Report: Murphy faced foreclosure action

A JPMorgan Chase & Co. Inc. affiliate reportedly initiated foreclosure proceedings on a Cheshire home owned by U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy in 2007, months after he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives and subsequently served on the House Financial Services Committee.

Murphy, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, had not previously disclosed the foreclosure action, which ended in an out-of-court settlement according to the Hartford Courant. Murphy had secured a $180,000 Chase mortgage on the property.

The Courant also reported a 2003 lawsuit was filed in state court for nonpayment of rent on a Southington apartment Murphy used at the time. The newspaper reported Murphy declined an interview to discuss either case.

“When Chris and Cathy ”¦ were starting out, they were in the process of merging their finances and inadvertently missed a couple of mortgage payments,” Murphy spokesman Ben Marter told the Courant. “When they found out about it, they immediately got in contact with their bank and then paid it in full from their own funds.”

As of Friday morning, Murphy had not addressed the report on his campaign website, instead noting the August jobs report and attacking his Republican opponent Linda McMahon for what his campaign referred to as her “hypocritical photo op roadshow.”

McMahon has touted her own success with spouse Vince McMahon in overcoming early financial problems as they built up World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., which is based in Stamford.