Supporting, Informing & Connecting People in Foreclosure

MERS legal primer for attacking homeowners, state by state.

This might be helpful to someone. Just found it without really looking for it. Lot's of good info.
Of course, this is not meant to say MERS is legal or correct, I am posting it to show how one might fight MERS in different states. It's good to know about the MERS cases lost, but we also can get valuable information by finding out how some homeowners lost.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/31943927/FROM-MERS-Their-Foreclosure-Lega...

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Permalink Reply by Colby Rose on November 6, 2010 at 7:47am

Those cases seemed like good cases for MERS. How about these cases--where MERS lost:
MERS cases:

Fremont Inv. & Loan v McBean 11/26/2007 Other Courts 17 Misc 3d 1132(A) 2007 NYSlipOp 52229(U) Schack Opinion
HSBC Bank USA v Antrobus 07/31/2008 Other Courts 20 Misc 3d 1127(A) 2008 NYSlipOp 51639(U) Schack Opinion
HSBC Bank USA v Perboo 07/11/2008 Other Courts 20 Misc 3d 1117(A) 2008 NYSlipOp 51385(U) Schack Opinion
HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Betts 04/23/2008 Other Courts 2008 NYSlipOp 31170(U) Schack Opinion
HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Charlevagne 11/15/2007 Other Courts 2007 NYSlipOp 33673(U) Schack Opinion
HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Charlevagne 08/04/2008 Other Courts 20 Misc 3d 1128(A) 2008 NYSlipOp 51652(U) Schack Opinion
HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Cherry 12/17/2007 Other Courts 18 Misc 3d 1102(A) 2007 NYSlipOp 52378(U) Schack Opinion
HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Valentin 01/30/2008 Other Courts 18 Misc 3d 1123(A) 2008 NYSlipOp 50164(U) Schack Opinion
HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Valentin 11/03/2008 Other Courts 21 Misc 3d 1124(A) 2008 NYSlipOp 52167(U) Schack Opinion
HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Vasquez 08/21/2009 Other Courts 24 Misc 3d 1239(A) 2009 NYSlipOp 51814(U) Schack Opinion
HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Yeasmin 05/02/2008 Other Courts 2008 NYSlipOp 50924(U) Schack Opinion
HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v Yeasmin 05/24/2010 Other Courts 27 Misc 3d 1227(A) 2010 NYSlipOp 50927(U) Schack Opinion
U.S. Bank Natl. Assn. v Bernard 02/14/2008 Other Courts 18 Misc 3d 1130(A) 2008 NYSlipOp 50247(U) Schack Opinion
U.S. Bank Natl. Assn. v Louis 11/06/2008 Other Courts 21 Misc 3d 1126(A) 2008 NYSlipOp 52241(U) Schack Opinion
U.S. Bank Natl. Assn. v White 01/23/2009 Other Courts 22 Misc 3d 1112(A) 2009 NYSlipOp 50100(U) Schack Opinion
U.S. Bank v Videjus 04/29/2008 Other Courts 2008 NYSlipOp 50851(U) Schack Opinion
U.S. Bank, N.A. v Emmanuel 05/11/2010 Other Courts 27 Misc 3d 1220(A) 2010 NYSlipOp 50819(U) Schack Opinion
U.S. Bank, N.A. v Guichardo 02/02/2009 Other Courts 22 Misc 3d 1116(A) 2009 NYSlipOp 50151(U) Schack Opinion
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v Guy 05/01/2008 Other Courts 2008 NYSlipOp 50916(U) Schack Opinion
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v Hunte 04/14/2010 Other Courts 27 Misc 3d 1209(A) 2010 NYSlipOp 50637(U) Schack Opinion
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v St. Aubin 02/10/2009 Other Courts 22 Misc 3d 1120(A) 2009 NYSlipOp 50197(U) Schack Opinion
Wells Fargo Bank, Natl. Assn. v Reyes 06/19/2008 Other Courts 20 Misc 3d 1104(A) 2008 NYSlipOp 51211(U) Schack Opinion
IndyMac Bank, FSB v Bethley 02/06/2009 Other Courts 22 Misc 3d 1119(A) 2009 NYSlipOp 50186(U) Schack Opinion
Indymac Bank, FSB v Boyd 01/22/2009 Other Courts 22 Misc 3d 1112(A) 2009 NYSlipOp 50094(U) Schack Opinion
JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. v George 05/04/2010 Other Courts 27 Misc 3d 1217(A) 2010 NYSlipOp 50786(U) Schack Opinion
Lasalle Bank N.A. v Smith 03/22/2010 Other Courts 26 Misc 3d 1239(A) 2010 NYSlipOp 50470(U) Schack Opinion
Nomura Credit & Capital, Inc. v Washington 04/30/2008 Other Courts 2008 NYSlipOp 50883(U) Schack Opinion
Perla v Real Prop. Solutions Corp. 04/28/2008 Other Courts 2008 NYSlipOp 50846(U) Schack Opinion
U.S. Bank National Association v Maynard 11/26/2007 Other Courts 2007 NYSlipOp 33766(U) Schack Opinion
U.S. Bank National Association, Trustee v Grant 11/09/2007 Other Courts 2007 NYSlipOp 33631(U) Schack Opinion

