Wrongful Foreclosure Accusation Against MERS Dismissed in Rhode Island

MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. announced that Rhode Island Superior Court Justice Allen P. Rubine has rejected another multi-count claim of wrongful foreclosure against Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) and other member co-defendants. In Van Hoecke v. First Franklin Financial Corporation, Justice Rubine issued a ruling that parallels others he has made during the past year. His ruling established that the "facts in this complaint were 'nearly identical' to those in Payette v. MERS" and adopted its prior reasoning to apply here. "It is well-established that MERS and an assignee of MERS … may properly invoke the statutory power of sale as granted to the mortgagee by the plain, unambiguous language of the Mortgage," Justice Rubine held. "Plaintiff, through her acknowledgment and execution of the Mortgage, explicitly granted to MERS, and to the successors and assigns of MERS, the right to exercise the statutory power of sale and to foreclose on the Property." "Justice Rubine's rulings have been quite clear," MERSCORP's Director for Corporate Communications Jason Lobo said. "MERS' authority as mortgagee is valid and legal in Rhode Island, and challenges to this authority continue to be rejected." Justice Rubine also noted that even if the Plaintiff had proper standing to present a legal challenge to MERS regarding the validity of the mortgage assignment, "it conforms to the statutory form of assignments of a mortgage interest" according to Rhode Island law.