Will AG Abbott Sue Countrywide?

Via a new blog, Foreclosure Buzz, by Texas Rural Legal Aid attorney Robert Doggett, the question is posed with regard to lawsuits against mortgage lender Countrywide, “Is Texas Next?” Quoting the Forney Post in North Texas, Doggett notes that groups like Public Citizen are asking why AG Greg Abbott hasn’t piled on yet:

Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office has been going after so-called mortgage rescue companies. Public Citizen would like for that office to next go after the subprime mortgage lenders.

Public Citizen Texas President Tom Smith says California and Illinois both filed suit against Countrywide Financial last week claiming it used deceptive trade practices to get people into homes they couldn’t afford.

He says Texas should join that suit. “While other states take action against shady subprime mortgage lenders, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott does nothing. Texas has a deceptive practices act, yet the statute has not been enforced against home-lending giants like Countrywide. The actions in Illinois and California show that Abbott has the authority to do much more than sit by and watch as thousands of Texans lose their homes each month.”

Attorney General’s spokesman Tom Kelley says the office can’t comment on possible ongoing investigations nor can it talk about contemplated legal action.

It is a very interesting question: why hasn’t Texas joined the suits against Countrywide? Perhaps because they are too busy directing resources to bogus voter fraud prosecutions.

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