Foreclosure task force gets to work: panel wants to hear from lawyers dealing with the issue.

The Supreme Court Task Force on Residential Foreclosure Cases wants to hear from lawyers as it works to come up with recommendations to ease the backload of pending foreclosure cases while protecting the rights of parties.

"We really need constructive suggestions from the folks in the trenches dealing with these issues in the courthouses across the state of Florida," said 11th Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey, who chairs the task force.

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And the quicker the better. Created in March, the task force is charged with submitting an interim report in early May and the finished product by August 15. Bailey said the task force is interested in receiving comments on lawyers' experiences with foreclosure cases, including problems they have encountered, and any suggestions for uniform court rules, policies, and procedures to deal with foreclosures.

Comments can be sent immediately via email to: DRCmail@flcourts.org or via regular mail to: Dispute Resolution Center, Supreme Court Building, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1905 or via fax to (850) 922-9290.

The task force also has developed online surveys from lenders, borrowers, and lawyers. They can be accessed at www. flcourts.org/gen_public/adr/index.shtml.

"What we are hoping is that these online surveys will assist us in capturing the nature and scope of the problem and any issues that we may have overlooked," Bailey said, noting that due to limited financial resourses, the...