NAMB’s strategic withdrawal of legal action against FHFAMortgagePress.comNAMB, HVCC, FHFA, appraisals, lawsuit, National Association of Mortgage Brokers, Federal Housing Finance Administration, Home Valuation Code of Conduct
In February 2009, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers
filed suit against the Federal Housing Finance Administration
(FHFA) to block implementation of the Home Valuation Code of
Conduct (HVCC), which will inhibit competition among mortgage
originators and increase the cost of mortgages to consumers. NAMB's
suit asserted that the HVCC constituted a "de facto" rulemaking
that did not comply with the requirements of the Administrative
Procedures Act (APA), which sets out the procedures a federal
agency must follow when issuing a regulation.
On April 2, NAMB withdrew its lawsuit against the FHFA. NAMB
invoked this strategic maneuver to assess means by which we can
refute the FHFA's claim that no court may review their decisions
while the GSE's are in conservatorship. NAMB believes the FHFA's
claim that there are no legal limits on the arbitrary and
unilateral use of their conservatorship power is unprecedented and
will prove detrimental to consumers.
"This issue goes beyond the bounds of this particular case,"
said NAMB President Marc Savitt, CRMS, "All companies, investors,
and trade groups should understand there may not be a court, any
court, able to hear their case while FHFA is utilizing their
conservatorship powers."
NAMB strongly opposes FHFA's position that it does not need to
comply with the APA and other laws. NAMB has withdrawn its lawsuit
against FHFA, without prejudice, as it assesses various means to
challenge FHFA's extraordinary claim. Those options include filing
suit again with revised and expanded arguments directed at FHFA's
new claim.
For a copy of NAMBs Lawsuit, click
here.
For more information, visit www.namb.org.
