Now we SAW this baby coming across miles away, and this will not be the last. Just yesterday, Fannie said MERS poses a significant risk…no DOUBT!

BLOOMBERG-

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. “illegally prosecuted” non-judicial foreclosures in Michigan and owes more than $100 million to people who lost their homes, lawyers for three homeowners said in a lawsuit.

The homeowners said Merscorp Inc.’s MERS, which runs an electronic registry of mortgages, used Michigan’s so-called foreclosure by advertisement process illegally and “misappropriated” their homes. Any foreclosures by MERS using this process in Michigan should be voided, they said in their complaint filed in federal court in Detroit.

© 2010-13 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.
www.StopForeclosureFraud.com

According to an 8k form filed on May 10, 2011,

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), in its capacity as Receiver for Washington Mutual Bank (“WAMU”), filed a complaint on May 9, 2011 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to recover alleged losses of approximately $154,519,000. The FDIC contends these losses were a direct and proximate result of the defendants’ alleged breach of contract with WAMU and alleged gross negligence of the defendants with respect to the provision of certain services by LPS’s subsidiary LSI Appraisal LLC, an appraisal management company. In particular, the FDIC claims that the services provided failed to conform with federal and state law, regulatory guidelines and other industry standards, including specifically the provisions of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (“USPAP”). LPS previously described the possibility of this suit in its Form 10-Q filed May 5, 2011.

In its complaint, the FDIC cites, as the cause of the damages claimed, 220 appraisals performed between June 2006 and May 2008. However, for more than 75 percent of the appraisals identified by the FDIC, LSI was contracted only to provide reviews of appraisals, not to conduct the initial, full appraisals. For these properties, the full appraisals were provided by other entities, unrelated to LSI. For all appraisals subject to this complaint, LPS believes there is no basis for a claim that LSI engaged in “gross negligence” or breach of contract related to these appraisal services.

LPS stands firmly behind the integrity of the services it provides to the mortgage industry and intends to vigorously defend itself against these allegations.

Source: Edgar Online

H/t Social Apocalypse

ALTA CEO Now Chairman of MERS

ALTA CEO Kurt Pfotenhauer was recently named Chairman of Board for the controversial MERS registry system, according to ALTA’s Justin Ailes.  Click above to learn what this means.

via NAILTA.org

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Things that make you go hmmm…

Sun-Sentinel-

Complaints about foreclosure fraud are pouring into the Florida Bar, with four times more cases pending than there were six months ago, as property owners trying to save their homes increasingly take on their banks and their lenders’ lawyers.

The bar, which regulates lawyer conduct in Florida and most states, has opened 202 foreclosure fraud grievance investigations since November, with 226 now pending. Such complaints target lenders’ attorneys, some of whose huge practices process thousands of foreclosures a month.

Elko Daily-

ELKO — At a time when Nevada is leading the nation in foreclosures for three years running, Signature Developers just avoided adding another piece of property to the list.

In a major victory for the developers of the Riverside Condominiums, an Elko District Court jury found Wednesday that Wells Fargo Bank committed fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of written contract and breach of good faith and fair dealing when trying to foreclose on the property.

Talk about stress! Read all about Keon Williams here, then catch up on the latest developments.

JSOnline-

A six-month reprieve has been issued to Keon Williams, the north side man whose home was sold at a sheriff’s sale in January even though he is current on the only mortgage he knew he had.

The agreement filed in court Monday between Williams and attorneys for Harris Bank prevents the bank from concluding its purchase and evicting Williams from the N. 44th St. home until Nov. 12.

WaPO-

MFI-Miami-

An interesting ruling came down from the nether regions of Northern Michigan today.  Houghton County Circuit Judge Charles Goodman ruled that a note holder lacked legal standing to execute both a foreclosure and the subsequent eviction because the originating lender Ameriquest only transferred their rights as mortgagee to MERS not their rights under the note.  Therefore, because the mortgage and note have been separated and only the mortgage was assigned, the foreclosing entity, Household Finance who MERS assigned the mortgage to, lacked the legal standing to execute the foreclosure and eviction because they did not hold the promissory note.