July 26, 2013
The Taking of Fannie and Freddie 2
Today, I look at one more complaint filed in response to the federal government’s amendment to its Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements with Fannie and Freddie (the PSPAs). Cacciapelle et al. v. United States, filed July 10, 2013, is another takings clause case like the one filed by Fairholme the day before. The facts alleged in the complaint should be familiar to readers of REfinblog.com (here, here and here), although this is a class action complaint.
The plaintiffs state that the members of the class “paid valuable consideration to acquire these rights, and in doing so helped provide financial support for Fannie and Freddie, both before and after the conservatorship, by contributing to a viable market for Fannie’s and Freddie’s issued securities. Plaintiffs certainly had a reasonable, investment-backed expectation that the property they acquired could not be appropriated by the Government without payment of just compensation.” (4-5)
Now having read four complaints dealing with the same issue arising from the financial crisis, I am struck by the importance of narrative in litigation. Given that the federal government saved the Fannie and Freddie from certain financial ruin, we may label the Cacciapelle narrative the “Have Your Cake and Eat It Too” storyline.
One can well imagine the government’s version of events in its inevitable motion to dismiss.
Fannie and Freddie were at the brink of ruin. We swept in, provided unlimited capital and rescued the companies, the housing market, the country and the world from the Second Great Depression. To have the private preferred shareholders engage in Monday Morning Quarterbacking and focus on the details from the crisis response that harmed them, to have them ignore the competing concerns that were at stake for each of these critical decisions, adds insult to this injurious lawsuit. Judge, do not succumb to this hindsight bias!
Let’s label this the Corialanus storyline.
These lawsuits have caught reporters’ eyes and will be well-covered in the press. I would look to see which narratives resonate and I wouldn’t be surprised if the dominant narrative finds its way into the judicial opinions that decide these cases.
| Permalink
