WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear an appeal by President Donald Trump’s administration seeking to avoid a lawsuit by shareholders of mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac relating to the government rescue of the companies following the 2008 housing crisis.
The justices will review a 2019 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that shareholders in the two companies could pursue a challenge to the 2012 agreement between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department. The deal eliminated dividend payouts to various shareholders and required the companies to pay the U.S. Treasury an amount equal to their quarterly net worth each quarter.
The court also took up a related appeal brought by the shareholders that challenges the constitutional structure of the agency.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurleyl Editing by Will Dunham)
