Federal Court Holds Fannie Mae Is Not a Government Entity

Fannie Mae

On April 30, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held in an employment case that Fannie Mae is not a government entity and therefore the plaintiff could not sustain her Bivens claim. Herron v. Fannie Mae, No. 10-943, 2012 WL 1476051 (D.D.C. Apr. 30, 2012). The plaintiff, a former Fannie Mae employee and outside contractor to the institution, claimed that Fannie Mae is a government actor and improperly terminated her employment. She asserted a First Amendment claim under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), and, in the alternative, brought claims against Fannie Mae as a private employer. Fannie Mae and its government conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which was granted intervenor status, moved to dismiss the Bivens claim on the grounds that Fannie Mae is not a government actor. The district court dismissed the Bivens claim, holding that the imposition of FHFA conservatorship did not transform Fannie Mae into a government actor. Instead, Fannie Mae was a private entity before conservatorship; FHFA stepped into that private role when it became conservator.