ACLU Seeks FHFA Documents On Eminent Domain Analysis

FHFA Eminent Domain

On December 5, ACLU-affiliated entities and borrower advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California seeking to compel FHFA to produce “all [FHFA] records pertaining to the use of eminent domain to purchase mortgages.” Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment v. Fed. Hous. Fin. Agency, No. 13-5618 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 5, 2013). Specifically, the plaintiffs seek to compel FHFA to respond to a FOIA request that demanded, among other things, (i) all communications and records of meetings between FHFA leadership and financial services industry trade associations and individual companies; (ii) all FHFA records regarding the City of Richmond’s proposal to seize certain mortgages; and (iii) all studies and analyses of the impact of eminent domain or principal reduction proposals relied upon by FHFA in support of materials it released in August 2013 outlining potential actions the agency could take in response to local efforts to employ eminent domain to seize mortgages. The complaint details the organizations’ position on eminent domain as a tool to implement principal reduction, which the organizations complain FHFA has improperly failed to pursue on its own. The request and complaint suggest that FHFA’s eminent domain position was unduly influenced by the financial services industry and “is advancing the interests of Wall Street firms at the expense of the nation’s homeowners.” This latest challenge of FHFA’s positions on eminent domain and principle reduction precede, potentially by days, an anticipated vote to confirm Representative Mel Watt (D-NC) to serve as FHFA Director.