CONA Meeting - Foreclosure Mess 101 - Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations

Sept. 5, 2012 - PRLog -- Foreclosure Mess - 101

Few in our communities are unaffected by the current issue of foreclosures. All around us are homes that have lost value, neighborhoods swimming in a rising sea of foreclosures, personal struggles dealing with threatened foreclosure, condominiums threatened financially, politicians whose constituents are affected, attorneys whose practice of law includes clients seeking advice and defense, and judges who must hear the cases. All taxpayers are carrying an added burden to provide the shared expenses of our local governments. It’s wreaking havoc on our economy.

Two attorneys at the forefront of the foreclosure mess will speak at the September 10 CONA meeting to discuss what can be done about it. They both represent clients struggling with the issues arising from the mess, especially with homes now bearing mortgages that far exceed their appraised value and the incomes of people caught in the growing financial crisis that began in the last decade. A special invitation is being extended to the judges and attorneys in the region who will hear and argue these cases. A question and answer period will follow their presentations.



April Charney is a consumer protection attorney, whose foreclosure defense work has become a specialty for which she has garnered acclaim. She brought national attention to illegal and fraudulent actions by banks that was featured in nationwide publications. Ms. Charney also leads efforts to educate attorneys and judges about this complex law. Wikipedia notes that she “instructs fellow advocates and attorneys across the nation on foreclosure defense strategies and tactics to protect consumers”… that “she asserts that few attorneys are well-versed in the legal issues in such cases and that judges often are not familiar with the details of the bank strategies” and, that she “has been a featured speaker during several ‘teach-in’ sessions that...make ...legal remedies for these cases more accessible to attorneys and the consumers they represent”. Since 2004, Ms. Charney has worked as a senior staff attorney in consumer law at Jacksonville Legal Services, specializing in defeating predatory lending, outreach, education, as well as, litigation focusing on preventing foreclosure, eradicating illegal debt collection, and upholding consumer protection lending, credit, and disclosure statutes. She is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. A graduate of Miami Law School, Ms. Charney practiced in Sarasota between 1991 and 2003, providing legal representation to low income residents and nonprofit organizations and client-based education with an emphasis on housing, consumer, family, elder financial and economic literacy, education, employment, and disability law.



Matthew Weidner (http://www.mattweidnerlaw.com) also will speak at the meeting. He is an attorney whose practice is located in Saint Petersburg. He has been practicing civil litigation since 1999 and has represented clients in foreclosure, mortgage modification, consumer and commercial finance transactions, and civil litigation. Florida Trend Magazine named Mr. Weidner a Florida Newsmaker of the Year in 2010 for his work in fighting foreclosures. The Wall Street Journal credits him with coining the term, robo-signing. A graduate of Florida State University and Florida State University College of Law, Mr. Weidner first served as counsel to several statewide professional organizations.


CONA meets at 7:00 p.m. at Sarasota Garden Club, 1131 Boulevard of the Arts in Sarasota, which is at the intersection of Tamiami Trail (south of the Municipal Auditorium) and its parking is reached from Van Wezel Way. Its meetings always are open to the public as well as members of the associations the organization represents.