A lawyer who has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit says tens of thousands of foreclosures in Wayne County are unlawful because sheriffs did not follow state law when they conducted foreclosure auctions.

The suit filed in federal court by Bloomfield Hills attorney Paul Nicoletti seeks to set aside the foreclosures of 46 plaintiffs in Wayne County and potentially hundreds of thousands of others statewide.

The suit claims former Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans was required by law to sign the sheriff's deeds. But, as in most Michigan counties, the undersheriff signed.

Nicoletti tells The Detroit News it's a "hyper-technical argument, but it's due process."

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Evans, now Detroit police chief, and current Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon declined comment.

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Information from: The Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com