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Here are some U.S. Court (federal court) decisions:

In re Mitchell, Case No. BK-S-07-16226-LBR, Chapter 7, UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEVADA, 2009 Bankr. LEXIS 876, March 31, 2009, Decided, Relief from automatic stay denied In re Mitchell, 2009 Bankr. LEXIS 866 (Bankr. D. Nev., Mar. 31, 2009)Affirmed by Mortgage Elec. Registration Sys. v. Chong, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127500 (D. Nev., Dec. 4, 2009)Affirmed by Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys. v. Mitchell (In re Mitchell), 423 B.R. 914, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125255 (D. Nev., 2009).
http://www.nvb.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Riegle/07-16226%20Opinion.pdf

MERS did win the following case, but that is because they were honest to the court and revealed that MERS never (NEVER!) owns the promissory note and the debt, as shown in this brief filed by the Apellant:

MERS v. Nebraska Dept. of Banking and Finance., No. S-04-786. , SUPREME COURT OF NEBRASKA, 270 Neb. 529; 704 N.W.2d 784; 2005 Neb. LEXIS 177, October 21, 2005, Filed.

http://www.msfraud.org/LAW/Lounge/AppellantsBriefinMERSvNebraskaDep...

Mortgage Elec. Registration Sys. v. Saunders, C**-09-640, SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT OF MAINE, 2010 ME 79; 2 A.3d 289; 2010 Me. LEXIS 83, June 15, 2010, Argued, August 12, 2010, Decided.
http://www.courts.state.me.us/court_info/opinions/2010%20documents/...

Landmark Nat'l Bank v. Kesler, No. 98,489, SUPREME COURT OF KANSAS, 289 Kan. 528; 216 P.3d 158; 2009 Kan. LEXIS 834, August 28, 2009, Opinion Filed.
98489 -- Landmark Nat'l Bank v. Kesler -- Rosen -- Kansas Supreme Court

*Mortgage Elec. Registration Sys. v. Southwest Homes of Ark., *No. 08-1299, SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS, 2009 Ark. 152; 301 S.W.3d 1; 2009 Ark. LEXIS 121, March 19, 2009, Opinion Delivered, THE LEXIS PAGINATION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING RELEASE OF THE FINAL PUBLISHED VERSION., Rehearing denied by Mortgage Elec. Registration Sys. v. Southwest Homes of Ark., Inc., 2009 Ark. LEXIS 458 (Ark., Apr. 23, 2009).
http://courts.arkansas.gov/court_opinions/sc/2009a/20090319/publish...

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Permalink Reply by Colby Rose on November 6, 2010 at 7:53am

Also, this is a good NY Times article about the problems with MERS. It was written by Floyd Norris.

