Anyone have any idea how those foreclosure "mediations" are going? Effective? Worthless? Are the mediators and debtors attorneys coming with pitch forks?
I've heard from both plaintiff and bank counsel that they are somewhat worthless. As usual the banks come to the meeting (via counsel) without any authority to do much of anything. The lawyers are getting frustrated by the lack of substantive remedies available in the process. And I hear that some plaintiff's attorneys are charging pretty high fees to attend these mediations. Anybody able to confirm what some of the fees are for representing Plaintiffs. I'd like to set a reasonable fee myself.
What does anyone know about Ron Serota a 2001 Boyd grad? A CPA and he gets in trouble for tapping the trust fund. What happened to Ron? I read the article where he said he turned himself in to Bar Counsel?
How about Jeannie Winkler the family law attorney who tapped the trust fund for a risky investment. Anybody know anything about her? How can she be trusted with a law license? Doubt she will get to keep her ticket. Heard she was appearing in Family Court while her license was suspended.
7:40 I've heard from $500 to $1500 for the mediation.
From what I can gather it's not useful at all unless the debtor client brings a big check to pay some or all of their arrears.
Mostly, it appears to be a procedural tactic to get the client another 1-2 months in the house before foreclosure, which might make that $1000+ price worth it.
Ultimately, like the useless loan modification process (which typically leads to another default in less than a year), I think for the client it is throwing good money after bad.
Our office charges $3500 for the mediation representation. That includes the mediation and if necessary filing of bad faith sanctions. I have been 100% successful thus far for clients in saving their homes through accomplishing loan modifications, although I cannot imagine that my success rate will continue. In real terms, in my opinion, the mediation process is the only opportunity to bring good results for the client. Determining eligiblity often means turning people away. But if someone is eligible, I spend a lot of time with the client, go through all of their financials and make a reasonable proposal to the other side. Just my two cents.
Bob - you are obviously doing a good service in that case if you are screening clients first and then getting them results. Too many places take the money first and then realize there's no hope.
OK, did you all see the paper where 3 of our own are going to the disciplinary board? Who wants to take bets how they will react?
If you haven't seen the paper here are some highlights:
High court refers three attorneys to disciplinary board
The Nevada Supreme Court has referred three Las Vegas lawyers with misdemeanor convictions, including a chief deputy public defender and the husband of a Clark County district judge, to a disciplinary board.
According to a State Bar of Nevada spokesman, panels of the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board will review the cases and determine whether any action should be taken.
The Supreme Court's Feb. 26 orders apply to:
Chief Deputy Public Defender Gary Guymon, who resolved his Utah theft case in December by pleading no contest to trespassing;
Edward Miley, who pleaded no contest in December to domestic battery and cruelty to animals;
Steven Shinn, who pleaded no contest in June to driving under the influence.
Guymon, 47, has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1989. He previously prosecuted cases for the Clark County district attorney's office but left that job after his name surfaced in connection with the public corruption scandal involving several county commissioners and strip club owner Michael Galardi.
In April, the Utah County attorney's office charged Guymon with one misdemeanor count of theft after he was accused of stealing a necklace off a mannequin at the Sundance Resort. A surveillance system videotaped the incident.
Edward Miley, 42, has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1996. He was arrested in October after his wife, District Judge Stefany Miley, called police and told them he had been drinking and had abused her.
Court records show Edward Miley also was accused of choking the family dog.
According to the Supreme Court order pertaining to Edward Miley, he was sentenced to 100 hours of community service in the battery case. He also was ordered to attend domestic violence counseling and pay a total of $1,000 in fines and fees.
Shinn, 60, has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1998. He was sentenced in his drunken driving case to two days in jail, fined $400, assessed $160 in fees and ordered to attend the victim-impact panel.
Anyone see the paper where 3 of our own are going to the disciplinary board? Want to place bets on where this DOESN'T go?
If you haven't seen the paper here are the highlights:
The Nevada Supreme Court has referred three Las Vegas lawyers with misdemeanor convictions, including a chief deputy public defender and the husband of a Clark County district judge, to a disciplinary board.
