Kimberly Miller<\/a> – Palm Beach Post Staff Writer<\/p>\nWEST PALM BEACH \u2014<\/p>\n
A Palm Beach County judge\u2019s order requiring a bank to modify a homeowner\u2019s mortgage instead of foreclosing has lender lawyers scrambling for a do-over and defense attorneys at attention.<\/p>\n
The order, signed by Judge Howard Harrison last month in a Royal Palm Beach foreclosure case, specifies payment amounts, a fixed 3.15 percent interest rate for 40 years, and requires the bank to mitigate damage done to the homeowner\u2019s credit — details foreclosure defense attorneys said they have never before seen in a ruling.<\/p>\n
In fact, several said they were surprised and intrigued by the unusual order, which attempts to enforce a trial loan modification the homeowner received in 2009 but which may ultimately overstep the judge\u2019s legal authority.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seemed like the bank was trying to get payments out of the homeowner but never really had any intention of modifying the loan,\u201d said attorney Jeff Harrington, who is defending homeowner Paul Posti. \u201cOur argument is, if you look at it closely, it\u2019s a binding contract.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
The bank has asked for a rehearing in a 64-page request that includes the assertion that a trial loan modification is not an enforceable contract.<\/p>\n