With 66 Days Left Before The November Election, Michigan Democrats Finally Address Economic Genocide With Cursely Worded Resolution

Michigan Democrats finally address the economic genocide that has claimed the homes of 200,000 middle-class homeowners in Michigan.

Did they launch lawsuits? Blackmail the governor? Nope. The Michigan Democratic Party wrote a curse resolution about unethical foreclosure practices nearly 5 years after the financial crisis began.

The resolution criticizes foreclosure mill operator and financial terrorist David Trott. It accuses Trott of committing economic genocide as CEO of the foreclosure mill that bears his name.

Trott & Trott makes their foreclosure money by employing a system known as “Dual Tracking” in order to foreclose on a homeowner. Dual Tracking is where the foreclosure mill or mortgage servicer will convince the homeowner that they are working with them. However, the lawyers and the lender are moving ahead with foreclosure proceedings. In other words, it’s a “Bait and Switch” tactic.

Trott ran into some serious trouble last year when his firm was fired by JPMorgan Chase on a dual tracking case involving Jeff Reed, a retired Green Beret, and his autistic son from Northern Michigan.

Trott refused to honor a loan modification his firm negotiated on behalf of JPMorgan Chase and then began foreclosure proceeding against Jeff Reed.  JPMorgan Chase was flooded with calls from international media. As a result, JPMorgan Chase fired Trott from the case.

Michigan Democrats Finally Address Economic Genocide In Order Boost Inept Candidate Running Against David Trott

The Michigan Democratic Party’s resolution is an attempt to boost Democratic Congressional Candidate Bobby McKenzie’s profile. McKenzie is trying to defeat financial terrorist David Trott in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District in November.

The resolution makes no mention of another deep-pocketed GOP donor Linda Orlans of Orlans Associates. The resolution appears on the Democratic Party friendly website, Eclectablog:

Resolution to Condemn Unethical Foreclosure Practices and Demand Repeal of “Foreclosure and Eviction King” Dave Trott’s “Immediate Eviction” Loophole

WHEREAS, foreclosures deprive Michigan families their largest and most important asset, produce neighborhood blight and reduce property values in our neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS, excessive foreclosures and evictions undermine banks and other financial institutions, cast doubt on the assets underpinning our financial system, and were one of the prime causes of the Great Recession at the end of the last decade; and

WHEREAS, in March 2009 President Obama created the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), a program designed to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure by enabling mortgage lenders to negotiate with borrowers on the principal and interest rate of their mortgage – but it remains a VOLUNTARY program for bank and lenders, comparatively few homeowners have been able to take advantage of the program; and

WHEREAS, in 2013 foreclosure and eviction attorney Dave Trott, a heavy donor to the Michigan Republican Party including many members of the Michigan House and Senate, lobbied hard for legislation to reduce the “redemption period” after a foreclosed home’s title is sold at auction from six months (180 days) to two months (60 days) – bills that would greatly benefit his privately-owned companies dedicated to advertising, processing and implementing foreclosures, and evicting Michigan families; and

WHEREAS, in July 2013 Governor Snyder signed a series of bills that, while retaining the 180-day redemption period in most cases, added a loophole that again directly benefited “foreclosure king” Dave Trott – allowing his companies, as agents of the foreclosure sale purchaser, to inspect premises inside and out without notice, and to “immediately commence summary proceedings” for eviction based on a broad range of supposed rationales, or simply because foreclosees refused to allow inspectors to invade their homes and violate their privacy; and

WHEREAS, Governor Snyder, acknowledging the concerns raised by Democrats and many other groups about these broad new inspection rights, and how they can supersede negotiations to redeem the home through short sale or negotiated settlement under programs like HARP, sent a letter to the Legislature urging follow-up legislation to specify the terms to better protect forecloses – but the Republican-dominated Legislature ignored this request from a Republican Governor and has not acted:

WHEREAS,, many media reports have documented the practice of “robosigners” of critical documents, and detailed mortgage industry practices that violate the rights of homeowners; and

WHEREAS, major mortgage lenders (Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and others) have settled cases of massive mortgage fraud with the U.S. Department of Justice for nearly $100 billion in total, demonstrating that many of the foreclosures and evictions processed in Michigan by trial lawyer Dave Trott’s firms were based on misleading documentation or outright fraudulent activities, and that many of these documents came from Trott-owned companies acting on behalf of lenders:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party strongly opposes the use of “robo” foreclosures and other unethical tools used by mortgage lenders and their agents (such as Trott & Trott, P.C. and other firms wholly-owned by trial lawyer Dave Trott and his family) to process thousands of foreclosures on Michigan homeowners; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party strongly encourages mortgage lenders and homeowners to work together, using the HARP program or other similar tools, to modify troubled mortgages before initiating foreclosure actions – reaching agreements to cut the loan principal when the property value has fallen below the mortgage amount, or to reduce the subprime interest rate to a more reasonable level; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party demands that the Michigan Legislature immediately take action to amend Public Act 104 of 2013 to repeal Dave Trott’s new rules for “no notice” home inspections and ill-defined standards to initiate immediate evictions, or to at least define and clarify home inspection rules during the foreclosure redemption period, in accordance with the letter sent by Governor Snyder and to reflect concerns raised by affordable housing advocates and other community leaders; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party strongly endorses enforcement of existing Michigan law that requires a court proceeding before a foreclosure, and condemns the practice of using “trash-out squads” to remove any portion of a home or property prior to said court proceeding as a vile practice in violation of the law.