I found this fascinating tidbit in an article by Alan Zibel on Bank of America’s continuing mortgage and foreclosure woes.
A deposition released by the Florida attorney general’s office revealed that the office manager at a Florida law firm under investigation for fabricating foreclosure documents signed 1,000 files a day without reviewing them. The manager also would allow paralegals to sign her name for her when she got tired, the deposition said.
Cheryl Salmons, office manager at the Law Offices of David Stern, would sign 500 files in the morning and another 500 files in the afternoon without reviewing them and with no witnesses, former assistant Kelly Scott said in a deposition released by the Florida attorney general’s office.
Can you imagine a workday that consisted of nothing but signing foreclosure affidavits? I am sure you can figure out how much personal knowledge Ms. Salmons had of the particulars of each file –most likely, none at all.
If I was facing foreclosure or bankruptcy today, I would think about giving a good once-over to ANY paper served on me during the foreclosure proceeding, asking “exactly what does the person who signed this know about my property or situation?
By Doug Beaton