Troutman Sanders is representing Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. in the bank’s attempt to reclaim assets frozen by its primary bank, Colonial BancGroup. Colonial, which is the subject of several governmental investigations, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in August and is in receivership.
Ocala, Fla.-based Taylor, Bean itself petitioned for reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida on Aug. 24, and had a variety of troubles prior to that. In early August, the Federal Housing Administration suspended Taylor Bean’s authority to issue FHA-insured loans; then Ginnie Mae and Freddie Mac suspended the bank as an issuer of mortgage-backed securities and mortgage sales and service, transferring their servicing from Taylor Bean to other providers. As a result, the company, which was once the largest non-depository-owned mortgage lender in the United States, laid off 2,000 of its 2,400 employees. 
“The company believes that these events are related to various investigations surrounding the failure of Colonial Bank, which for years was Taylor Bean’s primary bank,” the company said in a press release. “[A]pproximately 100 Taylor Bean bank accounts were frozen by Colonial Bank. This action created myriad problems in processing borrower payments and making payments on their behalf—such as homeowner’s insurance premiums and real estate taxes.”
Tampa, Fla.-based Stichter, Reidel, Blain & Prosser is Taylor Bean’s primary Chapter 11 counsel, but Troutman Sanders has been approved as special counsel, serving, according to its application to employ, as “general outside counsel,” which includes working to unfreeze the bank’s custodial accounts, now locked in the Alabama-based Colonial’s Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. receivership.
Troutman, according to the application, has represented Taylor Bean since 2007 as litigation counsel, with representation expanding in June to include responding to allegations of default, government investigations and regulatory actions, among other things.
Partners expected to be involved in the engagement, along with their practice areas and hourly rates, include: David J. Dantzler, governmental regulatory actions, investigations and litigation ($535); Jeffrey W. Kelley, bankruptcy and litigation ($600); Ezra H. Cohen, bankruptcy ($640); Brian Lavine, governmental investigations ($575); and David W. Ghegan, corporate governance and bank regulation ($475).