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Continental Western Insurance Co. v. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, et al

Court:
Southern District of Iowa
  • Continental Western v. FHFA (Part 1)
    Continental Western v. FHFA (Part 1)
    Continental Western Insurance Company v. The Federal Housing Finance Agency et al (Part 1), Case Number 4:14-cv-00042, Motion to dismiss, Jurisdiction case, 12/16/2014, 10:00 a.m. CST, Des Moines U.S. Courthouse, Des Moines, IA, Senior Judge Robert Pratt presiding.

    Continental Western Insurance Company v. The Federal Housing Finance Agency et al (Part 1), Case Number 4:14-cv-00042...

  • Continental Western v. FHFA (Part 2)
    Continental Western v. FHFA (Part 2)
    Continental Western Insurance Company v. The Federal Housing Finance Agency et al (Part 2), Case Number 4:14-cv-00042, Motion to dismiss, Jurisdiction case, 12/16/2014, 10:00 a.m. CST, Des Moines U.S. Courthouse, Des Moines, IA, Senior Judge Robert Pratt presiding.

    Continental Western Insurance Company v. The Federal Housing Finance Agency et al (Part 2), Case Number 4:14-cv-00042...

Case Summary: 4:14-cv-00042

Plaintiff Continental Western Insurance Co. asserts various claims against Defendants the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Melvin Watt as director of FHFA, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury). Congress enacted the Housing and Economic Recovery Act in 2008 (HERA), which gave FHFA the authority to place the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie) into conservatorship. HERA also authorized Treasury to invest billions of dollars in Fannie and Freddie in order to prevent their liquidation and allow them to continue operating. Plaintiff owns shares of preferred stock in both Fannie and Freddie.

According to Plaintiff’s complaint, FHFA and Treasury exceeded the power granted to them by Congress by entering into an agreement whereby Fannie and Freddie are required to pay Treasury a quarterly variable dividend equal to their entire net worth. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as monetary damages. Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, arguing that (1) HERA prevents federal courts from reviewing the actions of FHFA and Treasury; and (2) that Plaintiff is precluded from bringing this lawsuit because its parent corporation was a party to a lawsuit with the same claims that were resolved in a different federal district court.

This video shows the hearing on the Motion to Dismiss held on December 16, 2014. During this proceeding, the court hears oral arguments from all parties.

Case Highlights

  • Complaint filed 2/05/2014 (Doc #1)
  • Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction filed 4/29/2014 (Doc #23-24)
  • Response to Motion to Dismiss filed 5/23/2014 (Doc #32-33)
  • Motion Hearing held 12/16/2014 (Doc #63)

Case-related documents, including those referenced above, are available via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service. For more information, visit Pacer.gov.