The Supreme Court's Feb. 26 orders apply to Chief Deputy Public Defender Gary Guymon, Edward Miley, who pleaded no contest in December to domestic battery and cruelty to animals; and Steven Shinn, who pleaded no contest in June to driving under the influence.
Guymon, 47, has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1989. He was charged with one misdemeanor count of theft after he was accused of stealing a necklace off a mannequin at the Sundance Resort. A surveillance system videotaped the incident.
Edward Miley, 42, He was arrested in October after his wife, District Judge Stefany Miley, called police and told them he had been drinking and had abused her. Court records show Edward Miley also was accused of choking the family dog. He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service in the battery case. He also was ordered to attend domestic violence counseling and pay a total of $1,000 in fines and fees.
Shinn, 60, he was sentenced in his drunken driving case to two days in jail, fined $400, assessed $160 in fees and ordered to attend the victim-impact panel.
Bob hit the nail on the head. Not everybody is going to come out ahead in foreclosure mediation, but the terms most banks are able and willing to offer are very favorable.
Without going into too much detail, the banks are asking for a fairly small percentage of the homeowners monthly gross income and the bank can bring the APR down to almost 2% for around 5 years, if necessary, for that percentage to match up. At the end of 5 years the APR will return to whatever the normal rates were at the time of mediation, which right now is around 5%. The fact that banks will forgo default and grant a 2% fixed rate for five years, followed by a 5% fixed rate for another 25 years is truly amazing.
The sad truth is that if the homeowner can't afford their mortgage at 5% fixed,they should never have bought the house, or used it for their personal piggy bank, in the first place.
Seem to remember an open thread discussing whether "Anonymous" is really "Anonymous"? The discussion went back and forth. So the question is it really "Anonymous" or does a person need to take extra precautions or simply not blog. One suggestion has been to use a blogger identification which sounds extreme.
Okay, we're about out of troll food around here, but due to the specific nature of the information you claim to possess I feel the need to once again respond to you, Mr. Tinfoil Asshat.
Here's the deal: We stopped using sitemeter months ago. We didn't put it on "invisible" - we completely removed the code from our site. I don't know how many months ago, because sitemeter only keeps the past 12 months of data, and when I logged into our old account it showed no data.
The reason we stopped using sitemeter was due to the information it allowed others to view, as you have noted. While it never revealed the level of information you claim to possess, it did purport to give the geo-coordinates of visitor's IP addresses (which, as has been noted, simply showed the internet service provider's coordinates). Out of an abundance of caution, I chose to stop using sitemeter.
That brings us to you, Mr. Asshat. You are full of shit. You don't have any information about our commenters, because there is no such information out there. I'm probably just rubbing you in the right spot by responding yet again, but I guess that just makes you a good troll.
I have no interest in knowing the identities of our commenters. In fact, I do know many of them because when they email tips they knowingly use their personal accounts. Our commenters trust us, and we've earned that trust. I'll shut this site down before I reveal any identities.
Now that it's clear that you are nothing but a troll, you can go away happy and claim your troll prize. It's been real.
I appreciate your comment in response to the entity who says he knows who posts comments. I enjoy reading your blog and what other's have to say, as long as it is the TRUTH. I understand that others will have an opinion to other peoples comments, too!
It is nice knowing that a persons identity, will be private. We get to chose our identity, therefore I appreciate that YOU respect our right to privacy.
We meant to post an open thread on Friday for y'all to discuss the judicial candidates, but we forgot. 
Anyone have any idea how those foreclosure "mediations" are going? Effective? Worthless? Are the mediators and debtors attorneys coming with pitch forks?
ReplyDeleteI've heard from both plaintiff and bank counsel that they are somewhat worthless. As usual the banks come to the meeting (via counsel) without any authority to do much of anything. The lawyers are getting frustrated by the lack of substantive remedies available in the process. And I hear that some plaintiff's attorneys are charging pretty high fees to attend these mediations. Anybody able to confirm what some of the fees are for representing Plaintiffs. I'd like to set a reasonable fee myself.
