Access To Justice

News developments that we’ll be watching at Sokolove Law:

Relief is in sight for some homeowners whose units were constructed with defective Chinese drywall. Lenders have been asked by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to suspend or reduce mortgage payments temporarily for affected homeowners whose mortgages are insured by the Federal Housing Administration, according to an article in The South Florida Sun Sentinel. The HUD guidelines also urge lenders not to charge late fees and to let homeowners make up past-due payments.

The Associated Press reports that hundreds of people have sued the Tennessee Valley Authority in the aftermath of last year’s huge coal ash spill at its coal-fired power plant in Kingston. The AP says the December 2008 spill occurred when toxic muck breached a holding pond at the plant.

A class-action RICO settlement believed worth at least $184 million was granted final approval by a federal judge in a victory for its class of mostly elderly investors, writes Law.com. The investors, according to the article, claimed they were enticed by deceptive marketing used by sales agents and others to purchase long-term annuities from American Investors Life Insurance Co. that had maturity dates exceeding their own life expectancies.

We’ll be watching how these events play out.  Sokolove Law is here to help.