Keith P. Merritt

Keith Merritt of Merritt Law Office P.A. has been a practicing lawyer since 1999 and is now emphasizing consumer law, particularly Personal Injury, Bankruptcy, Foreclosure Defense, Civil Litigation, and suing unscrupulous debt collectors.

Mr. Merritt has become one of a few attorneys in Central Florida devoted to Mortgage Foreclosure Defense and Bankruptcy, because of his interest in consumer legal issues. He is actively defending mortgage foreclosures and petitioning for bankruptcy clients throughout Central Florida including Polk, Osceola, Citrus and Hillsborough Counties.

Mr. Merritt’s philosophy regarding foreclosure and bankruptcy cases is that the United States and Florida constitutions’ Due Process clauses require that everyone get a fighting chance against powerful lenders and creditors. Mr. Merritt recognizes that knowledge and use of these rules levels the legal playing field. He is also insistent upon lenders and creditors adherence to these rules as well as many federal and state statutes like the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”), Florida Mortgage Brokers Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”).

In his foreclosure work, Mr. Merritt has found many instances where throughout the high-flying mortgage lending days during the past decade, lenders, brokers, appraisers and other participants in the sale and closing on real estate unknowingly – and in many cases knowingly – were in direct violation of the laws regulating real estate sales. These violations provide his clients with an opportunity to fight foreclosures.

Because of his growing Mortgage Foreclosure Defense practice, Mr. Merritt has found himself drawn to Bankruptcy as a natural extension of foreclosure defense and is actively working on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. He finds that in various cases the discharge of credit card and other unsecured debts can free foreclosure defendants to remain in their homes.

Mr. Merritt began his work in commercial litigation in Orlando, Florida, moving to Lakeland, Florida in 2001 where he worked as a litigator for a general practice law firm. He has since worked as a commercial litigator for recognized law firms and was a daily presence in the courtroom while working for the Polk County Guardian ad Litem program.

Mr. Merritt earned his law degree with Honors and a Masters in Business Administration in 1998 from the University of Florida. Before that, Mr. Merritt was a Nuclear Electrician in the U.S. Navy for six years and attended Florida State University, where he graduated in 1991 with a dual degree in Biology and History with a minor in Chemistry.