ReplyDeleteWhat does anyone know about Ron Serota a 2001 Boyd grad? A CPA and he gets in trouble for tapping the trust fund. What happened to Ron? I read the article where he said he turned himself in to Bar Counsel?
ReplyDeleteHow about Jeannie Winkler the family law attorney who tapped the trust fund for a risky investment.
Anybody know anything about her? How can she be trusted with a law license? Doubt she will get to keep her ticket. Heard she was appearing in Family Court while her license was suspended.
7:40 I've heard from $500 to $1500 for the mediation.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I can gather it's not useful at all unless the debtor client brings a big check to pay some or all of their arrears.
Mostly, it appears to be a procedural tactic to get the client another 1-2 months in the house before foreclosure, which might make that $1000+ price worth it.
Ultimately, like the useless loan modification process (which typically leads to another default in less than a year), I think for the client it is throwing good money after bad.
Our office charges $3500 for the mediation representation. That includes the mediation and if necessary filing of bad faith sanctions. I have been 100% successful thus far for clients in saving their homes through accomplishing loan modifications, although I cannot imagine that my success rate will continue.
ReplyDeleteIn real terms, in my opinion, the mediation process is the only opportunity to bring good results for the client. Determining eligiblity often means turning people away. But if someone is eligible, I spend a lot of time with the client, go through all of their financials and make a reasonable proposal to the other side. Just my two cents.
Bob - you are obviously doing a good service in that case if you are screening clients first and then getting them results. Too many places take the money first and then realize there's no hope.
ReplyDeleteCandy and I are snorting our way through my client IOLTA trust account this very moment. Caramba!
ReplyDeleteOK, did you all see the paper where 3 of our own are going to the disciplinary board? Who wants to take bets how they will react?
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't seen the paper here are some highlights:
High court refers three attorneys to disciplinary board
The Nevada Supreme Court has referred three Las Vegas lawyers with misdemeanor convictions, including a chief deputy public defender and the husband of a Clark County district judge, to a disciplinary board.
According to a State Bar of Nevada spokesman, panels of the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board will review the cases and determine whether any action should be taken.
The Supreme Court's Feb. 26 orders apply to:
Chief Deputy Public Defender Gary Guymon, who resolved his Utah theft case in December by pleading no contest to trespassing;
Edward Miley, who pleaded no contest in December to domestic battery and cruelty to animals;
Steven Shinn, who pleaded no contest in June to driving under the influence.
Guymon, 47, has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1989. He previously prosecuted cases for the Clark County district attorney's office but left that job after his name surfaced in connection with the public corruption scandal involving several county commissioners and strip club owner Michael Galardi.
In April, the Utah County attorney's office charged Guymon with one misdemeanor count of theft after he was accused of stealing a necklace off a mannequin at the Sundance Resort. A surveillance system videotaped the incident.
Edward Miley, 42, has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1996. He was arrested in October after his wife, District Judge Stefany Miley, called police and told them he had been drinking and had abused her.
Court records show Edward Miley also was accused of choking the family dog.
According to the Supreme Court order pertaining to Edward Miley, he was sentenced to 100 hours of community service in the battery case. He also was ordered to attend domestic violence counseling and pay a total of $1,000 in fines and fees.
Shinn, 60, has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1998. He was sentenced in his drunken driving case to two days in jail, fined $400, assessed $160 in fees and ordered to attend the victim-impact panel.
Anyone see the paper where 3 of our own are going to the disciplinary board? Want to place bets on where this DOESN'T go?
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't seen the paper here are the highlights:
The Nevada Supreme Court has referred three Las Vegas lawyers with misdemeanor convictions, including a chief deputy public defender and the husband of a Clark County district judge, to a disciplinary board.
The Supreme Court's Feb. 26 orders apply to Chief Deputy Public Defender Gary Guymon, Edward Miley, who pleaded no contest in December to domestic battery and cruelty to animals; and Steven Shinn, who pleaded no contest in June to driving under the influence.
