Dustin A. Zacks, ESQ.

Dustin Zacks graduated from the University of Michigan with both his undergraduate and Juris Doctorate degrees and served as an Associate Editor of The Michigan Review and the Michigan Journal of International Affairs. He worked as a Judicial Intern under a judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. Dustin is licensed to practice in all Florida state courts and in the federal court for the Southern District of Florida.

CITATIONS

Dustin has handled hundreds of foreclosure cases and has conducted ground-breaking depositions of bank officers. The former Ohio Secretary of State cited his depositions of a bank officer as possible grounds for a potential criminal investigation into the foreclosure practices of Chase Home Finance. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General further cited Dustin's Chase deposition as evidence that Chase "[filed] improper legal documents."  The Supreme Court of the State of Washington has cited Dustin's research into Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as evidence of possible consumer protection violations by banks and servicers.  Many of Dustin's depositions and motions are routinely cited as evidence that banks and servicers have been guilty of faulty practices in litigation against homeowners.  

MEDIA COMMENTARY

As a result of his trendsetting work, Dustin has appeared on various national and local media outlets to speak about foreclosure and real estate issues, including CBS Evening News, BBC World News America, National Public Radio, Fox Business Channel, Washington Post, USA Today, Reuters, Associated Press, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Euromoney Magazine, AOL Real Estate, Palm Beach Post, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, South Florida Daily Business Review, Benzinga.com, and MoneyTalksNews with Stacy Johnson (syndicated).

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS

Dustin has been invited to lecture attorneys nationwide regarding foreclosure issues and the ways in which homeowners can defend against banks and servicers:   

• Featured Speaker: The Encyclopedia of Foreclosure Defense.  MyLawCLE.com.  April 24, 2013.
• Featured Speaker: Foreclosure Law: Essential Strategies.  The Rossdale Group.  January 30, 2013.
• Featured Speaker: Mastering Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Law.  The Rossdale Group.  November 14, 2012.
• Featured Speaker: Mastering Loan Modifications, Mortgages, & Foreclosures. The Rossdale Group.  August 30, 2012.
• Featured Speaker: Foreclosure Law and MERS. The Rossdale Group.  May 9, 2012.
• Featured Speaker (Faculty): Fraud and The UCC in Mortgage Foreclosure Litigation in Florida. Lawline.com. May 2, 2012.
• Featured Speaker: Mastering Foreclosure Defense. The Rossdale Group. January 4, 2012.
• Featured Speaker (Faculty): MERS and Securitization in Foreclosure Litigation. Lawline.com. July 7, 2011.
• Featured Speaker: Foreclosure Law: Winning Tactics. The Rossdale Group. June 8, 2011.
• Featured Speaker/Panelist: American Conference Institute's 6th National Forum on Residential Mortgage Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement. Panel: The Borrower's Perspective: Insights From the Plaintiffs' Bar and Consumer Advocates. April 8, 2011.
• Featured Speaker: Mastering Foreclosure Law. The Rossdale Group. March 9, 2011.
• Featured Speaker: Slaying Goliath: Fighting Fraud and Contesting Standing in Residential Foreclosure in Judicial States. PLI Live Seminars. January 11, 2011.

PUBLICATIONS

Dustin's scholarly articles on foreclosure issues have been featured in law reviews around the country. Dustin's research into foreclosures has been cited by law and real estate professors at the University of California-Berkeley and the University of California-Davis, by economics professors at the University of Wisconsin and Montana State University, and by the Supreme Court of the State of Washington.

The Phantom of the Foreclosure Crisis: Cancellation of Indebtedness Taxation, Probate & Property (forthcoming 2013).

Avoiding Insult to Injury: Extending and Expanding Cancellation of Indebtedness Income Tax Exemptions for Homeowners, 66 Arkansas L. Rev. 317 (2013)(Published as part of 2013 Arkansas Law Review Symposium on the Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis). 

Revenge of the Clerks: MERS Confronts County Clerk and Qui Tam Lawsuits, 31 Banking & Financial Services Policy Report No. 1 (January 2013).

Robo-Litigation, 60 Clev. St. L. Rev. 567 (2013).

MERS is Dead: Long Live MERS, 44 Connecticut L. Rev. CONNtemplations 62 (2012).

The Grand Bargain: Pro-Borrower Responses to the Housing Crisis and Implications for Future Lending and Homeownership, 57 Loyola L. Rev. 541 (2012).

Standing in Our Own Sunshine: Reconsidering Standing, Transparency, and Accuracy in Foreclosures, 29 Quinnipiac L. Rev. 551 (2011)(Selected as lead article)(Cited by the Supreme Court of the State of Washington in Bain v. Metropolitan Mortgage Group, Inc.).

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

In 2012 the Mayor and City Commission of Lake Worth appointed Dustin to the Lake Worth Planning and Zoning Board.  The Board reviews site plans for residential and commercial development in the City of Lake Worth, considers requests for variances from the city Zoning Code, and also serves as the City's Nuisance Abatement Board and the City's Board of Sign Appeals.  Dustin serves on the Consumer Law Committee of the Public Interest Law Section of the Florida Bar.  Dustin is also a member of the Young Leaders In Affordable Housing division of the National Housing Conference, an organization dedicated to ensuring safe, affordable housing for all Americans.   Finally, Dustin is a volunteer Guardian ad Litem, a court appointed volunteer who advocates for the best interests of a child in a dependency case.