Shuster & Saben obtains $18,500.00 fee judgment against U.S. Bank

Firm attorney, Richard Shuster was not the first lawyer hired by a Brevard family to defend the foreclosure case filed against their million-dollar riverfront home.  The first lawyer hired by the family was a flat-fee lawyer whose objective was to delay foreclosure.  After the case was several months old the bank moved for summary judgment and the flat-fee attorney suggested to the homeowners that the end was near.  The flat fee lawyer thought the only option was to cut a deal where the homeowners would give up their home in exchange for an extended sale date that would get them three or four extra months in the home.

The homeowners happened upon a family friend at a popular beachside restaurant who was a prior foreclosure defense client of Shuster & Saben.  The client told the homeowner, how Shuster & Saben successfully resolved their case and suggested that they get a second opinion with firm attorney Richard Shuster.   At first, the homeowner was hesitant over the fact that hiring Shuster & Saben would be significantly more expensive than what they had paid to hire the flat fee lawyer.  After several weeks of delay, the homeowner called the Space Coast office of Shuster & Saben for a free foreclosure defense consultation.  During the consultation, attorney Shuster found a significant mistake made by the bank that had been overlooked by the flat-fee lawyer. During the consultation, Shuster explained the strengths and weaknesses of the bank’s case and laid out a plan of attack that would be implemented if the homeowner hired the firm.  Ater sleeping on the issue for one night the couple hired Shuster & Saben, the day after the consultation.   Shuster went to work on the case immediately, implementing the plan laid out in the consultation.  In less than six months  Shuster obtained an order dismissing the case.  U.S. Bank then moved for rehearing which was denied by the Court. After Shuster won the foreclosure case, he timely moved for attorney’s fees and costs to recover money from US Bank to reimburse legal expenses previously paid for by the client and pay for work done by the firm that the client was not charged for.

On August 13, 2013, the Court entered a final judgment for attorney’s fees and costs against US Bank, ordering the bank to pay $18,500.00 for attorney’s fees and costs.  To view a redacted copy of the order click here.  When the judgment is paid, the firm’s client will receive thousands of dollars back. 

The Robin Hood Law Firm

One of the coolest things we get to do as a foreclosure defense lawyers is write checks to clients.  Most clients hire our firm under an arrangement in which they pay us a flat fee each month for the first hour we work on the case and any additional hours are worked on a pure contingency basis.  Under such an arrangement if we want to get paid for the rest of our time we need to win the case and recover attorney’s fees from the bank.  When we get foreclosure cases dismissed or win cases on summary judgment or at trial, we go after the banks and servicers to get paid for the rest of our time and to obtain reimbursement for our clients for the attorney's fees they previously paid. 

Redacted check issued to client after firm obtained dismissal of Wells Fargo's foreclosure case and obtained a judgment against the bank for attorney's fees.

If you scroll though our blog you will find quite a few attorney fee judgments that order banks and loan servicers to pay attorney’s fees to our firm.   One of our clients asked why we put fee judgments and fee checks up on our blog.  The reason is to let homeowners know that that some of the time homeowners win and that when they go shopping for a lawyer what law firm they choose makes a difference.  Some lawyers who represent homeowners confuse foreclosure delay with foreclosure defense.  To us foreclosure defense means fighting foreclosure cases with a goal of winning a significant portion of our cases and finding solutions through settlement, loan modification, short sale or deed in lieu for the rest of the cases when possible.  Our sophisticated clients want more than knee-jerk, cookie-cutter, stall tactics.  We evaluate our clients' cases with an big picture view that considers asset protection and tax consequences. 

When we win cases and recover fees from the bank our fee judgments are usually sufficient to return to the client a substantial portion for the fees the client previously paid.  This past week, I got to write a check for $2,651.00 to a foreclosure defense client of our Melbourne office.  We obtained a dismissal without prejudice of the client’s case after Wells Fargo’s lawyers failed to timely comply with a Court order.  For the past five months there has been no pending foreclosure case against our client ( the bank has not re-filed), our client has made no mortgage payments, and he has had no legal expenses.  Now the client has received a check to reimburse him for more than half of his prior legal expenses.

To see a redacted copy of the check to our client full size in a separate window click the link below:
Redacted Check