ALTADENA, Calif. –– Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump today, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, urged California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and state lawmakers to issue a moratorium on mortgages and unsolicited offers to purchase properties affected by the Eaton fires.
Crump and co-counsel Anne Andrews, who represent many Altadena residents who lost their homes and loved ones in the fire, are in close communication with the Attorney General and other state leaders about potential policy solutions to address the problems. Crump said, without those protections, Altadena residents are at serious risk of forever losing the properties they spent decades paying for –– their largest, and in some cases, only source of security and wealth.
“Altadena is a success story of Black home ownership, even if it was created by the discriminatory practice of redlining, which prevented Black families from owning homes in other parts of the state,” Crump said. “We can’t allow this legacy to be lost as families struggle to make mortgage payments on homes that no longer stand and greedy investors swoop in to purchase valuable California real estate for pennies on the dollar.”
As of 2023, 81% of Black Altadena residents owned their homes –– nearly double the national average. But many of those residents are now paying for an Airbnb or a hotel room, while still facing the pressures of making a monthly mortgage payment on homes that no longer exist.
Attorney Crump called on the Governor and Attorney General to follow the example of Hawaii Governor Josh Green, who issued a proclamation after the fires that destroyed Maui in 2023, extending a host of protections to keep fire victims from being financially exploited. Those provisions included emergency relief, a prohibition against unsolicited offers to purchase affected properties, prohibitions against price increases and evictions for rentals and residential dwellings, and suspension of property tax payments.
“The proud residents of Altadena are ripe for exploitation by those who would prey on disaster to acquire lucrative California property for redevelopment and profit –– that would be a compounding tragedy,” Crump said. “The Governor and Attorney General should use everything in their authority –– and the power of the bully pulpit –– to make sure that doesn’t happen and residents have the opportunity to rebuild Altadena for future generations of their families.”
Since many Altadena residents rely on FHA loans, Crump said he hopes and expects that agencies such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will extend mortgage moratoriums and other relief to victims of the Eaton fire, as they did in Maui.
And he urged the nation’s major lending institutions “to meet this challenge with humanity and help the residents of this historically Black community retain their properties and rebuild by agreeing to a mortgage moratorium during this desperate time.”
Beyond the immediate relief efforts, Andrews said her firm will be working with policymakers to advise on policy changes, like mandatory de-energizing of power lines and evacuations, that can be implemented to mitigate loss before the next serious fire event.
“We are uniquely qualified to provide the forensic and policy experts to consult with legislators on policy changes that would reduce loss of life and property damage in California and beyond,” Andrews said. “Besides making this community whole, we need to collectively learn from this disaster and put sweeping protective policies in place.”
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ABOUT BEN CRUMP LAW
Through his work, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump has spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more information, visit bencrump.com.
