Fannie Mae moves foreclosure cases out of Stern law firm

Fannie Mae has officially terminated its relationship with Florida foreclosure law firm David J. Stern and directed its servicers to begin transferring cases, according to an announcement Wednesday. Stern has come under fire for allegedly signing foreclosure affidavits in bulk without properly reviewing files or having a notary present. Freddie Mac pulled all existing cases from the Plantation, Fla.-based firm, after discontinuing new referrals. Fannie Mae and Citigroup (C) suspended use of the firm in late October. With filings drying up, Stern has laid off 70% of its work force. Fannie Mae said it is in the process of adding firms to its Florida network and directed servicers to notify those firms of new work by Nov. 15. The Stern law firm and three others, the Law Office of Marshall C. Watson in Fort Lauderdale, Shapiro & Fishman in Boca Raton, and the Florida Default Law Group in Tampa, are under investigation by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum for their handling of foreclosure cases. Write to Jon Prior.