Other LanguagesThe Seattle Times gives a shout-out today to Attorney General Rob McKenna and Assistant Attorney General David Huey for their efforts to hold the mortgage foreclosure industry accountable for state consumer protection laws.
McKenna announced on Oct. 13 that he is calling on trustees who do business in Washington to suspend any questionable foreclosures. Additionally, the Washington Attorney General’s Office serves on the executive committee of a new multistate group investigating whether mortgage servicers have improperly submitted affidavits or other documents related to foreclosures in their states.
In an editorial titled, “The foreclosure crisis close to home,” columnist Lance Dickie comments on the extensive battle by attorneys general to obtain the right to enforce state consumer protection laws against national banks to “ensure homeowners at risk of losing their property are treated honestly and fairly.” The article describes how the states finally won that right under a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. [For an additional perspective on the states’ struggles, see McKenna’s April 2009 editorial written for the Puget Sound Business Journal and states’ November 2009 letter to Congressional leaders in reference to the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.]
Dickie wrote:
McKenna's office is a powerful ally for equitable treatment and protection under state consumer-protection laws. Harsh economic times and the sheer volume of foreclosures complicate already horrific personal circumstances. The potential for abuse by lenders and trustees must to be challenged.
McKenna makes it clear the effort is not to stop all foreclosures; people will lose their homes. He is adamant that the rights of homeowners be respected, and that everyone has a right to be treated fairly.
States' rights indeed.