Miami judge cancels mortgage debt

A Miami judge canceled the $207,238 mortgage debt of a borrower who was in foreclosure but trying to get a loan modification, after HSBC Bank ignored a previous court order to post a bond, the National Mortgage News reported. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Bailey canceled the mortgage debt of a teacher at a hearing May 6 to
determine whether HSBC should be sanctioned for failing to post a $414,000 bond because it had lost the underlying mortgage note. The judge said she hoped to alert lawyers handling foreclosure cases that they need to know where the borrower and bank are in the process of loss mitigation. Bailey derided the banks for the “chaos and disorganization” that has bombarded courts with foreclosure actions. Suzanne Hill, a lawyer who represents Florida Default Law Group, the attorneys handling the foreclosure action for HSBC, said it was evaluating whether to appeal or file a motion for a rehearing before the same judge. [National Mortgage News]