PRESS RELEASE: HB 87 MEANS DISASTER FOR FLORIDA HOMEOWNERS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

HB 87 Puts Florida Homeowners in Trouble and at the Mercy of the Banks
Tampa, Florida, USA
June 2, 2013

“This is deliberate, organized theft,” stated the Green Party of Florida’s Co-chair Anita Stewart, in response to the Banker’s Home Foreclosure Bill HB 87.  The measure, passed by the Florida state legislature and now awaiting the signature of Governor Rick Scott, would virtually eliminate the ability to depose the banks, and challenge the banks' allegations of ownership and mortgage status.  It would stand due process on its head by switching the burden of proof from plaintiff bankers to the homeowners being sued.

Foreclosure fraud has become a national scandal, and Florida has become the foreclosure capitol of the nation, with 103,000 foreclosures from April 2012 through March 2013 (CoreLogic), yet HB 87 would shield the banks from having to prove whether the bank even owns a loan, whether a loan has already been paid off, whether the homeowner actually owns anything, and whether the bank fraudulently inflated the payments due.

Floridians must demand that Governor Scott veto HB 87 by signing this petition, which states:  “The Foreclosure Act just passed on May 3rd was passed illegally and unconstitutionally. The House Civil Justice Committee passed the bill on Feb. 7th, before the Legislature was in session, contrary to Article III, Section 3 of Florida's Constitution.”

According to the platform of the Green Party of the United States, “We stand with consumers, who have been injured or defrauded by corporations and others, and support their efforts to redress the wrongs done to them.”  The platform also states:  “Greens believe the legal structure of the corporation is obsolete. At present, corporations are designed solely to generate profit. This legal imperative — profit above all else — is damaging our country and our planet in countless ways. We must change the legal design of corporations so that they generate profits, but not at the expense of the environment, human rights, public health, workers, or the communities in which the corporation operates.”

For more information, listen to the May 31, 2013 archived audio feed from WMNF-FM’s Radioactivity Program where Rob Lorei interviews special guest, Glenda Chauncy, a Home Foreclosure Activist and Paralegal:

http://www.wmnf.org/news_stories/protesters-urge-department-of-justice-to-criminally-investigate-the-causes-of-the-housing-crisis

Or check out the independent press:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Florida-HB-87-Homeowners-by-Michael-Collins-130510-603.html
http://agonist.org/last-chance-stop-floridas-hb-87-and-foreclosuregate-ii/

West Coast Greens of Florida
http://www.flwestcoastgreens.org

Green Party of Florida
http://www.gpfl.org
http://www.twitter.com/greenpartyoffl
https://www.facebook.com/groups/GreenPartyofFlorida/

Anita Stewart
Co-Chair of the Green Party of Florida
anitastewart@gmail.com

###

(459 words)