Nevada Supreme Court holds MERS assignments valid

By Kerri Ann Panchuk
• March 1, 2012 • 2:03pm

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled in two separate cases that a mortgage assignment from Merscorp, parent company of registry Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, does not invalidate a foreclosure. 

MERS is the electronic mortgage registry that ended up in the limelight when issues arose about securitized loans. MERS was created to record mortgage assignments as loans move through the securitization process. 

In the Volkes v. BAC Home Loans Servicing case, the plaintiff claimed a foreclosure was invalidated by a MERS loan assignment. The Nevada Supreme Court validated the assignment, saying it does not impede on MERS ability to foreclose. 

The court made a similar ruling in U.S. Bank v. Davis, saying, "We reject appellants' contention that the assignment was invalid solely by virtue of its connection to MERS."

MERS responded to the case saying, "The Nevada Supreme Court has made it unquestionably clear that the MERS business model complies with Nevada law." 

 kpanchuk@housingwire.com 

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