CONGRESS

C O N S E R V A T O R S H I P S O F T H E E N T E R P R I S E S
The defendants in the Nomura case have appealed the trial
court decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit. The RBS case is still pending and a trial date has
not yet been set by the court.
Homeowners’ Association Super-Priority Lien
Foreclosures – On December 22, 2014, FHFA issued a
statement alerting homeowners, financial institutions, and
state authorities of the Agency’s concerns with state-level
actions that threaten the first-lien status of single-family
loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
FHFA and Fannie Mae filed an action in federal court in
Nevada seeking a determination that a homeowners’ association
(HOA) foreclosure sale was invalid and contrary
to federal law to the extent that it purported to extinguish
Fannie Mae’s property rights. The federal district court
decided the case in favor of FHFA and Fannie Mae. 10
FHFA’s position in that case, and similar cases, has been
that federal law precludes involuntary extinguishment of
liens held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac while they are
operating in conservatorships and bars holders of other
liens, including HOAs, from taking any action that would
extinguish such liens.
Due to the volume of actual and potential cases on the
issue of so-called HOA super-priority liens, in October,
FHFA and the Enterprises moved to certify a defensive
class in Nevada federal court and sought a permanent
injunction barring any HOA foreclosure sale that would
extinguish any Enterprise lien. Litigation on these issues
continues.
10
Fannie Mae, FHFA v. Skylights, LLC, 112 F.Supp.3d 1145 (D. Nev. 2015).
REPORT TO CONGRESS • 2015
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