MAY 18, 2011
Bernabei & Kabat represents Caroline Herron, who formerly worked at Fannie Mae, and has whistleblower claims based on being fired after she reported and protested Fannie Mae’s waste of taxpayer funds in the government-funded home mortgage modification programs. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has twice denied defendants’ motion to dismiss her complaint. The Court ruled that discovery is to go forward to determine whether Fannie Mae is a federal entity, which would determine whether Ms. Herron could bring a First Amendment retaliation claim or a common-law retaliation claim. The Federal Housing Finance Agency – Fannie Mae’s regulator and conservator – has now moved to intervene in an attempt to argue that Fannie Mae should be treated as a private entity. This is a significant issue, since a finding that Fannie Mae is public may mean that its sizable debt would have to be added to the federal budget debt. The legal press has reported on this latest development, including the Legal Times blog and Law360.
Tagged with: Fannie Mae • First amendment • Whistleblower • Whistleblower Law
