Reston, Virginia – January 24, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Below is a monthly summary of major legal decisions involving either the use of the MERS® System or Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) and its role in the mortgage process. Please contact the ">Office of Communications at MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. with any questions, and visit the MERS Newsroom for a full list of news releases.
Major Developments
Arkansas
- MERS Wins Motion to Dismiss in Arkansas County Recording Suit, December 2, 2013.
“In Lonoke County, Arkansas, by and through Deborah Oglesby, Lonoke County Circuit Clerk and Recorder v. MERSCORP, Inc., et al., Circuit Court Judge Sandy Huckabee ruled in an order entered on November 25, 2013, that ‘Based on current Arkansas law, consistent with the decisions of the Arkansas Supreme Court, there is no duty to record assignments in the State of Arkansas.’ Further she concluded, ‘Therefore, the Court finds that each claim in the Amended Class Action Complaint fails to plead a basis upon which relief can be granted.’”
Rhode Island
- Supreme Court of Rhode Island Upholds MERS Business Model and MERS Authority to Assign Mortgages, December 30, 2013.
“Relying on the Court’s decision earlier this year in Bucci v. Lehman Brothers Bank, FSB, the Court in the Mruk case finds that MERS can transfer legal title by an assignment of the mortgage. The Court noted that the ‘[P]laintiff’s argument that MERS could not have transferred legal title to its assignee because it was not the holder of the note is unavailing.’ While the Court affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiff’s complaint finding that MERS has the authority to assign the mortgage lien and that the MERS assignment in this case was valid, the Court states that ‘homeowners in Rhode Island have standing to challenge the assignment of mortgages on their homes to the extent necessary to contest the foreclosing entity’s authority to foreclose.’”
Other Relevant Cases
- Michigan: Mangray v. GMAC Mortgage: Judgment for Defendant
- Michigan: Yanakeff v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, et al., N.A.: Judgment for Defendant
- Ohio: CitiMortgage, Inc. v. Newbacher: Judgment for Plaintiff
- Texas: Epstein v. US Bank Nat’l Ass’n: Judgment for Defendant
- Washington: Brown v. Bank of America: Judgment for Defendant
- Wisconsin: Bank of New York Mellon, et al., v. Ruffalo: Judgment for Plaintiff
For descriptions of cases and other materials, please visit www.mersinc.org.
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MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. is a privately held corporation that owns and manages the MERS® System and all other MERS® products. It is a member-based organization made up of thousands of lenders, servicers, sub-servicers, investors and government institutions. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) serves as the mortgagee in the land records for loans registered on the MERS® System, and is a nominee (or agent) for the owner of the promissory note. The MERS® System is a national electronic database that tracks changes in mortgage servicing and beneficial ownership interests in residential mortgage loans on behalf of its members.
CONTACT: Janis Smith
Phone: 703-738-0230
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