Guymon, 47, has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1989.
He was charged with one misdemeanor count of theft after he was accused of stealing a necklace off a mannequin at the Sundance Resort. A surveillance system videotaped the incident.
Edward Miley, 42, He was arrested in October after his wife, District Judge Stefany Miley, called police and told them he had been drinking and had abused her.
Court records show Edward Miley also was accused of choking the family dog. He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service in the battery case. He also was ordered to attend domestic violence counseling and pay a total of $1,000 in fines and fees.
Shinn, 60, he was sentenced in his drunken driving case to two days in jail, fined $400, assessed $160 in fees and ordered to attend the victim-impact panel.
Bob hit the nail on the head. Not everybody is going to come out ahead in foreclosure mediation, but the terms most banks are able and willing to offer are very favorable.
ReplyDeleteWithout going into too much detail, the banks are asking for a fairly small percentage of the homeowners monthly gross income and the bank can bring the APR down to almost 2% for around 5 years, if necessary, for that percentage to match up. At the end of 5 years the APR will return to whatever the normal rates were at the time of mediation, which right now is around 5%. The fact that banks will forgo default and grant a 2% fixed rate for five years, followed by a 5% fixed rate for another 25 years is truly amazing.
The sad truth is that if the homeowner can't afford their mortgage at 5% fixed,they should never have bought the house, or used it for their personal piggy bank, in the first place.
Wow, 5 years at 2%! Me likey free house, too!
ReplyDeleteSeem to remember an open thread discussing whether "Anonymous" is really "Anonymous"? The discussion went back and forth. So the question is it really "Anonymous" or does a person need to take extra precautions or simply not blog. One suggestion has been to use a blogger identification which sounds extreme.
ReplyDeleteBlog administrators will jump right in to assure you your comment is anonymous. It isn't.
ReplyDeleteIf only they would take their sitemeter off "invisible". You could look for yourself. They won't.
The hater making a good majority of the comments re: the Delaney trial for instance? Here's the location of his office:
Latitude
36.165360 °
N 36 ° 9' 55.3"
36 ° 9.9216' (degree m.mmmm)
Longitude
-115.146092 °
W 115 ° 8' 45.9"
-115 ° 8.7655' (degree m.mmmm)
You can look it up. It's on 3rd Street.
@ 7:57
ReplyDeleteOkay, we're about out of troll food around here, but due to the specific nature of the information you claim to possess I feel the need to once again respond to you, Mr. Tinfoil Asshat.
Here's the deal: We stopped using sitemeter months ago. We didn't put it on "invisible" - we completely removed the code from our site. I don't know how many months ago, because sitemeter only keeps the past 12 months of data, and when I logged into our old account it showed no data.
The reason we stopped using sitemeter was due to the information it allowed others to view, as you have noted. While it never revealed the level of information you claim to possess, it did purport to give the geo-coordinates of visitor's IP addresses (which, as has been noted, simply showed the internet service provider's coordinates). Out of an abundance of caution, I chose to stop using sitemeter.
That brings us to you, Mr. Asshat. You are full of shit. You don't have any information about our commenters, because there is no such information out there. I'm probably just rubbing you in the right spot by responding yet again, but I guess that just makes you a good troll.
I have no interest in knowing the identities of our commenters. In fact, I do know many of them because when they email tips they knowingly use their personal accounts. Our commenters trust us, and we've earned that trust. I'll shut this site down before I reveal any identities.
Now that it's clear that you are nothing but a troll, you can go away happy and claim your troll prize. It's been real.
To Mr. Law,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment in response to the entity
who says he knows who posts comments. I enjoy reading your blog and what other's have to say, as long as it is the TRUTH. I understand that others will have an opinion to other peoples comments, too!
It is nice knowing that a persons identity, will be private. We get to chose our identity, therefore I appreciate that YOU respect our right to privacy.
Thank you,
Anonymous
Loan mod mediation: $400.00. $200 from Plaintiff and $200 from banklenderservicer
ReplyDelete