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A Troy mortgage company sued Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans on Friday, saying the sheriff has no legal basis to halt the sale of foreclosed homes.
But Evans quickly responded by lauding the decision of several major banks to temporarily halt foreclosures as the Obama administration finalizes a plan to assist struggling homeowners.
“I will not allow one more family to be put out of their home in Wayne County until I am satisfied they have been afforded every option they are entitled to under the law to avoid foreclosure,” Evans said in a statement.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit on behalf of Towne Mortgage Co., asks Judge Paul Borman to order Evans to start holding the sales again. The last sales were conducted Jan. 29.
“It is not that this client of mine wants to throw people out of their homes,” said attorney John Jacobs of the Southfield law firm Maddin Hauser, which filed the suit. “They would be happy to work out modifications.”
Evans said last week that he believes the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program, approved by Congress last fall, trumps state law and preempts him from selling foreclosed homes.
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