| Broker Baffled By No-Call Lawsuit
Wisconsin AG files suit against First American Funding Co. June 6, 2005 By PATRICK CROWLEY |
| The Wisconsin attorney general has filed a lawsuit against a mortgage broker for allegedly violating the state’s no-call list for telemarketers even though the broker thought the case had been settled.Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager filed the lawsuit in Racine County Circuit Court against First American Funding Company LLC, a mortgage broker based in Columbus, Wis.
“Wisconsin citizens support our no-call law in overwhelming numbers and have a right to expect telemarketers to obey the law and not bother them at home, in accordance with this right,” Lautenschlager said in a written statement. “Those who ignore Wisconsin laws that protect consumers, including very high profile laws such as ‘no call’, can expect to be prosecuted.” But the head of First American Funding seemed taken aback when contacted by MortgageDaily.com and asked about the lawsuit. President Michael Eisenga said the company has been working with Lautenschlager’s office on a proposed settlement. “The impression I’ve had from my attorney is that (the state) had our settlement offer and we were very close to having it finalized,” Eisenga said in a phone interview. “Why the attorney general sent out some notice that we are getting sued by the state, I have no idea what prompted that.” Lautenschlager said in her statement that First American Funding has been making unsolicited calls to Wisconsin residents without registering as a telemarketer. The company made at least nine unsolicited calls to residents on the state’s no call list, she said. The company has also been misrepresenting the nature of its calls, Lautenschlager said. In the lawsuit, Lautenschlager is seeking to prevent First American Funding from further violations. The state also wants to recover civil forfeitures of $100 for each of the company’s past nine violations. Eisenga said he could not discuss the specifics of the alleged violations. He answered “of course” when asked if the company, which has 33 employees and annual mortgage originations of about $100 million a year, complies with the Wisconsin law. “We are certainly interested in putting this matter behind us and moving forward,” he said. Several months ago the attorney general did propose a settlement, Eisenga said. On the advice of his attorney he said he did not sign it. “I was advised to make some changes (to the settlement agreement), which I did, and I’ve been waiting to hear back,” he said. “So I was surprised to see the lawsuit. “We’ve had nine complaints in three years,” Eisenga said. “If they are going to fine us $900 for that then more power to them.” |
|
Patrick Crowley is a MortgageDaily.com feature journalist and blogger, and a reporter and columnist for The Cincinnati Enquirer. Email Patrick at: PatCrowley@MortgageDaily.com |
