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February 14, 2013

Maine Court Upholds Summary Judgment in Favor of Bank

In JPMorgan Chase Bank v. Harp, 10 A.3d 718 (Me. 2011), the court held that summary judgment in favor of the bank was proper, even though the Bank did not own both the mortgage and note when it filed its … Continue reading →

Maine Court Holds MERS Lacks Standing, Allows Bank to be Substituted to Prosecute the Foreclosure Action, but Overturns Bank’s Summary Judgment Motion Because of Flawed Procedure

In Mortgage Elec. Registration Sys., Inc. v. Saunders, 2 A.3d 289 (Me. 2010), the Supreme Court of Maine holds that (1) MERS lacks standing in the foreclosure action; (2) the substitution of the bank for MERS in the litigation was … Continue reading →

Maine Court Vacates Summary Judgment Ruling in Favor of Bank in a Foreclosure Action Because Bank’s Affidavits Contained Irregularities

In HSBC Mortgage Services, Inc. v. Murphy et al., 19 A.3d 815 (Me. 2011), the court held that the district court erred by granting the Bank’s summary judgment, because the Bank’s affidavits contained “serious irregularities.” In 2005, a mortgagor executed … Continue reading →

February 13, 2013

Michigan District Court holds that a Mortgage is Valid and Enforceable even if it is separated from the Promissory Note

In Marrocco v. Chase Bank, N.A., 12-10605, 2012 WL 3061031 (E.D. Mich. July 26, 2012), the Michigan District Court granted Chase Bank’s and MERS’s motion to dismiss. Marrocco obtained a loan of $181,000 from GreenPoint Mortgage Funding, Inc. As security … Continue reading →

New York Supreme Court Holds that Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale May be Vacated Where Bank did not Own the Mortgage Note and Mortgage on the Date it Commenced the Foreclosure Suit

In Wells Fargo v. Sposato, 2013 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 75, 2013 NY Slip Op 30034(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Jan. 7, 2013), the Supreme Court of New York, Richmond County held that a judgment of foreclosure and sale be vacated where … Continue reading →

Robo-Signing as Abuse of Process?

Apparently not.  The Florida Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling in Pino v. Bank of New York that a trial court does not have the authority “to grant relief from a voluntary dismissal where the motion alleges fraud on the … Continue reading →

February 12, 2013

Mortgage Mediation Program May Come to Attention of Oregon Legislature

Oregon had created a mediation program in 2012 but the program faced opposition from the banks because they believed the authorizing bill was unclear and exposed them to liability. Lenders have shifted from nonjudicial foreclosures to court-supervised foreclosures, which are more … Continue reading →