By Floyd Norris:

HIGH & LOW FINANCE; MERS, Created to Aid Mortgages, Proves Problematic - NY Times

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Permalink Reply by GEORGE BURNS on November 12, 2010 at 4:28pm

Colby,
How did you find these? I need to get a list of Florida cases (sorted by court if possible).

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Permalink Reply by Colby Rose on November 12, 2010 at 6:03pm

George Burns,

There is a brilliant man who posts as William A. Roper on the MS Fraud website. He is an occasional commenter at Calculated Risk, as well. (His "handle" is waroper on Calculated Risk.) I retrieved all of the MERS cases from a few of his comments on Calculated Risk. If you sign in at Calculated Risk, you can click on the profiles of every registered commenter and look at his or her last comments--this is how I have followed "waroper." He is also either psychic or well-connected because he tends to break news before it actually "breaks!"

I have never checked his contact info on either website, but I betcha that he has posted it on one of those two sites.

But good luck, George Burns--I think the tide is turning.

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Permalink Reply by Elaine on November 21, 2010 at 9:45am

George - go to PACER, set up an account, very easy, they charge you .08 cents per page but it's well worth it. You can search for cases by state, county, parties, etc. Best of luck to you. Knowledge is power. And now "we the people" have access to information like never before. Keep working. Don't give up. That's what they want us to do- just roll over. Don't! "When you're going through hell, keep moving!" Winston Churchill.

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Permalink Reply by Margin on January 29, 2011 at 12:40pm

I have a general MERS question maybe someone can help me with.

Can MERS assign a mortgage to a second lender when the original lender has been non existent for a year?

Specific example.

Original note 11/1/06 with Aegis Wholesale.

A month later a letter received from Aurora saying they were the new servicer of the mortgage.

Aegis closes its doors, August of 2008.

A MERS transfer from AEGIS to Aurora takes place on May 1, 2009, ten months after Aegis was closed.

Is that standard and proper?

Thanks in advance.

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Permalink Reply by Elaine on January 30, 2011 at 8:47am

Get a forensic loan audit as soon as you can. This sounds very odd but the audit should uncover wrongdoing and give you leverage to fight back. It should cost in the neighborhood of $1,200 for basic service and up to $1,700 for them to do negotiations.

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Permalink Reply by Leagle on February 3, 2011 at 3:14pm

Here is some interesting info on MERS from Wikipedia:

Also good reference for mortgage backed securities

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortgage-backed_security

Recording and MERS

One of the critical component of the securitization system is Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) created in 1990s, which made legally possible to re-assign underlying mortgages without cumbersome recordation process in county courts as customary required. Indeed, since every time a financial instrument containing mortgages is sold, every mortgage (deed of trust) and note (obligation to pay the debt) presumably have to be re-recorded in US County courts and recordation fees have to be paid. So, the financial industry eager to trade in Mortgage Based Securities needed to find a way around those recordation requirements, and this is how MERS was born to replace public recordation with a private one. The MERS legal standing is currently widely challenged, with focus on legal inconsistencies, which originally looked trivial, but in fact may reflect dysfunctionality within the entire mortgage securitization approach itself and therefore have a profound impact on financial system.

Following noted as controversial

MERS statement regarding foreclosure issues

On October 9, 2010, MERS issued a statement^[20] asserting that

Courts have ruled in favor of MERS in many lawsuits, upholding MERS legal interest as the mortgagee and the right to foreclose.
MERS does not create a defect in the mortgage or deed of trust
The trail of ownership does not change because of MERS
MERS did not cause mortgage securitization
Lenders cannot “hide” behind MERS
MERS fully complies with recording statutes

[edit]Electronic signatures and notarizations

Because the MERS system is electronic, it depends on the electronic storage and transmission of legal documents. On the question of notarization of electronic signatures and the honoring of notarized signatures across state lines, the United States House of Representative had passed bills to legalize these steps, and in 2010 the United States Senate passed the legislation without debate. However, President Barack Obama publicly opposed the legislation on October 7, 2010. As a result, the bill died, and state laws govern whether electronic signatures can be notarized or whether a notarized signature in one state must be accepted in another.^[21]