Trott sheds stake in law firm tied to foreclosures

WASHINGTON A week after winning the Republican nomination to a seat in Congress, Birmingham lawyer David Trott appears to be getting out of the foreclosure business.

Trott, who soundly defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, R-Milford, in the Aug. 5 primary, announced today he is selling his stake in the family law firm, Trott & Trott, to its other partners.

I have not played a substantial role in either the leadership or operations of the law firm for several years, said Trott, who added that hes leaving the firm founded by his father in 1976 in good hands.

He may also be shedding a political liability: Throughout the primary campaign, Bentivolio and his allies carped about Trott & Trotts business as a real estate services firm and its work on behalf of lenders foreclosing on tens of thousands of Michigan homes in a single year.

The Free Press reported in May that Trotts firm had become the states biggest foreclosure law firm and one of the largest in the nation as the housing market went bust beginning in 2008.

Trotts opponent in the Nov. 4 general election, Democrat Bobby McKenzie, said today that Trott made tens of millions of dollars off the misfortune and misery of Michigans middle class ... and now hes set to make untold millions more by selling his stake.

The terms of the sale were not announced. A spokeswoman for the firm said the sale only includes his stake in Trott & Trott; however, not other companies he owns or has ownership in, which include related document and title businesses and legal publications.

Trott & Trott is a full-service real estate financial services firm, also offering litigation, bankruptcy and lender-owned property services. According to Trotts most recent financial disclosure form, filed in May, his stake in the firm was worth between $5 million and $25 million.

He was paid annual dividends from the firm worth between $1 million and $5 million and, in 2013, a salary of just under $1 million. In May, the Free Press put Trott and his wifes net worth at between $60 million and $205 million. (The value of assets are reported within a range on congressional disclosure forms, not in detail.)

Trotts campaign manager, Megan Piwowar, said Trott is making the move because he is focused on the campaign and remains proud of the jobs some 1,800, according to the campaign created over time by Trott & Trott and his other companies.

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Trott sheds stake in law firm tied to foreclosures