Taylor considered the requests for foreclosure judgments in a fifth-floor conference room. Sitting at a desk at the end of a conference table, she used a speakerphone to talk to attorneys for the banks and mortgage servicers who called in instead of traveling to Tampa. At her side sat a court assistant, next to a cart stacked with manila envelopes.
Don't Show Up
Most homeowners whose property was at issue didn't show up to fight. It took Taylor about 30 seconds to approve some of the foreclosures and set a sale date after lender attorneys summarized the case and the amount owed.
"I wish there was more we can do," Taylor told one homeowner after approving a foreclosure. She said there was "no legal reason" why she shouldn't approve it.
Another homeowner who lost her home last week, Ingrid Young, 44, defaulted in 2008. She told the judge she couldn't afford the $1,900 monthly payment for her Tampa house because she only earns $1,800 a month.
"I am in default, and I do realize that," Young said.
Her employer had cut her hours, and unless she finds another job, she can't afford the mortgage, she told Taylor.
The judge approved the foreclosure after persuading attorneys for Citigroup Inc. unit Citimortgage to set the sale date in January.
'Very Sad Business'
"It's a very sad business," the judge said afterwards.
Such fast-track hearings are still happening elsewhere in Florida, according to lawyers and court personnel. Weidner, the homeowner lawyer, criticized judges for continuing to hold "rocket docket" sessions amid the current controversy.
"Inside these courtrooms, judges -- the bad ones -- are just granting summary judgments like nothing's happening, like it's business as usual," he said. "They're abdicating their responsibilities to be real judges."