Conn AG Probe Into Foreclosure Lawyers, Homeowner Complaints About Not Receiving Proper Notice Focuses On Lender Processing Services, Fannie, Freddie

In Hartford, Connecticut, The Wall Street Journal reports:

• Connecticut's attorney general is seeking information from mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and mortgage-processing services company Lender Processing Services Inc. on how they select law firms for foreclosure services.

• In a statement Monday, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said his office is probing complaints that the majority of the state's foreclosures are assigned to a select group of law firms and complaints from consumers that they didn't receive proper foreclosure notices from marshals.

• "Dominance over foreclosure service by a few select law firms and marshals has spurred complaints about improper or illegal practices - wrongfully allocating work to non-marshals, forging papers, failing to serve papers, and making kickbacks," Blumenthal said in a statement. "Concentrating this work in a few hands can be severely problematic - causing unconscionable costs and failed notice delivery."

• Blumenthal's office initially said he was seeking information from banking technology company Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS), but later clarified Blumenthal was seeking information from LPS. LPS was spun off from Fidelity National last year.

• Blumenthal said he is seeking the identity of all Connecticut law firms employed for foreclosure actions from 2007 to the present, details on the criteria used in selecting those firms, information on fees paid to those law firms and any fees paid by the law firms to the lenders and any complaints by Connecticut consumers regarding failures to provide proper notice.(1)

For the story, see Conn AG Seeks Information On Foreclosure Law Firms (requires subscription; if no subscription, try here, then click link for the story).

For the Connecticut Attorney general press release, see Attorney General Investigates Selection Process For Law Firms, Marshals Handling Foreclosures.

(1) Go here for Connecticut AG Blumenthal's letters to LPS , Fannie, Freddie requesting the information. SloppyForeclosuresAlpha SewerServiceAlpha