WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Whitestone Capital Trust LLC, Become the Bank LLC, and Nicholas Torgerson have retained West Palm Beach lawyer Michael Pike, who is no stranger to representing individuals in high-profile and high-stake cases. The Florida Attorney General's Office alleges Whitestone Capital Trust, Become the Bank and Torgerson violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by charging homeowners a fee to challenge banks attempting to foreclose on their homes, by requiring these financial institutions to actually prove they had the enforceable mortgages necessary to oust homeowners from their homes.
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"Imagine that," Pike said. "A company actually standing up to corporate America."
Pike, of Pike & Lustig, LLP-TURNPIKE LAW™ in West Palm Beach, Fla., says that his "clients never promised anyone that their mortgages would be cancelled." His clients were attempting to help families save their homes and not end up on the streets, due to a foreclosure action brought through an unenforceable mortgage.
"Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act is a tricky and complicated statute," said Pike. "Just because the Attorney General has attempted to allege a cause of action does not mean that the allegations have been proven against my clients, or that the allegations can't be legally challenged."
Pike intends to file a strong brief seeking to dismiss the lawsuit in the coming weeks, specifically challenging the sufficiency of the lawsuit itself. Pike will also seek compensation from the Attorney General's Office for his attorneys' fees if he prevails at the hearing on the motion to dismiss. "As I read the Complaint, it simply fails to state a cause of action against my clients," Pike said.
Interestingly, Pike says his clients "had their lead counsel personally meet, present and submit their business plan to the Attorney General's Office for review and comment, but the Attorney General has yet to respond."
Instead, Torgerson said that he "received no comment or criticism whatsoever from the Attorney General and was blindsided by this lawsuit." Whitestone Capital Trust and Torgerson have attempted to distinguish their services from other land trust models and establish a legitimate and viable service for homeowners, by seeking an opinion from the Attorney General, which was ignored.
Pike's clients wonder whether this lawsuit is about protecting homeowners, or the money the federal government lent banks as part of the "bailout bill" in 2008 to purchase bad mortgages.
About Pike & Lustig, LLP-TURNPIKE LAW™
Pike & Lustig, LLP-TURNPIKE LAW™ provides legal services in the field of personal injury law, auto accident law, truck accident law, products liability law, business and insurance litigation and wrongful death law. Pike & Lustig, LLP-TURNPIKE LAW™ is located at 2465 Mercer Avenue, Suite 204, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. Its office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.–6 p.m. To contact the office, call (561) 855-7585, (855) TRN-PIKE or email Email.
Contacts:
Duree Ross / Duree & Company, Inc.
954-723-9350 T
Email
Jennifer Martinez / Duree & Company, Inc.
561-301-4998 T
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