On November 14, the Oregon attorney general announced it reached a settlement requiring a real estate holding company to release all homeowner benefit agreements and associated liens on Oregon properties and restore full ownership to Oregonians. The settlement followed an investigation led by the Oregon state Department of Justice, alleging multiple violations of Oregon law, including the state’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act, improper marketing of real estate services, among others. The real estate holding companies, i.e., the defendants, denied all allegations, and the settlement noted it does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing.

Under the agreement, the must release all 669 active homeowner benefit agreements in Oregon no later than December 5. The settlement also required the defendants to pay Oregon’s attorney general $150,000 in $10,000 monthly installments (providing the attorney general could waive $60,000 if nine payments are made on time). An additional $500,000 payment was suspended after the defendants demonstrated an inability to pay, but Oregon noted it could collect the full amount if any material misstatement or omission is discovered in the company’s finances.

As previously covered by InfoBytes, California was the first state attorney general to sue this company, followed by actions from New Jersey with a $2.8 million settlement, and Missouri with a $307,000 settlement.