Bills Could Help Slow Foreclosures

Memphis Daily News
March 9, 2010
Meek, Andy

Legislators in Shelby County in Tennessee are hoping to set up a foreclosure mediation program that would permit borrowers and lenders to try to strike a deal before a foreclosed home lands on the auction block. The legislation also allows for the presence of a mediator to help negotiate disagreements. Memphis attorney Webb Brewer, who focuses his law practice primarily on justice for legal issues such as urban blight and predatory lending, has been assisting in shaping the measure and is also one of the lead attorneys representing Memphis and Shelby County in a lawsuit against Wells Fargo. Brewer says the program "would be voluntary initially and would provide some incentives for lenders and servicers under the Tennessee Home Loan Protection Act to participate in the program." Mediation programs like the one proposed in the legislation are showing up in other parts of the country. The bill has received approval from the Memphis City Council and the Shelby County Commission.
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