This strikes me as pure politics. If an attorney general thinks there is a violation of law, they should start an enforcement action, not issue the equivalent of a press release inviting consumers in foreclosure to contact them.
When an ag states what the law is with out referring to the statute at issue, skepticism is appropriate.
In general, county recorders and recording systems are there for folks who want to protect their interests by recording documents such as assignments so that their interests are perfected against consenting owners or subsequent parties who may have a claim against the chain of title. Someone who does not record their interest takes a risk as to these third parties by not doing so. But that is the party’s risk, it is not some sort of governmental entitlement. The county recorder should not care less whether someone is protecting their rights by recording or not recording an assignment. The notion that a county recorder can transmogrify the failure to record an assignment into some kind of “right” to fees for not doing so is kind of bizarre IMHO.
