Court allows foreclosure mediators

BROOKSVILLE –
Hernando County racked up so many foreclosure cases last year that the workload was divvied up among three different judges.
That helped speed things along, but the foreclosure crisis continues to worsen in Hernando County and throughout the state.
To that end, the Florida Supreme Court issued an administrative order on Monday that allows homeowners facing foreclosure to meet with a third party negotiator in hopes of reaching an agreement.
Under the program, all foreclosure cases in the state courts that involve primary residential homestead property will be referred by the chief judges of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits to mediation, unless the plaintiff and borrower reach agreement otherwise.
Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince, who issued the order, said she believes the mediation program will help address “the residential mortgage foreclosure crisis in Florida.”
Hernando County has been especially hard hit.
This year (through Dec. 23) the Clerk of the Circuit Court has recorded 3,274 foreclosure filings. For all of 2008, there were 3,256 foreclosures filed in Hernando County.
Circuit Court Judge Curtis Neal had handled the county’s foreclosure cases by himself until last year, when the chief judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit signed an order passing on some of the workload to Circuit Judge Jack Springstead and County Judge Donald Scaglione.
“We took these to alleviate the workload that occurred in 2008 and I don’t think it’s lessened any,” said Karen Beasley, Springstead’s judicial assistant.
Beasley said Springstead took on 1,300 foreclosure cases in September 2008 and he now has less than 200 pending.
Scaglione said he took over 50 percent of the foreclosure docket in 2009. That number will be reduced to 25 percent in 2010, he said.
As a judge, Scaglione said he is prohibited from issuing an opinion on the Florida Supreme Court action or the state of foreclosures in Hernando County. He did say that it will be up to the chief judge of this district, Daniel Merritt Sr., to craft an order on the state court’s mediation program and tailor it to this circuit, which includes Hernando County.
Meanwhile, the state court order said the total fee for managed mediation cannot exceed $750, to be paid for by the lender on a phased schedule. Participants are eligible for a refund if cases are settled prior to mediation or if the borrower declines to participate in the program.
Under the administrative order, the mediation manager will schedule an appointment for mediation with both parties no earlier than 60 days and no later than 120 days after the suit is filed.
The mediator is responsible for contacting borrowers to explain the program and to refer the borrower to one of several U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-certified foreclosure counselors who are available to the program on a rotating basis.
The program is expected to start in February.
Clerk of Circuit Court Karen Nicolai said earlier she hasn’t seen much letup in filings.
If there is any bright spot, it is that her office is seeing more bidders show up during sales of foreclosed properties held at the courthouse, Nicolai said.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or [email protected].