June 13, 2013
Massachusetts Supreme Court Affirms Lower Court’s Judgment in Favor of Plaintiff Who Claimed the Bank Pursuing Foreclosure on His Property, Lacked Legal Standing to Do So
In U.S. Bank National Ass’n v. Ibanez, 458 Mass. 637, 941 N.E.2d 40 (2011), the Massachusetts Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of a plaintiff who alleged that the bank pursuing foreclosure on his property had no legal standing to do so.
The Supreme Court held that; the first purchaser failed to show it was the mortgage holder at time of foreclosure, the second purchaser failed to show it was the mortgage holder at time of foreclosure, the holding of note was insufficient to show authority to foreclose, post foreclosure sale assignments were insufficient to show authority, and the ruling did not warrant prospective application.
In reviewing the lower court’s ruling, the Massachusetts Supreme Court found that the lower court judge did not err in concluding that the securitization documents submitted by the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that they were the holders of the Ibanez and LaRace mortgages, respectively, at the time of the publication of the notices and the sales. The judge, therefore, did not err in rendering judgments against the plaintiffs and in denying the plaintiffs’ motions to vacate the judgments
On appeal, the plaintiff raised three other arguments. First, the plaintiffs initially contended that the assignments in blank, identifying the assignor but not the assignee, not only “evidence and confirm the assignments that occurred by virtue of the securitization agreements,” but “are effective assignments in their own right.” But in their reply briefs they conceded that the assignments in blank did not constitute a lawful assignment of the mortgages.
The court noted that their concession was appropriate, citing the long-standing principle that a conveyance of real property, such as a mortgage, that does not name the assignee conveys nothing and is void; thus the court did not regard an assignment of land in blank as giving legal title in land to the bearer of the assignment.
Second, the plaintiffs contended that, because they held the mortgage note, they had a sufficient financial interest in the mortgage to allow them to foreclose. However, the court found that under Massachusetts’s law, where a note has been assigned but there is no written assignment of the mortgage underlying the note, the assignment of the note does not carry with it the assignment of the mortgage.
Third, the plaintiffs argued that post-sale assignments were sufficient to establish their authority to foreclose when taken in conjunction with the evidence of a presale assignment. However, the court disagreed, finding that where an assignment is confirmatory of an earlier, valid assignment made prior to the publication of notice and execution of the sale, that confirmatory assignment may be executed and recorded after the foreclosure, and doing so will not make the title defective.
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