida

One of the common questions we get in our law practice is “If I agree to give up my property in foreclosure to the bank, do I still owe money on the mortgage?” This, of course, is an excellent question and should top of mind for anyone considering settling a mort...

September 19, 2021 – On Visiting New York City’s Fountain Pen Hospital

Most would not know this, but every post I write for this blog is ...

September 19, 2021 – When Will The Foreclosure Sale Be?

One question we get a lot in our practice is “If I get foreclosed on, how far out is the sale date?” I will give you the legal answer first and then I will give you the practical answer. Under Florida Statute 45.031(1)(a), the foreclosure sale cannot be less t...

September 17, 2021 – Reflections On National Recovery Month

September is National Recovery Month. Each September, I try to take a little time to reflect on my own recovery. I am at a café in New York City at the moment and felt compelled to write about it. When I first became a lawyer, I was required to attend an in-person c...

September 16, 2021 – Your Right to Redeem a Foreclosure Judgment.

So what happens if a foreclosure judgment is entered against you and you find the necessary funds, whether through a loan or otherwise, to pay it off? Under Florida law

September 13, 2021 – Read the Pooling and Servicing Agreement!

In some foreclosure cases, the bank will try to use a big document called a pooling and servicing agreement (“PSA”) to prove standing to foreclose on the note and mortgage. These agreements are often hundreds of pages and can be difficult to understand. If you ar...

September 12, 2021 – What is Lis Pendens?

When I sat for the Florida bar exam in February 2011, a gentleman sitting next to me piped up after the first session and asked “what the hell is a lis pendens? I wrote ‘action pending’ because I had no idea what that was.” Turns out, he was right! ...

August, 27, 2021 – What Happens When The Bank Does Not Have The Original Note But Wants To Foreclose?

It is well-settled under Florida law that a foreclosing bank must be in possession of the original note at the time the foreclosure case is filed and at the time of the final hearing, whether that be a summary judgment hearing or a trial.

August 22, 2021 – Your Right to Request Your Original Note

In order for the bank to win a foreclosure case, the bank must be in possession of the original promissory note at the time the foreclosure case is filed and at the time of the final hearing. See

August 19, 2021 – Why Should I Hire A Foreclosure Defense Lawyer?

Many homeowners in foreclosure assume that they have limited rights against a foreclosure because they fell behind on their mortgage payments.

July 29, 2021 – What’s the Deal with Paragraph Twenty-Two?

Paragraph twenty-two is definitely the most infamous paragraph in all of foreclosure litigation. But why? In most mortgages in Florida, paragraph twenty-two of the mortgage requires the lender to mail the homeowner a notice of default at least 30 calendar days before...

July 23, 2021 – Can I Recover My Attorney’s Fees If I Won My Foreclosure Case on Lack of Standing?

In the law, there is a principle called “standing.” What this means is that a Plaintiff (the party who files the suit) bears the burden of proving, as a threshold matter, that they have a sufficient stake in the outcome of the litigation to have legal standing to br...

July 23, 2021 – I Won My Foreclosure Case. Can I Recover My Attorney’s Fees?

The short answer is: most of the time, yes. The little-...

July 17, 2021 – Authentic Marketing: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

[et_pb_section admin_label="section"] [et_pb_row admin_label="row"] [et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text"]On Monday, we go live with our firm’s first television ad. I have never had much desire to go up on tv with an ad. We have decided to piv...

July 10, 2021 – I Had A Dream

When we hear the words “I had a dream,” many of us will quickly think of the history-making speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I wrote that title to get your attention, I’ll admit. But it is true. I did have a dream last night and I remembered it as soon as ...

July 10, 2021 – How MasterClass Changed My Life

About six months ago, I signed up for a subscription to MasterClass.com. The fee for the whole year was $180. I had heard of it before but didn’t really know anything about it. Looking for some self-improvement, I thought I�...

July 9, 2021 – Why I Love Running

I love running. I was a bit of a latecomer to the sport, but it has saved me in so many ways. I didn�...

July 4, 2021 – Lessons Learned From a Decade As a Lawyer

I recently celebrated my ten-year anniversary as a member of the Flo...

July 3, 2021 – A Balloon Full of Nightmares

We review a lot of mortgage loan documents in our law practice. One problem we see a lot is the infamous balloon.

July 1, 2021 – How Long Are Florida Judgments Good For?

At our law firm, we often receive questions ab...

June 30, 2021 – On Being A Litigator in Long-Term Recovery

When I ran for attorney general in the 2018 election, I came out publicly as someone in long-term addiction recovery. I made that decision because I felt it important to do my small part to end the stigma that comes along with addiction. Ho...

June 27, 2021 – My Little Writing Companion

My wife and I had a nice surprise show up at our door the other day, an adorable little kitten. We decided to name her Cosmo. Two young girls, who happen to live a few doors down from us, begged us to take her in. They found her all alone at the local park. She was s...

June 26, 2021 – Don’t Forget Your Title Search

In our practice, we regularly have clients with liens against their properties that they were not even aware of. It could be a paid-off judgment where the creditor forgot to record the satisfaction of mortgage, among countless other possibilities. A friend of mine sh...

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