§5229 Judicial Review and Related Matters

Summary

Courts can review actions the Secretary takes under this chapter like they review other federal agency decisions. A court can set aside a final action if it is arbitrary, unreasonable, an abuse of discretion, or not allowed by law. People cannot get an injunction or other equitable relief against the Secretary for actions under sections 5211, 5212, 5216, and 5219, except to fix a constitutional violation. Requests for a temporary restraining order must be decided within 3 days. Requests for preliminary or permanent injunctions must be handled quickly, following Federal Rules of Civil Procedure rule 65(b)(3) and 65(a)(2), and courts should combine trials with injunction hearings when possible. Any injunction issued against the Secretary is automatically put on hold unless the Secretary asks a higher court for a stay within 3 calendar days. A person who gives up assets tied to participation in a program here cannot sue the Secretary, except as allowed under the review rules above or in a written contract with the Secretary. If the Secretary buys a home loan, the borrower keeps the same claims and defenses they would have had. The Secretary’s actions do not hurt claims or defenses of others. A servicer of pooled residential mortgages must look at net present value for all investors when choosing modifications, and a servicer is treated as acting in the investors’ best interests if it reasonably tries loss mitigation, including accepting partial payments or agreeing to a modification.