Mass. AG Gets Green Light In Probe Into Rights-Trampling Allegations Against Notorious Bay State Sweatshop By Ex-Owners, Tenants In Foreclosed Homes

The Boston Globe reports:

• State Attorney General Martha Coakley can continue her investigation into the practices of a Newton law firm that specializes in home foreclosures, a Suffolk Superior Court justice has ruled.



• Justice Bonnie H. MacLeod denied a motion by Harmon Law Offices to set aside or alter a request for documents in the state’s investigation into allegations of “unfair and deceptive acts’’ related to the firm’s foreclosure and eviction work.



• Coakley said the decision confirms her authority to investigate law firms of wrongdoing. “We are investigating this case to ensure that tenants were not unlawfully evicted and that Harmon followed proper procedures before foreclosing on certain homeowners,’’ she said.(1)

For more, see Probe of law firm can continue (Judge rules Coakley can investigate office in home foreclosures).

(1) This probe takes on additional significance for Bay State residents in light of a recent ruling of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling allowing post-sale challenges of faulty foreclosures. See Massachusetts Homeowners, Tenants Score Big Win As State High Court OKs Foreclosure Challenge In Post-Sale, Housing Court Eviction Process.

For more on the Harmon foreclosure mill, see The Boston Globe: Building an empire, one home at a time (He operates the largest foreclosure law firm in the state, and these hard times have made Mark P. Harmon a very busy man. Some critics assail his tactics, but Harmon is unapologetic: Lenders, after all, need zealous lawyers, too).