Judge Fairgrieve, sitting in the District Court located in Nassau County, fined a foreclosure attorney named Steven J. Baum P.C. Mr. Baum was sanctioned $14,000 in attorneys fees and and additional $5,000 payable to the Lawyers Fund for Civil Protection with regard to the case of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. vs. Raia, which was decided on November 23, 2010.

Attorney Criticized by the Court

Steven J. Baum, P.C., is one of the largest foreclosure law firms in the state of New York. Mr. Baum’s law office litigates foreclosure matters throughout New York.

The court noted in this case that many of the sworn allegations in the foreclosure proceeding were found to be false. The Judge ordered a hearing to determine appropriate sanctions, due to the fact that the mortgage company lacked a possessory interest in the premises. The attorneys for Steven J. Baum, P.C., argued that the allegations in the petition, although they were incorrect, were not material and that sanctioning the foreclosure law firm would not be appropriate. Judge Fairgrieve, in his decision, stated that the false statements dealt with the issue of standing to bring the foreclosure proceeding. He went on to state that a lawyer is guilty of professional misconduct if he makes false statements to a court under the rules of professional conduct that lawyers must abide by.

Judge Fairgrieve found that Steven J. Baum, P.C., was professionally irresponsible and impeded the proper administration of justice. He noted in his decision that this was not the first time that this law office had acted inappropriately. The judge indicated in his decision that in a similar case three years ago, Steven J. Baum’s law office was to be sanctioned.

Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo provides foreclosure defense regarding cases in Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, the five boroughs of the City of New York and Westchester County. Our office has numerous cases pending where we are defending homeowners from foreclosure. In these cases, we help our clients stay in their homes. We litigate defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending and other real estate related issues. We also assist our clients in the preparation of mortgage modification applications and we deal with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet our client’s needs. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients and seek to put pressure on the mortgage companies and banks to provide our clients with mortgage modifications. Call us for a free consultation at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or 1-800-344-6431.