Rocket Docket Tries to Contain Foreclosure Properties
Some groups claim the rocket docket system being used by some courts in Florida to cut the backlog in foreclosure cases across the state is accelerating the rise in foreclosure properties in Florida.
But others, such as some judges, lenders and lawyers, insist that the rocket docket system is a service to society because it helps the courts accomplish their work, helps clear the status of residential properties and helps make the housing market more stable.
But housing advocates claim that the rocket docket system facilitates the rise in foreclosure properties because there are foreclosure filings that could have been saved if the properties in question were not rushed through the system. Consumer advocates state that mediation between borrowers and lenders can still be achieved even if the foreclosure filings are already in the courts as long as they are not in rocket docket files.
Judges in Lee County said they have cut down their foreclosure case backlog by more than 6,000 cases since December 2008. Under the rocket docket system, judges hold marathon morning and afternoon sessions to decide on foreclosure filings. If there are no homeowners present to object to the foreclosure, the foreclosures proceed to the next processes until the foreclosure properties are sold in a public auction.
Critics of the decision to put foreclosure cases through the rocket docket system said not all homeowners are properly informed about the process and not all cases are properly documented.
Charlie Green, Lee County Clerk of Court, said the courts are starting to clear their foreclosure backlog under the rocket docket system. He said they had nearly 30,000 foreclosure cases in December 2008.
Green said he is hoping the backlog will be wiped out sooner because of the slowdown in the filing of foreclosures. He reported that 1,830 cases were filed in June, a slight drop from the 1,896 cases filed in May and a big drop from the 2,390 cases filed in June 2008.
Green insisted that mediation can no longer remedy foreclosure cases that have been in the courts for more than six months or one year. He said that in these cases, homeowners have not shown any real effort to save their homes from becoming foreclosure properties.
Lawyers for lenders added that the housing market and communities are better helped when foreclosure cases are expeditiously cleared so that foreclosure properties can be sold to responsible buyers who can maintain the properties and protect communities from blight.
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