When the bottom fell out of several Regions Morgan Keegan mutual funds in 2007, billions of dollars in value belonging to shocked investors quickly evaporated. Law firms throughout the country began signing up investors to represent. One of those firms is Montgomery, Ala.-based Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles PC.

A judge has dismissed a predatory lending lawsuit filed by the city of Birmingham, but the case could return to court if the defendant mortgage lenders don't settle.

Beasley Allen, along with Dagney Johnson-Walker, a Birmingham lawyer filed suit in November on behalf of the City of Birmingham against various sub-prime lenders including Wells Fargo, Regions Bank and Countrywide. The suit contends that the companies have violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by participating in predatory lending practices. The lawsuit also alleges the lenders violated other state laws and have profited by their wrongdoing.

This story published by The New York Times in 1991 explores the growth of "home equity theft," in which homeowners are duped into signing loans that are tied to their mortgage, using the home as collateral. Often, these people don't realize the costs or consequences. The article quotes Beasley Allen's Tom Methvin, who describes some of the cases he is fighting on behalf of the plaintiffs.