The sheriff that refused to to hold court ordered foreclosure auctions

[jeffrey]

Sheriff John Green has spent 37 years in law enforcement. But these days he's best known around town for the law he won't enforce.

With the economy soft and thousands of Philadelphians delinquent on their mortgages, Sheriff Green this spring refused to hold a court-ordered foreclosure auction. His move raised eyebrows on the bench and dropped jaws among lenders and their attorneys, who accuse him of shirking his duty to enforce legal contracts.


It also prompted a sweeping, court-endorsed deal, scheduled to go into effect next week, that aims to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Even as Congress moves forward with a federal plan that could insure up to $300 billion in refinanced mortgages, Mr. Green's unilateral approach has pushed Philadelphia to the leading edge of local responses to the national crisis.

He's Taking Law Into His Own Hands To Help Broke Homeowners - WSJ.com

[cptacek]

He should be fired. I agree with this quote:

Mortgage lenders, servicers and their attorneys thought Mr. Green was acting more Robin Hood than sheriff. "It's not his job to postpone things in favor of certain people," says Michael VanBuskirk, a Philadelphia attorney, who describes the city as a "legal free-fire zone." The city, he says, is "less attractive to business if you can't be certain that the sheriff won't invalidate a contract."

The more people undermine these contracts, the harder it will be to get loans for anything. A bank lends money to make money. They don't lend money out of the goodness of their hearts. If they can't count on the profit from the loan, they won't lend anymore.