The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC") has held that a bank's failure to comply with post-foreclosure notice provisions in Mass. G.L. c. 244, § 15A ("Section 15A"), does not render a foreclosure void. Turra v. Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, 476 Mass....
Foreclosure Litigation
Ninth Circuit Denies Class Action For Allegedly Fraudulent Mortgage Modification Delays and Subsequent Foreclosures
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has refused to reinstate a putative class-action suit accusing numerous banks and other mortgage servicers of fraudulently enticing mortgagors into applying for mortgage loan modifications to continue collecting...
MERS Requires No Authorization to Assign Mortgage
A Judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court, relying on earlier Massachusetts Appeals Court cases, has held that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. ("MERS") does not need authorization from the holder of the promissory note secured by a mortgage before...
U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Underwater Mortgages Cannot Be “Stripped Off”
While the American economy has shown tentative signs of stabilization and recovery, the nation's courts continue to grapple with legal questions that emanate from the Great Recession and the bursting of the so-called "housing bubble." In one notable development, the...
Foreclosure Is Not Debt Collection Under the FDCPA in the 11th Circuit
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida has issued an opinion collecting 11th Circuit precedent and reiterating that foreclosure or other enforcement of a security interest, without more, is not "collection of any debt" under the Fair Debt...
Supreme Judicial Court: ‘Try Title’ Actions Challenging Foreclosure Are Only Available After Foreclosure Occurs
In a decision handed down earlier this month, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the "SJC") has resolved a split among Land Court justices regarding the availability of a "try title" action brought against a mortgagee prior to foreclosure. In Abate v. Fremont...
Right-to-Cure Notice Naming Mortgage Servicer Deemed Effective
Naming a mortgage servicer as mortgagee on a statutory right-to-cure notice satisfies the requirements of the Commonwealth's pre-foreclosure right-to-cure statute, according to a recent decision of the Appeals Court. In Haskins v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co, 86...
Massachusetts Appeals Court Upholds MERS Mortgage System
The Massachusetts Appeals Court has joined the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in upholding the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. ("MERS") business model under Massachusetts law. Explicitly referencing the First Circuit's decision in Culhane...
First Circuit Affirms Culhane, Woods, and MERS Assignments of Mortgages
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has reaffirmed its prior holdings in Culhane v Aurora Loan Services of Nebraska, 708 F.3d 282 (1st Cir. 2013) and Woods v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 733 F.3d 349 (1st Cir. 2013) regarding Mortgage Electronic...
Contemporaneous Evidence of Off-Record Assignments Satisfies Ibanez
The Massachusetts Land Court division of the Trial Court has affirmed that contemporaneous evidence of off-record assignments are adequate to satisfy the requirements of U.S. Bank N.A. v. Ibanez, 458 Mass. 637 (2011). In May, 2006, Lisardo Murillo acquired a property...
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