Two firms that focus on foreclosure law were sued on Monday by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers for allegedly inflating the cost of foreclosure proceedings.
Suthers' office sued Robert J. Hopp & Associates and The Hopp Law Firm, and its principal Robert Hopp and affiliate National Title, as well as the Vaden Law Firm, including Wayne Vaden and its affiliate City Park Title.
The defendants allegedly inflated costs associated with foreclosure proceedings, which violates the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. The suit alleges the law firms inflated costs for court filings, posting and title costs that went beyond typical market prices at the time.
The law firms allegedly received $1,200 to $1,400 for title insurance polices that didn’t exist and that were brought in using their affiliated title companies. The costs were then passed on to homeowners, investors and insurers.
These are the latest legal actions resulting from an ongoing investigation by Suthers' office.
“For abusing the foreclosure process for their own profit, eight Colorado foreclosure law firms have now been targets of investigation by my office,” Suthers said. “It is my hope that these actions will result in greater transparency and fairness in the legal processing of foreclosures.”