Source - Las Vegas Review Journal
A lawyer accuses Nevada District Judge Donald Mosley and other judges of predetermining the outcome in foreclosure disputes in favor of the lenders, according to an appeal filed with the Nevada Supreme Court.
In the process, they have made a "mockery" of a program designed to rescue distressed homeowners, attorney Jacob Hafter says in court papers.
A 2009 state law gives judges the authority to modify loans if lenders fail to abide by Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program guidelines.
Hafter said Mosley -- and by implication the high court -- had previously discussed how Nevada courts would rule in these disputes. During a foreclosure hearing for Hafter client Carl Piazza, Mosley said he would never sanction a lender for bad faith by modifying a loan from the bench.
"That's something we resolved for, basically, since this program began, that the judges, and the Supreme Court was part of this discussion, are not going to, in this forum, start modifying loans; just would not do (it)," Mosley said during the October hearing.
"That would lead to a nightmare. I'd be here until midnight every night restructuring loans."
Mosley said he'd discussed the procedure with Washoe County District Judge Patrick Flanagan, who handles the foreclosure hearings in Northern Nevada.
"The judge up north, my counterpart, has agreed and as the Supreme Court agreed, we're not going to do that. So that's the way it is," Mosley said.
Defining bad faith
The Supreme Court appeal stems from a foreclosure dispute involving Piazza, a lawyer and former candidate for Family Court judge, and his lender, CitiMortgage.
Piazza had a $700,000-plus mortgage when he suffered a "massive" heart attack that left him bedridden. Piazza's once-thriving solo practitioner law firm faltered as he spent months recovering and unable to work.
Like many homeowners, Piazza was told his lender could not adjust his loan unless he stopped making the monthly payment, roughly $5,000. Instead of helping Piazza stay in the home, the bank filed a notice of default and began foreclosure proceedings, Hafter said during the October hearing.
In June, a mediator found that CitiMortgage failed to provide legally required documentation and ruled the lender was in noncompliance.
CitiMortgage appealed to Mosley, who sided with the lender and refused to find CitiMortgage acted in bad faith.
During that October hearing, Mosley also said he would never modify a loan from the bench, a statement that was followed by heated comments from Hafter. A marshal ordered Hafter to be quiet after loud exchanges with the judge.
- "This statement is extremely concerning on numerous levels," Hafter said in court papers.
If what Mosley said is true, Hafter said, then the judiciary "has predetermined how it will rule on these cases. Such negates any value the program may have had for homeowners, not to mention makes a mockery of the impartiality of the judiciary in Nevada."
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Now take a look at a letter from the Hafter to Judge Mosley:
Analysis from Daily Bail resident Supreme Court licensed attorney 'Cheyenne':
Jesus H. Christ. This is unbelievable. That attorney is kicking the shit out of a judge in public, suggesting that a good part of the bar is behind him, adumbrating that there is collusion on the High Nevada Bench, and requesting recusal. In short, he has declared war on this judge and indeed the system itself.
That's the most incredible feckin' letter I've ever read from a member of the bar to his court, by far.
P.S. Note that the lawyer here is licensed before the U.S. PTO. Chances are he's got a background in science or engineering.
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