On September 25, 2014, after years of litigation on the role, authority, and legal standing of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) to act on behalf of the mortgagee, the Rhode Island Supreme Court issued 10 orders, each dismissing Plaintiffs' appeals from a Rhode Island Superior Court judgment in favor of MERS without further briefing and argument and relying extensively on prior 2013 and 2014 decisions. The Court's summary disposition of these 10 appeals, which were before the Court at a conference in session, sends a strong message that MERS litigation in Rhode Island is coming to an end.
The Court's orders recited and rejected three main undercurrent arguments by Plaintiffs. First, Plaintiffs contended Rhode Island law precludes MERS from acting in a nominee capacity for the lender. Second, Plaintiffs contended that MERS lacked the authority to assign their mortgages, and the subsequent foreclosures were void for the same reason. Third, Plaintiffs claimed that the MERS...
