Livinglies's Weblog

State AGs have not forced LPS/Black Knight to comply with the Consent Judgment

Editor’s Note:  Eric Mains, a former FDIC Team member who saw the securitization fraud first hand, has been encouraging homeowners who are in foreclosure, or were foreclosed upon, to send FOIA requests to their state Attorney Generals and ask for information about the enforcement of the LPS/Black Knight consent judgment they signed.  The LPS consent judgment was agreed to by all 50 state AGs and it appears the states took the funds, but did little else to ensure compliance with the order- including the remediation of fraudulent documents filed in county records.  For background on FOIA strategy and Eric Mains, see here and here, and listen here.

File a Complaint with the ACLU if the AG’s office in your State refuses to Comply with a FOIA/Public Records Act Request regarding the LPS Consent Judgment.

by Eric Mains

The ACLU has initiated and assisted with legal actions in numerous instances where FOIA/Public Records Acts Requests have been denied in violation of state laws. The ACLU takes a dim view of government entities trying to deny the public its rights to access such information, and may decide to help in your case. Here’s how to get started.

Step #1. Gather copies of your records request and the response/refusal of the AG’s office to respond to your request.

Step #2. Go to: https://www.aclu.org/about/affiliates You will find your State ACLU office website here, and links to where you can file a complaint.

Step #3. If you have filed a suit to force a release of the denied records, or intend to, there will be a space to fill this out on the ACLU’s intake form. Fill out all required information as requested. Below is an example of a description you can use for your complaint regarding a denial of information as to the 2013 LPS Consent Judgment.

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Example Complaint-ACLU

The complaint regards the refusal of the (XX State here) Attorney General’s office to release basic & non-privileged information covering a 2013 Multi-State Consent Judgment (“CJ”) under (State Code here) (See attached request and response from XXXX AG’s office). The CJ was touted by the various state AG’s offices as being a “Win” for consumers in remediating widespread forgery and robo-signing which affected thousands of homeowners who faced foreclosure, especially in minority and low-income neighborhoods. The CJ covered affected foreclosures from 2008- 2013, as well as through the present (See attached copy and synopsis also available at http://www.mass.gov/ago/news-and-updates/press-releases/2013/2013-01-31-lps-settlement.html).

A majority of the 50 State Attorney General’s offices entered into the CJ with Lender Processing Services (“LPS”), an entity which was brought to the nation’s attention largely because of a report done by CBS news in a “60 Minutes” episode from April 2011 (See http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mortgage-paperwork-mess-next-housing-shock/  , where CBS reported on Lynn Syzmoniak’s investigation into “robo-signing” used in the foreclosure of her home.

The (XX State here) AG’s office has refused to release the most basic and important information regarding the CJ– Information as to how compliance by LPS under the CJ was being tracked, the metrics being used to ensure LPS compliance, how many consumers obtained relief under the CJ in (XX State here), and the monetary figures of this relief. Without this basic information, it is impossible for the public to know IF the CJ is being enforced as required. The AG’s office further refused to release the quarterly compliance reports required to be given it by LPS, which would have shown HOW and IF LPS was complying with the CJ.

In short, it appears not only has the AG’s office not lived up to its mandate of protecting the public (as the CJ it touts as a “Win” would require), it has also chosen to stonewall the public’s right to obtain basic information about the CJ in order to protect itself from embarrassment and to shield LPS from being required to live up to the terms of the CJ. The AG’s office accepted over ($ XX- settlement $ accepted from LPS here) million from LPS in 2013 as well, and how this money was spent to protect injured homeowners remains in question.

The ACLU has historically helped to pursue many cases nationally where state government(s) have intentionally violated public records acts, impeding the ability of the public to obtain basic information as to how government is fulfilling its responsibilities. The basic information regarding this CJ is being categorically denied to citizens by the AG’s offices in every state, Indiana being one of them, and it is critical that the ACLU help citizens obtain this information to ensure citizens rights are being protected as the AG’s office(s) would represent.

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Step #4. File the complaint and all requested back-up documents with the ACLU in your state. Turn-around time is usually 6-8 weeks. Complaints can be filed, online, by fax, or by mail or e-mail.

*Important point to remember- Much as was mentioned regarding the FOIA requests to the various AG’s offices, you have 50 bites at the state(s) apple(s) here to get the 50 individual  state ACLU offices involved…if only ONE state is forced to release the compliance reports and information regarding the LPS CJ with the ACLU’s help, it’s going to have a huge positive impact for future foreclosure actions.

Filed under: foreclosure | Tagged: aclu foreclosure fraud, attorney general consent judgment, consent judgement, Eric mains, FDIC, foia request lps consent judgment, foreclosure fraud lps, lps blackknight |