As reported at Source of Title:
“County attorneys for 14 of Kentucky’s 120 counties have jointly filed a class action suit against MERS and dozens of MERS shareholders, including title industry organizations such as ALTA, First American, and Stewart. The lawsuit accuses MERS of negligent and/or willful violation of Kentucky recording laws, fraud, unjust enrichment, and civil conspiracy.”
For the rest of the article – click here!
In the continuing saga of fraud, racketeering and debauchery, the incorrigible MERS is once again in the news. This time in the state of Louisiana. Clerks of court in 30 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes have combined to file a lawsuit this week against 17 MERS member banks and financial institutions, alleging violations of federal racketeering statutes through the use of MERS to avoid recording fees.
For the entire Source of Title article, click here.
Our colleagues at the Consumer Advocates in American Real Estate (CAARE – www.caare.org) have developed an online petition seeking to extend RESPA’s statute of limitations to 6 years from 1 year. Seeing that consumer rights advocates around the country agree that RESPA protections are under attack, we’d encourage our members to investigate the purpose of the petition and to sign it.
To participate, please click here: http://caare.org/RESPA
In the latest of a flurry of under-the-wire lawsuits that seem to conflict with an imminent foreclosure fraud settlement, Eric Schneiderman, the Attorney General of New York and a co-chair of the federal task force looking into the residential mortgage-backed securities market, sued three banks for their use of the MERS electronic registry, which resulted in fraudulent foreclosure filings. For the entire article, click here.
The Source of Title has once again uncovered an interesting story from the American Land Title Association’s past. This time, it has to do with ALTA’s support of a private right of action for competitors to sue an offending settlement service provider under RESPA Section 8.
Click here for the full story from SOT.
In 2007, while introducing the toothless “Principles of Fair Conduct,” ALTA members agreed to support a replacement to its abandoned Code of Ethics that said “Congress should amend section 8 of RESPA to provide a competitor’s right of action for injunctive relief.” According to SOT, 100 businesses, including all four major title insurance underwriters signed the statement.
ALTA said it would ask Congress for the amendment back in 2007. According to the SOT article, ALTA is still supportive of the idea of an amendment to RESPA providing injunctive relief for competitors of sham affiliated business arrangements. However, ALTA hasn’t pushed the amendment because “ALTA hasn’t heard support for the measure in some time.”
Hate to be the members interested in having ALTA follow through on that promise back in 2007 and have to hear that last quote as an excuse.
To be fair, this is the first sign of life from ALTA on the subject of competition in the industry and even though the subject matter is dated (2007) it is a good piece of follow-up journalism on the part of SOT to confirm that ALTA does, indeed, still support the measure today. Whether that translates into anything, however, is the now five year old question.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley sued five major banks and the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems over allegedly unlawful and deceptive foreclosure practices. For entire article click here.
To those interested in reading how today’s oral argument in the Edwards v. First American case at the U.S. Supreme Court went, the transcript is now available here!
Duval County Florida County Clerk Jim Fuller, has filed a class action lawsuit against MERS on behalf of Duval County and other counties in Florida. The suit alleges that the bank-owned mortgage registry violates state laws and has cost local governments millions in unpaid recording fees.
“MERS has usurped the rights and privileges of the Florida Clerks of Court by establishing, maintaining and inducing lenders to use its private recording system, which unlawfully interferes and competes with the public recording system,” the suit claims, according to a report in Mortgage Servicing News. The suit claims civil conspiracy, unjust enrichment, and fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation. MERS has refuted the allegations in the suit.
Duval County, which contains Jacksonville Florida and many of its suburbs, is the 58th most populous county in the country out of over 3,000 counties nationwide, according to the 2010 census. Duval County is the first county in Florida to bring a lawsuit against MERS, but several other large counties in other states have filed suit or are reportedly actively considering suits.
For more, see the full report on mortgageservicingnews.com.
First it was Dallas County, Texas (home to Dallas, Texas) and last week it was Harris County, Texas (home to Houston, Texas). Now it looks like Bexar County, Texas (home to San Antonio, Texas) is also getting into the act seeking damages in the millions of dollars against the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. or MERS. The Texas suits are joined by similar suits in Ohio, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
For more information on the Bexar County, Texas MERS lawsuit, please click here.
To see a recent article on the Geauga County, Ohio MERS lawsuit, please click here.
MERS denies the allegations of the lawsuits stating that their business model and practices follow all state laws. Nevertheless, the chorus of litigation continues to build around the MERS model.
NAILTA has filed an amicus brief in the Edwards v. First American case currently pending before the United States Supreme Court. Oral arguments in the case will be heard in Washington, DC on November 28, 2011. NAILTA filed the brief in support of Denise Edwards, a real estate consumer who closed a mortgage transaction with First American and its captive agent, Tower City Title Agency, in Cleveland, Ohio.