California sues Fannie and Freddie

Attorney General Kamala Harris had subpoenaed the two mortgage giants, asking them to provide information on the mortgages they purchased and the foreclosed properties they owned in California. But the Federal Housing Finance Agency said the subpoenas were "frequently vague and ambiguous" and told Fannie and Freddie not to comply. From the WSJ:

Among other things, the subpoenas asked for a record of every vacant home owned by the companies in the state and asked the firms whether they were aware of drug dealing, prostitution or the presence of explosives and radioactive material in those homes. The FHFA said the state appeared to be "engaged in an open-ended exploratory investigation" that would undermine the FHFA's authority while placing an extra burden on the operations of the firms. The effort required to collect the "voluminous amount of information" required to comply "would be nothing short of staggering," the FHFA said in its letter.

At issue in the suit is whether states can investigate the two mortgage firms while they are under conservatorship by a federal regulator. Sorry, but I'm not sure how this litigation, which could easily drag out for years, helps resolve the mortgage crisis.


More by Mark Lacter:
American-US Air settlement with DOJ includes small tweak at LAX
Socal housing market going nowhere fast
Amazon keeps pushing for faster L.A. delivery
Another rugged quarter for Tribune Co. papers
How does Stanford compete with the big boys?
Those awful infographics that promise to explain and only distort
Best to low-ball today's employment report
Further fallout from airport shootings
Crazy opening for Twitter*
Should Twitter be valued at $18 billion?
Recent Law stories:
Free Tix: Scott Turow and Brian Dennehy on Tuesday night
Big-time LA lawyer is also an energy healer and exorcist (video)
Gay marriages resume as 9th Circuit lifts stay (video)
Married gay couples deserve same rights, Supreme Court rules
Supreme Court leaves ban on LA taking homeless people's stuff

New at LA Observed
On the Media Page
Go to Media

On the Politics Page
Go to Politics
Arts and culture

Sign up for daily email from LA Observed

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner


Advertisement
Mark Lacter
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.
 
Mark Lacter, business writer and editor was 59
The multi-talented Mark Lacter
LA Observed on Twitter and Facebook