Profile | Reders Digest

Profile

EDUCATION:

University of South Florida - B. S. Mathematics 1973
- Honor’s Program
Florida State University - J.D. in Law 1978
- Law Review
- Legal Writing Instructor
- Dean Joshua Morse’s Research Assistant
- Justice James C. Adkins Law Clerk

EMPLOYMENT:

Senior Law Clerk to Chief Justice Joseph A. Boyd, Jr. 1979-86.
Associate Attorney to Jonathan Alpert 1987-88
Sole Practitioner 1988 – present
Expert Consultant and Outside Counsel for Florida Department of Transportation 2000-2006.

ORGANIZATIONS:

Florida Supreme Court Historical Society, Director 1980-86.
Carrollwood Community Homeowners Association, Director 1988-89.
Magdalene Shores Homeowners’ Association. President 1994-96.
Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Director and President of the Northwest Council 1997.
High Risers Toastmasters, President 1999.
Carrollwood Area Business Association. Director 1999-2001
The Florida Bar, Chairman Appellate Rules Amicus Curiae Subcommittee 2004
Carrollwood Community Bar Association, Director 2001– 07, President 2004.
Hillsborough County Bar Association, Chairman Appellate Law Section 2009-2010.
Emerald Greens Country Club
University Club
Attorney’s Title Insurance Fund
Bay Area Real Estate Council
Jurists Engaged in Defending Title Integrity (JEDTI)

PUBLICATIONS:

Contributing author The Supreme Court of Florida and Its Predecessor Courts, 1821-1917(University Press of Florida 1977)
Reder, Randall O., Antebellum Florida Supreme Court, Fla. Bar J. (1984)
“Florida Real Estate Transactions Made Painless and Efficient,” (National Business Institute December 2005).
“Boundary Disputes: Resolving Conflicts Without Going to Court.” (National Business Institute April 2006).
“Real Estate Law from A to Z in Florida,” (Lorman Education Services January 2007).
Reder, Randall O., “Corporations,” Florida Small Business Practice, (The Florida Bar 2009 6th edition).

News

The main focus of my practice is now in foreclosure defense. I spend hours a day keeping up with developments throughout the state. The Florida Supreme Court has recently amended the Rules of Civil Procedure which now require that foreclosure complaints be verified. It has also recently ordered the chief judges of the judicial circuits to implement a mandatory mediation program. Hillsborough County has not implemented one yet.

In the Hartshorn case, I filed the initial brief arguing there is not time limit for seeking to set aside a summary judgment of foreclosure where the matter had been pursued by the wtrong entity. If we win, then all the mortgage foreclosure actions completed by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) in the last several years are subject to being set aside.

Recently I was successful in defeating two attempts to obtain summary judgments of foreclosure. In one Judge Williams found there were disputed factual issues as to whether the plaintiff received delivery of a promissory note endorsed in blank before the filing of the lawsuit and whether MERS had the authority to assign its interest in the mortgage. She scheduled the matter for final hearing the week of June 14.

In the second case, Judge Cobb sitting in for Judge Bray also found there disputed issues of fact as to whether the promissory note was delivered and the mortgage assigned to the plaintiff before the suit was filed.