Judge affirms company’s ability to assign based on terms of mortgage
Reston, VA – March 23, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) –The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Wyoming ruled last week in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), upholding the company’s ability to take any action required of a lender, including assigning the mortgage.
In the case of In re Martinez, Judge Peter J. McNiff found that when the borrowers signed their mortgage, they had expressly given MERS the authority to assign it. The court granted Ocwen Loan Servicing’s motion for relief from automatic bankruptcy stay. In its decision the Court cited to similar decisions from Utah and Massachusetts which found that through the mortgage MERS was given the authority to take any action required of the Lender.
“This court finds this position persuasive in light of the applicability of fundamental mortgage law and the Debtors agreeing to and granting MERS the authority, as provided in the Mortgage,” wrote Judge McNiff in his March 16 decision. “The court finds that MERS had authority to assign the mortgage on behalf of Taylor [Bean and Whitaker], and as provided in the Mortgage, to ‘take any action required of Lender.’”
“Not only did Judge McNiff confirm that MERS holds broad powers to act on behalf of a lender, but that he also took the time to cite other recent rulings that reached the same conclusion ,” said MERS spokesperson Karmela Lejarde. “Together with rulings this year alone from courts in New York, Massachusetts, Georgia, Hawaii, New Hampshire, California, Utah and Kansas, the Wyoming decision continues to confirm the legality of MERS’ role in the mortgage.”
To download a copy of the ruling, please click here.
Contact:
Karmela Lejarde
703-761-1274
