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YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO A MEET & GREET FUNDRAISER FOR BROWARD COUNTY STATE ATTORNEY MICHAEL J. SATZ!

Where:

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Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305

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When:

Wednesday May 9, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
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Please Join Us To Meet, Greet, and Raise Funds

Al Lamberti, Broward County’s Sheriff

Creator and leader of the BSO Hate Crimes/Anti-bias Task Force

Date: April 18, 2012

Time: 5:30 – 7:30PM

Location: J. Marks Restaurant, 1245 North Federal Highway  Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

HOSTED BY:  The Law Offices of George Castrataro, PA & GLBT Alliance

HOST COMMITTEE:

Lyons, Snyder & Collin, P.A.

Lea Kraus, Esq., P.A.

J. Marks Restaurant

Carol Moran

Scott Rouda

Joe Guerrero

 For more information, please call 954-573-1444.  RSVP not required!

Friday March 23, 2012 – Mortgage Heartburn 

Banks stall on foreclosures, courts overwhelmed, attorneys say -

South Florida Business Journal by Paul Brinkmann

There is some anxiety these days about the damage to Florida’s massive foreclosure backlog as a result of court budget cuts.

For example, Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock recently said that budget cuts will slow down her ability to process new foreclosure cases, further bogging down a system already clogged by thousands of foreclosures.

But there is another factor many attorneys say is more important: inaction by banks on stalled foreclosure cases.

“The backlog of cases is going to be a problem until the courts are funded properly. I would put a lot of the blame on court funding,” said Tom Ice, a foreclosure defense attorney in Boca Raton. “My biggest frustration is not getting answers. When I have a client who actually has money to put down and cut a deal with a bank, I can’t get answers about whether they will accept an offer or not.”

Jay Brinkmann, chief economist for the national Mortgage Bankers Association, recently told NPR that local markets can be damaged by foreclosure backlogs.

“We’re really seeing it’s not so much a national problem,” Brinkmann said. “It’s an Illinois problem. It’s a Florida problem. It’s a New Jersey problem.” He said the backlog creates a lack of certainty for potential homebuyers because they worry about a flood of foreclosed homes hitting the market.

On one hand, Ice said, banks seem to be avoiding a big push on foreclosures because they know a flood of homes for sale will depress the market.

But he acknowledged that staying in foreclosure can be costly to banks and to homeowners. He said his clients are usually committed to basic maintenance if they have reason to hope they will stay in the home.

“The banks, I would suggest, don’t really want to push this through,” Ice said. “Banks are manipulating this backlog. They know if they dump all these houses on the market, the price they will get is going to go down.”

Ice’s firm, Ice Legal, handled a case for homeowner Roman Pino, which is pending in front of the Florida Supreme Court.

Bank of New York Mellon foreclosed on Pino, but the bank was shown to have false documents about the mortgage, “robo-signed” by Plantation attorney David Stern’s firm, which is now out of business. The bank withdrew the case, but Ice Legal filed to reopen the case so Ice could take depositions and possibly seek sanctions. Two lower courts denied the request to reopen the case. Ice appealed to the Supreme Court. At that point, the bank reached confidential settlement with Pino.

But the Supreme Court ordered the attorneys to present the case anyway so it could hear arguments.

Should courts care about economy?

Ice said the economy should not be the court’s top concern.

“It’s not the court’s concern that the economy might be affected by this; the court’s concern should be due process and administration of justice,” he said. Otherwise, the integrity of property ownership rights and records is compromised, he said.

In fact, attorneys have said that title companies are reluctant to insure properties that have been caught in the robo-signing scandal until greater clarity is provided.

The Florida Legislature has authorized $400 million for courts to hire part-time judges to help with the backlog, but that is $200 million less than the last appropriation, and comes as clerk’s offices have suffered budget cuts.

George Castrataro, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who handles foreclosure and bankruptcy, said recent upticks in foreclosure volume will be dwarfed by what is coming.

Castrataro pointed out that national settlements with banks on robo-signing allegations will feed the pipeline, and Florida’s delinquency rate on mortgages has grown.

“There are hundreds of cases where there hasn’t been any activity for longer than 400 or 500 days,” he said.

Castrataro said one new tactic for him is filing actions against lenders seeking to enforce temporary modification agreements. The homeowner makes payments thinking there will be a final agreement, but the bank often stalls further or forecloses anyway, he said.

“We’re saying the lender engaged in modification, but didn’t resolve it in a timely manner,” he said. “We’ve had some fees paid, or settlement on some terms.”

Castrataro said it is not clear to him if banks “want the delay or if they just can’t get their act together.”

One thing is for sure, Ice said: Clients can’t stay in limbo forever.

“We lose a lot of clients who just give up,” he said. “It’s too stressful, and they tell me, ‘I need to get on with my life.’ I’ve even had clients drop out who have very good defenses.”

Oral arguments in the Pino case are set for May 10. Amanda Lundergan, an attorney with Ice Legal, will argue the homeowner’s side.

LawGC has finished a major IT infrastructure upgrade which has improved case management and client services.  With the help and support of our business partners, LawGC has successfully embarked upon and completed a major hardware upgrade.  We have invested over $20,000 in new infrastructure to provide a higher level of redundancy and efficiency.  Our new hardware is complimented by extensive services and support from our business partners Lexis, WestLaw and BestCase which now enable real time and automated case docket management, electronic filing, and high speed data management.  Long story short….we got a great IT system…great IT partners and a very well integrated system that will ensure we meet our clients needs for years to come.

THANKS to all for your help!

George Castrataro has been rated AV – Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell®. AV – Preeminent is the highest and most significant rating accomplishment. The rating is a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.

The General Ethical Standards rating denotes adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities. Those lawyers who meet the “Very High” criteria of General Ethical Standards can proceed to the next step in the ratings process – Legal Ability.

Overall Peer Rating (In Bankruptcy, Litigation and General Practice): 5.0 out of 5.0

February 26, 2012,  George Castrataro was awarded the Bestie Award for best attorney.   The 3rd Annual Bestie Awards were hosted at the Manor and attended by the LawGC team.   “We are thrilled to be among such amazing nominees and honored to receive the recognition”, said Mr. Castrataro.

Article Published at SFGN on 2/15/2012

The City of Wilton Manors has enacted a controversial ordinance that would limit the amount of pain medications smaller neighborhood pharmacies can dispense. The new law, passed to regulate pain management clinics, may nevertheless adversely impact thousands of HIV and cancer patients in the area.

Two of the pharmacies affected, The Medicine Shoppe and Quick Script, have hired prominent local attorney, George Castrataro, to overturn the ordinance. Castrataro has indicated he is prepared to go to court and seek an injunction to prevent implementation of the new law.

He stated the new law will “undermine substantial rights of the specialty pharmacies and over 2,000 of their constituents.” Castrataro stated that the city “had failed to consider the implications and overreaching aspects of the ordinance.”

Owner of The Medicine Shoppe, Lynn Williams, said the ordinance would certainly harm her pharmacy.

“This will definitely impact us and be detrimental to my patients,” she said. “They want to control how I dispense class 2 medications.”

Class 2 medications include Percocet, oxycodone, and methadone. Even though the community pharmacy is not a pain clinic, it still affects her patients.

“We do not specialize in pain meds at all,” she said. “Our business is 75 to 80 percent HIV medications.”

Even so many of Williams’ HIV and cancer patients use medications to treat their pain, which means they may have to go elsewhere to get those medications. Larger pharmacies such as Walgreens and CVS would not be subject to the new rules.

“Many of our patients prefer a smaller pharmacy to get the attention and care that they need,” she said. “I really don’t think it’s fair [the larger ones] are exempt.”

Castrataro said the ordinance really targets small businesses.

“Specialty pharmacies service highly vulnerable populations and individuals suffering from numerous chronic and life threatening conditions,” he noted.

The ordinance passed the City Commission on Jan. 10 and businesses had to be in compliance by Feb. 9.

