A recent report in the Cleveland Plain Dealer discusses changes being instituted to address an increasing backlog of foreclosure cases in the county's court system, as previously discussed.

Cuyahoga County trying to end foreclosure backlog
Magistrates added, cases put on dockets

Cuyahoga County has a national reputation with lawyers and bankers in the foreclosure industry.

It's not a good reputation.

The county's court system bottles up foreclosure cases, sometimes for years, making it a national topic when the bankers and lawyers get together to talk shop, said Chad Neel, chief operating officer of two companies that manage properties for lenders, one based in Colorado and one in Solon.

"I don't know if it's the most notorious place," Neel said. "It is probably in the top five of challenged areas."

Lawyers blame magistrates in Common Pleas Court, who handle the foreclosure cases until the final steps, when elected judges sign rulings.

Lawyers say magistrates drag their feet on rulings, throw out cases for flaws as minor as typographical errors and pick over titles for tiny imperfections, even though attorneys insist that reviewing titles is not a magistrate's job and the mistakes don't affect the titles' validity.

Much ire is directed at a unique "certificate of readiness," a checklist of 18 items that lawyers must certify have been addressed before a case proceeds. One loose end and the case can be dismissed.

Lawyers who work statewide say they don't encounter the same obstructions in other counties.

"The attitude and arrogance of the magistrates' office, in my opinion, is a primary reason for the delay in doing foreclosures in this county," said Richard McNellie, partner in a Beachwood-based law firm.

Seasoned lawyers resent being lectured by magistrates, who have law degrees but in most cases have little or no experience in private practice. Most came through the county court system as law clerks or judicial staff attorneys. One was a court data-entry clerk and before that an intern in the criminal court's probation office.

"You're talking about a group that wasn't practicing law," said Amelia Bauer, managing partner of the Columbus law firm Plunkett & Clooney. "They don't know what it's like to be out in the world handling a foreclosure and whether what they're doing is relevant or not."

Magistrates, whose pay ranges from nearly $59,000 to $83,000 a year, don't get all the blame for the backlog. The region's economy and one of the nation's highest foreclosure rates are factors. New foreclosure filings in Cuyahoga County are on a pace to surpass 14,000 this year, eclipsing a previous high of 11,075 set in 2005.

But Cuyahoga County is one of the few counties in Ohio where magistrates handle foreclosures. To attack the backlog, the county recently increased the number of magistrates from nine to 13.

Lawyers say adding bodies won't make a difference if the magistrates don't change an approach that is imperious and shows bias against lenders.

The lawyers have an interest in speeding foreclosures. They don't collect their fees until the cases are finished, and impatient creditors get angry with lawyers over delays. Twinsburg lawyer Dennis Reimer said the Cuyahoga quagmire has resulted in five major clients blaming his firm for delays and hiring competitors, costing him about $1 million a year.

Folks who have a hard time working up tears for attorneys or lenders might be more moved by scenes in their neighborhoods. Many owners in foreclosure leave without a fight, and Cleveland and its older suburbs suspect that vacant homes fall into decay because of foot-dragging magistrates.

Chief Magistrate Stephen Bucha III grits his teeth and speaks in low, even tones as he discusses the complaints. He says the backlog is the product of an unbalanced equation: too many cases on one side; too few magistrates on the other.

He acknowledges that cases get tossed because of typos and other seemingly minor mistakes but says the percentage is almost infinitesimal. He says lawyers have only themselves to blame: The magistrates used to give grace periods for corrections, but sloppiness persisted.

"The court has an interest in doing things properly - that is our only motive here," said Bucha. "My understanding is there are other courts that don't look at things as carefully as we do. That does not mean those counties are right, and we're wrong."

Not all lawyers hold the magistrates in contempt. David Kaman has hundreds of cases awaiting action, but he said the magistrates are overwhelmed.

"The bottom line is, I haven't seen any magistrate purposely stopping a foreclosure or slowing down a foreclosure just for the sake of doing it," Kaman said. "I've had my share of arguments with them, but the problem has not been the magistrates. The problem is the volume of cases the magistrates have to deal with."

Reforms have begun.

Bucha said the magistrates will be more flexible on matters like typos and give priority to properties that cities identify as abandoned.

Foreclosure cases, which long have disappeared from judges' dockets while magistrates handle them, will soon appear on the dockets. That could have a huge impact because it would heighten scrutiny at election time, when the judges' opponents could talk about the backlog during campaigning.

Nancy McDonnell, the county's new chief judge, said the magistrates feel defensive now, but their hearts are in the right place.

"They are under attack, and no one likes being under attack," McDonnell said. "I do think there's a desire to get it right, to see things improve, to be responsive."

Bucha said the magistrates, and the courts, will be stronger because of the siege.

"The net result of this is going to be positive," he said. "We're going to improve our procedures. In the end, it's going to be a good thing."