MERS Foreclosure Case to Get Supreme Court Review

San Diego-based foreclosure attorney Ehud Gersten has filed a formal petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking an expedited review of "Gomes vs. Countrywide," a decision that gave Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) the right to foreclose on San Diego homeowner Jose Gomes without allowing Gomes to question if Countrywide actually held the note on his house. “This will be the first case in the country to petition the nation’s highest court regarding the foreclosure fraud that has taken place, though its emphasis will be specifically on California law," said Gersten, attorney for Jose Gomes. "The larger picture is the practices and procedures of the largest banks in the country and MERS, the system the banks set up nationally to track the millions of mortgage loans." In February, the Fourth Appellate District Court of California upheld the rights of MERS to the deed of trust, giving MERS the right to foreclose. The decision, in effect, denies vulnerable homeowners the right to question the foreclosure process. In addition to Gomes vs. Countrywide, rcourts in various jurisdictions nationwide, including Massachusetts, Florida, Arkansas, Missouri, New York, Arizona, Texas and Nebraska have taken stands to protect the rights of homeowners. “A home is the biggest purchase most Americans will ever make,” Gersten said. “It's an important piece of the American Dream and with foreclosure fraud rampant across the country right now, California homeowners deserve to know that the courts will protect them from ill-reputable and negligent banks engaged in sloppy or downright illegal foreclosure proceedings. We always said we would go to the nation's highest court for justice if we had to and that's where we are.” Record of the filing can be viewed here.