Two of the mega mortgage lenders are now contending that they have rectified their shortcomings in foreclosure documentation and will resume operations as before. Bank of America and GMAC had frozen their foreclosures following admissions about false signing of documents and other lapses. The aim was to expedite the handling of thousands of foreclosure cases.

Following this announcement the foreclosure numbers in Fort Myers, Florida immediately dropped by one third. Despite this it continues to be the one of America’s busiest courts dealing with distressed properties. The system prevailing here is known among the lawyers, house owners and also the judges as Rocket Docket. From 2008 the Lee County courts have been handling as many as 200 foreclosure related cases per day.

Recently the courtroom of Judge James Thompson was more restrained. His is one of the four judges (senior) who were asked to return even after their retirement to hear foreclosure cases in Fort Myers.

On this particular day he was listening to the plea of Ryan Dugan, pleading on behalf of the defense to dismiss a mortgage. It was about a property whose mortgage Wells Fargo claimed to hold. But Dugan pointed out that according to the documents the mortgage was held by another. Dugan said, “My point, your honour, is that there’s nothing that was attached that shows anything to support the transfer from United Mortgage Corporation to Wells Fargo”.

In the courts of Florida dealing with foreclosures, these lapses have become routine. Dugan contends that by asking the lenders to locate the missing papers give the defendants time to have discussions with the lender and or continue to stay for couple of months extra in the house but ultimately the end result rarely changes – the house is lost.

Lately it seems that some problems with the documents could be more rampant and more institutionalized than previously apprehended. A good number of federal agencies and attorneys general of all the states are probing into the lapses; Florida has taken a leading role.

The charges led to mega bankers suspend their foreclosures temporarily. But in Fort Myers even the lawyers of the house owners say that this suspension has not slowed down the speed of Rocket Docket. Dugan said, “It is going to be a road bump. The question is, is it only a pebble? Or is it a large speed bump? But either way, it’s only going to delay it for a while”.