Maui County Officials Consider Recruiting Miami Litigator Bruce Jacobs in Affordable Housing Fight | Daily Business Review

6/26/19, 4)26 PM

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Maui County Officials

Consider Recruiting Miami
Litigator Bruce Jacobs in
Affordable Housing Fight
The foreclosure defense attorney’s advocacy efforts have been noticed
in communities facing housing issues similar to South Florida's.
By Zach Schlein | June 26, 2019

A Miami lawyer’s efforts to rectify and

bring attention to the city’s affordable
housing crisis are beginning to be
noticed by public officials around the
country.

Kelly King, who serves as council

chairwoman in Hawaii’s County of Maui,
has publicly expressed interest in
retaining foreclosure defense attorney
Bruce Jacobs in her own municipality’s
Bruce Jacobs of Jacobs Legal. Courtesy
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Maui County Officials Consider Recruiting Miami Litigator Bruce Jacobs in Affordable Housing Fight | Daily Business Review 6/26/19, 4)26 PM

efforts to hold banking institutions photo.

accountable for issuing predatory loans
and causing an upsurge in foreclosures.
On Thursday King sent a letter to Miami Commissioner Ken Russell commending
Jacobs’ work as well as the city of Miami’s legal actions against Bank of America and
Wells Fargo.

“Your efforts have helped local governments across the United States address issues
relating to housing in their communities,” King wrote. She also cited Jacobs and
Miami’s collaboration in the creation of a public fund dedicated toward affordable
housing (https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2019/06/19/sanction-awards-to-
miami-attorney-bruce-jacobs-could-help-city-establish-affordable-housing-fund/). As
outlined in the city’s resolution establishing the Foreclosure Sanctions Affordable
Housing Trust Fund, money for the account will be supplied by sanctions and awards
granted to Jacobs against money lenders or their attorneys in foreclosure cases.

King’s letter referenced Maui County’s own legal scuffles with Bank of America and
included a draft for a resolution forming a public fund similar to the one engineered
by Jacobs and Miami.

“The people of Maui County have also fought to hold Bank of America accountable
— for a commitment of $150 million in FHA-247 mortgages on Hawaiian Home
Lands that Bank of America made to federal banking regulators 25 years ago,” King
said. “On November 2, 2018 the Maui County Council unanimously adopted
Resolution 18-178 to support Hawaii Governor David Ige’s efforts to reach a fair and
final settlement with Bank of America, including an estimated $360 million in late
fees that Bank of America owes.”

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Read King’s letter and proposal:

Page 1 of 18
Council Director of Council
Kelly T.
Chair Traci N. T. Fujita,
Services
King
Vice- Esq.
Keani N.W. Rawlins-
Chair
Fernandez
Presiding O!cer Pro COUNTY COUNCIL
Tasha
Tempore
Kama COUNTY OF MAUI
Councilmembers 200 S. HIGH STREET
Riki
Alice L. WAILUKU, MAUI, HAWAII 96793
Hokama
Michael J.
Lee www.MauiCountv.us
Tamara
Molina
Shane M.
Paltin June 20, 2019
Yuki Lei K.
Sinenci
Sugimura

Honorable Ken Russell

Commissioner
City of Miami
Miami Riverside Center
444 SW 2nd Avenue
Miami, Florida, 33130

Dear Commissioner Russell,

I am following the work of the City of Miami in holding major banks

accountable for improper actions in their handling of mo"gage loans. I read
with interest the Daily Business Review a"icle of June 19, 2019, entitled
"Sanction Awards to Miami A#orney Bruce Jacobs Could Help City Establish
A$ordable Housing Fund."

The Maui County Council has not had the oppo"unity to take a formal

Russell welcomed the prospect of local governments collaborating to tackle shared

housing problems in a statement to the Daily Business Review.

“Miami is ground zero for the affordability crisis, but this is also an issue hitting cities
across the country,” he said. “I’m encouraged that more local governments are
taking a look at every option to help not only our most vulnerable populations, but
also the middle class, afford to live where they work and their children go to school.”

Jacobs said he was “especially honored” to be included in King’s conversations about

how to tackle foreclosure fraud and predatory lending practices.

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“Local communities across the country are no longer waiting for the federal
government to take action on housing,” Jacobs said. “Maui and Miami are taking on
the banks directly. Sometimes change has to come from the ground up.”

King said the sort of public accounts built by Jacobs and Miami officials carry
significant potential for communities facing the same issues afflicting Miami and
Maui.

“This bold action could accelerate Maui County’s affordable housing solutions in a
significant way,” King said in a statement. “Financial institutions as big as Bank of
America — which has more than $2 trillion in assets — need to be held accountable
to the rule of law.”

Related stories:

Former Miami Prosecutors Reunite to Score Multimillion-Dollar Verdict Against

Strip Club Coco’s
(https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2019/06/19/sanction-awards-to-
miami-attorney-bruce-jacobs-could-help-city-establish-affordable-housing-
fund/)

Miami Judge Issues Order to Show Cause Against US Bank for Flouting
Discovery Order
(https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2019/04/16/miami-judge-issues-
order-to-show-cause-against-us-bank-for-flouting-discovery-order/)

Sanction Awards to Miami Attorney Bruce Jacobs Could Help City Establish
Affordable Housing Fund
(https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2019/06/19/sanction-awards-to-
miami-attorney-bruce-jacobs-could-help-city-establish-affordable-housing-
fund/)

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