NY's Schneiderman sues banks in foreclosure effort

[kpete]

NY's Schneiderman sues banks in foreclosure effort

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York's attorney general on Friday accused some of the nation's largest banks of deceit and fraud in using an electronic mortgage registry that he said puts homeowners at a disadvantage in foreclosures.

Democrat Eric Schneiderman sued Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo over their use of the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc., or MERS, claiming the banks submitted court documents containing false and misleading information that appeared to provide the authority for foreclosures when there was none.

The lawsuit also names the registry operator, MERSCORP Inc. of Virginia.

Schneiderman claims the MERS system has eliminated homeowners' ability to track property transfers through traditional public records. He said the electronic system now stores that data and is plagued by inaccuracies.

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more:
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP49a5ae2893f744cf99dc2f4fe9a52137.html

[annabanana]

1. k&r.. May all the threads unravel they way they ought!. . .n/t

[ms.smiler]

2. Here is a link to the Complaint:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/80391695/NYAG-Complaint

In short, MERS conduct, as well as Defendants Servicers’ use of the MERS System, have resulted in the filing of improper New York Foreclosure Proceedings, undermined the integrity of the judicial process, created confusion and uncertainty concerning property ownership interests, and potentially created clouds of title on properties throughout the state of New York.

Homeowners, as well as the general public and the courts, do not have access to the vast majority of information maintained on the MERS system, including records reflecting the sale of mortgage loans from one financial institution to another.

Oh, my attorney and I know the above well; MERS won’t disclose loan information even with a Subpoena.

Thus, as a result of the creation of MERS, one can no longer look to the public recording system as a reliable source for tracking the chain of title for a loan or for identifying the current beneficial owner of the mortgage.

Yes, privatized and secret land records – MERS, does a splendid job of concealing the chain of Title and loan ownership from homeowners and our courts. The banksters prefer to hide their records so they can eventually use our public land records to file fraudulent Assignments of Mortgage in favor of themselves.

Mortgage securitization and MERS has clouded the Titles to millions of properties in the U.S.

[YvonneCa]

3. Any thoughts about why title...

...insurance companies are so quiet on this?

[ms.smiler]

4. YvonneCa, I can’t say that I truly understand the role of Title insurers in all of this.

They were part of the formation of MERS and yet they have a liability because of the conduct of the banks and MERS.

I’ve heard that Title policies are now written to permit Title insurers an “out” but haven’t researched present day policies so I’ve seen nothing with my own eyes.

I wouldn’t be surprised though if Title companies sought a reason to deny claims.

[YvonneCa]

5. Thank you for the thoughtful...

...response. I didn't know that they were involved in forming MERS, but that makes sense to me. I once...many years ago...worked in a 'low level' tiltle job and learned just enough to think they had to have some liability in all this. After all, they insure that grantors actually own the property in an owner's policy, and they insure that the lender holds the note in a lenders policy. That's why people pay for those policies in the first place.

The creation of a system like MERS complicates their role considerably. And I imagine that different states have different laws and rules related to TD assignments and real estate sale/loans.

What a mess!

[carla]

6. Sounds

like a James Baker III scheme...MERS.