“They didn’t even send out a letter to the businesses until Jan. 31,” Castrataro said. “Since a letter may be in the mail for five days they gave almost no time to the businesses to even comply with the new rules.”

Castrataro explained that smaller pharmacies would have to get an exemption to continue selling pain medications up to 5,000 units, provided they agree to sign a lengthy waiver which includes provisions allowing the Police Department to inspect the premises without notice, warrant or authority.

Smaller pharmacies who dispense more than 5,000 units per month would also need to seek a special license that creates even stricter conditions, such as not being open after 7 p.m., not accepting cash, and not dispensing more than three days worth of pain medications at any time.

“Where did they even get the 5,000 number? It seems arbitrary to me. This substantially limits their ability to do business,” Castrataro said. However, large pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens are totally exempt from these rules.

Castrato argues that it is not “fair… This is a poorly drafted ordinance.”

Castrataro’s strong letter to city manager, Joseph Gallegos, advised that the ill-conceived ordinance is inherently “flawed,” along with being “arbitrary and capricious.”

Gallegos declined to comment on the ordinance at this time. Castrataro said he’d like to think that this ordinance is merely a mistake and some of these provisions are not intentional, but oversights.

City officials have supported the ordinance in an attempt to regulate pain clinics, which have been the target of recent enforcement activity by the state. Many other municipalities around South Florida have also taken steps to regulate pain clinics, but Castrataro said the Wilton Manors ordinance is the most restrictive he’s seen. The goal of the ordinance is to restrict illegal drug use, but Castrataro argues “that the cure being proposed is worse than the illness.”

Williams recognizes the need to regulate pain clinics, but contends her pharmacy is not a ‘pain clinic.’ The Medicine Shoppe has been in Wilton Manors for 30 years, long before the recent surge of pain management clinics all over the state. Less than 10 percent of her business comes from pain medications. She worries, however, that her patients will go elsewhere if they can’t get all of their prescriptions filled at the same place.

Castrataro’s argument is that the ordinance requires smaller pharmacies to adapt to a “remarkably prejudicial” law, which “places them at a substantial competitive disadvantage- compared to their large retail counterparts.” Castrataro has sent a legal memorandum to the city stating that the ordinance compromises and “grossly undermines the constitutionally protected interests” of his clients.

Indicating that he will go to court to seek relief if the city does not alter the law before February 28, Castrataro has asked for a meeting with Joseph Gallegos, the city manager. So far no meeting has been scheduled.

In the past year, Castrataro has developed a reputation for standing up to city initiatives impacting the community, from representing a former gay Hollywood police officer who was terminated for doing a porn film, and his battle for Occupy Fort Lauderdale, preventing the arrest of protestors at city hall.

Stay tuned tonight to http://www.local10.com/ at 11PM for an interesting story on Mortgage Deficiencies.

 View Video Here

During the 2011 calendar year, the Law Offices of George Castrataro, PA provided over $110,000 in support to our community (representing a 37% increase over 2010) including:

a) Over 205.9 pro bono hours directly to local non-profit organizations representing in-kind donations of over $51,475. We are thrilled to have doubled our pro bono hours and work over the 2011 calendar year.

b) Over 165.76 pro bono hours directly to low income individuals unable to meet the financial burdens of legal representation representing in-kind donations of $41,440 representing a 66% increase over the 2010 calendar

c) Direct donations representing over $17,000 to organizations including the American Bar Association, Aqua Foundation for Women, Broward College Foundation, Broward Health Foundation, Care Resource, Children’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center, Equality Florida, Florida Bar Foundation, GLAAD, H.A.N.D.Y, Lambda Legal, The Links, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, Pride Center, political and judicial causes (consistent with campaign allowances).

d) George Castrataro, continues to volunteer as an active board member for Care Resource and is an appointed member of the Broward County Housing Council.

Keechl Campaign Event at LawGC

PLEASE JOIN US IN SUPPORTING KEN KEECHL FOR

BROWARD COUNTY COMMISSION (DISTRICT 7)

Date:                  Thursday, February 9, 2012

Time:                 6 – 8 PM

Location:         707 NE 3rd Ave; 3rd Floor

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

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