Man Bites Dog, or Robosigner Sues Foreclosure Defense Attorney

St. Petersburg Times in Florida reported on 12/10/2010 Friday:

Nationwide Title Clearing, a Palm Harbor company at the center of the nation's robo-signing controversy, is going on the offensive against its critics.

On Wednesday, the company sued a St. Petersburg foreclosure defense lawyer, Matthew Weidner, for alleged libel and slander.

And it recently obtained an injunction, ordering Sarasota lawyer Christopher Forrest to remove videotaped depositions he had posted of three Nationwide Title employees describing an assembly-line process of signing mortgage-related documents.

The ACLU of Florida said Thursday that it has filed an emergency appeal of the injunction, which it called a "gag order" and a restraint of free speech.

The legal action marks another chapter in a storm over the validity of documents used to foreclose on millions of American homes. Earlier this fall, Bank of America and other lenders temporarily halted foreclosure proceedings because of evidence that many documents contained errors and fraudulent statements.

One of the most outspoken critics of the foreclosure process is Weidner, who writes a widely read blog in which he has criticized not only banks, but judges, lawyers and companies like Nationwide Title that process mortgage-related documents.

... In a suit filed in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, the company says Weidner has "deliberately and maliciously" used the term robo-signers "to vilify NTC for signing documents … when (Weidner) knew that it is entirely legally and appropriate to do so."

The "gist" of statements on Weidner's blog, the suit says, is that Nationwide Title is an "unethical company" that manufactures false evidence used to foreclose. The statements have permanently damaged the company's reputation and subjected it to "public hatred, scorn and ridicule," according to the suit, which seeks damages in excess of $15,000.

ROTFLMAO! Nationwide Title's feeling is hurt! Poor thing!

Matt Weidner's blog is here.

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