U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith in Detroit dismissed on Thursday a preemptive lawsuit filed by Quicken Loans Inc against the Justice Department. The company was allegedly being forced to create a large settlement over underwriting practices and mortgage lending.
According to Reuters, Quicken Loans had sued the Justice Department as well as the Department of Housing and Urban Development in April. This was due to the pressure imposed on Quicken in making public admissions that were obviously false and paying a baffling penalty to avoid facing legal action.
Quicken filed the lawsuit a few days before the Justice Department sued them for filing fabricated claims on government-insured mortgages plus other violations. Goldsmith then granted the motion of the Justice Department in dismissing Quicken's first complaint, said Deadline Detroit.
The primary case of the Justice Department against the well-known mortgage lender was also sought to be heard in a courtroom in Detroit rather than in Washington. As of the moment, the lawsuit against Quicken is still pending.
Considered as one of the biggest mortgage lenders, Quicken Loans said it would defend itself against the lawsuit of Justice Department. It would also explore options in its claims against the government.
As for the Justice Department, Detroit Free Press stated that its complaint accuses Quicken Loans of being aware in submitting hundreds of wrongly underwritten loans. These were insured by the FHA from 2007 to 2011.
Quicken Loans founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert, for his part, said in the past that the allegations do not have sufficient base. Also, he remarked the government's investigation of Quicken Loans for three years to be flawed since the said mortgage lender has topped the nations FHA lender list based on volume. It also claims to own the best-performing FHA loan portfolio that is based on default rate.
