Florida Senate - 2013                                    SB 1218
       
       
       
       By Senator Soto
       
       
       
       
       14-00947A-13                                          20131218__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to residential foreclosure
    3         proceedings; providing a short title; creating s.
    4         501.1379, F.S.; defining the term “mortgage collection
    5         firm”; prohibiting a mortgage collection firm from
    6         offering false evidence in a mortgage foreclosure
    7         proceeding; providing that a violation is a deceptive
    8         and unfair trade practice; providing penalties and
    9         remedies; providing for the award of attorney fees and
   10         costs under certain circumstances; providing an
   11         effective date.
   12  
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Florida Mortgage
   16  Collection Fairness Act.”
   17         Section 2. Section 501.1379, Florida Statutes, is created
   18  to read:
   19         501.1379 Mortgage collection firms; prohibited practices;
   20  penalties and remedies.—
   21         (1) As used in this section, the term “mortgage collection
   22  firm” means an attorney or law firm engaged to represent a party
   23  filing a residential mortgage foreclosure action or a person
   24  engaged in debt collection services for a residential mortgage
   25  loan.
   26         (2) A mortgage collection firm may not knowingly offer
   27  false evidence in a residential mortgage foreclosure proceeding.
   28         (3) A violation of this section is a deceptive and unfair
   29  trade practice and constitutes a violation of the Florida
   30  Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. A mortgage collection
   31  firm that violates this section is subject to the penalties and
   32  remedies provided in part II of this chapter, including the
   33  award of reasonable attorney fees and costs under s. 501.2105.
   34         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.