WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 16, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — eston, Virginia, April 16, 2013— MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that Washington Superior Court Judge Bruce I. Weiss recently granted MERS’ and its co-defendant member’s motion for summary judgment, denying a plaintiff’s wrongful foreclosure complaint seeking to set aside a completed trustee sale of his property.
In Peeters v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC, Judge Weiss granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, dismissing all claims against the defendants, finding the “Plaintiff’s Complaint fails, as a matter of law…”
Among other allegations, the plaintiff claimed the non-judicial foreclosure sale of his property was invalid because MERS was an invalid trust deed beneficiary according to Washington law and the MERS deed of trust was unenforceable because it was “split” from the note.
The defendants countered by citing the Washington Supreme Court’s decision in Bain v. Metro. Mortgage Group Inc. The non-judicial foreclosure was valid, they argued, because Green Tree Servicing, LLC was the note-holder throughout the foreclosure process, thereby making it the proper party to foreclose regardless of the designation of MERS as trust deed beneficiary. The defendants also referred to the portions of the Bain decision where the Supreme Court noted that MERS can be an agent of the note-holder making a “split” of the trust deed and note impossible. They lastly pointed to the Bain Court’s conclusion that all relevant parties are identified in a MERS deed of trust and merely naming MERS in a deed of trust in no way voids the document.
“This Court’s decision and similar recent decisions from Washington federal and state courts affirms the limited holding of the Bain decision as it relates to the enforceability of MERS deeds of trust in the state of Washington post Bain,” MERSCORP Holdings’ Director for Corporate Communications Jason Lobo said.
For descriptions of cases and other materials pertaining to MERS’ business model and role in U.S. housing, 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:
Jason Lobo
Phone: 703.652.1660
Email:
