Court Reinstates MERS’ Lien on the Property and Awards Attorney’s Fees and Costs
Reston, Virginia – September 3, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that Collin County District Court in Texas granted a motion for summary judgment in MERS’ favor reinstating the MERS lien on the property, which the Court found to be “in full force and effect.”
In pdf Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. v. Kingman Holdings, Inc. (1.22 MB), Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”) sought to reinstate a MERS lien which was improperly extinguished from the property in a prior quiet title action brought by the defendant Kingman Holdings, LLC. MERS and MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. argued that their due process rights under the United States and Texas constitutions were violated when MERS, the record beneficiary of the deed of trust, was not provided with notice or made a party to the Kingman action seeking to set aside the MERS lien. In his final judgment, Presiding Judge Scott J. Becker ruled that the prior judgment in favor of Kingman was “void” and reinstated the MERS lien ruling that the MERS deed of trust creates “a valid, subsisting, and enforceable lien” on the property. The judge further ruled that the MERS deed of trust is senior to any interest held by Kingman and awarded MERS and MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. attorney’s fees and costs associated with prosecuting the present action against Kingman.
“This judgment once again confirms that as record mortgagee or beneficiary on security instruments MERS is entitled to notice of all proceedings affecting the real property encumbered by the MERS lien,” said MERSCORP Holdings Vice President for Corporate Communications, Janis Smith. “This ruling is consistent with case law in numerous states that has determined that MERS has a right to service of process.”
For descriptions of cases and other materials pertaining to MERS’ business model and role in U.S. housing, please visit www.mersinc.org.
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MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. is a privately held corporation that owns and manages the MERS® System and all other MERS® products. It is a member-based organization made up of thousands of lenders, servicers, sub-servicers, investors and government institutions. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) serves as the mortgagee in the land records for loans registered on the MERS® System, and is a nominee (or agent) for the owner of the promissory note. The MERS® System is a national electronic database that tracks changes in mortgage servicing and beneficial ownership interests in residential mortgage loans on behalf of its members.
CONTACT: Janis Smith
Phone: 703-738-0230
Email: janiss (at) mersinc (dot) org
