DFI shows its bitterness, and the ridiculousness of the system, once again

Recently we applauded Judge Shuh for determining that the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) had no authority to regulate residential home loan modifications prior to July 1, 2010. That is the date when the Mortgage Broker Practices Act was amended to grant such authority. Despite the black and white authority, the DFI has long asserted its authority to punish those individuals and businesses who believed that the law meant what it said.The DFI has decided to not take Judge Shuh’s logical decision lying down. It has decided to appeal the honorable judge’s decision. In one of the oddities of administrative law, the Department gets to appeal to its own director for a decision. The respondent has to wait until that is over before he can get the matter in front of a superior court judge. In short, he will have to pay thousands more to have the decision affirmed. This looks punitive – like sour grapes – to me.