MERS Statement on Oregon Court of Appeals Ruling

Statement from Janis L. Smith, Vice President for Corporate Communications MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. on the Oregon Court of Appeals Reversal in Niday v. GMAC Mortgage LLC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Jason Lobo
Phone: 703.652.1660
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Reston, Virginia, July 18, 2012 — We disagree with today’s ruling from the Oregon Court of Appeals’ in Niday v. GMAC Mortgage LLC, et al. Importantly, however, we note that the Appellate decision does not impact judicial foreclosures. Nor does it affect the validity of mortgages or deeds of trust recorded in MERS’ name in Oregon.

The immediate impact of this decision is that MERS® Members will now likely have to proceed judicially with foreclosures, which will ultimately increase costs and be an added burden on the state’s court systems. MERS' validity as beneficiary has been affirmed in 48 prior Oregon rulings, including 30 since this case was filed. We also believe that today’s contradictory ruling will cause confusion in the industry.

We will appeal this decision to the Oregon Supreme Court. We continue to believe the Circuit Court’s November 2010 ruling in Niday was correct and is consistent with the majority of the Oregon federal and state court decisions that uphold MERS’ role as beneficiary.

For descriptions of cases and other materials pertaining to MERS’ business model and role in U.S. housing, please visit www.mersinc.org.

To obtain a copy or copies of any of the judicial decisions above, please contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 

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MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. is a privately held corporation that owns and manages the MERS® System and all other MERS® products. It is a member-based organization made up of thousands of lenders, servicers, sub-servicers, investors and government institutions. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) serves as the mortgagee in the land records for loans registered on the MERS® System, and is a nominee (or agent) for the owner of the promissory note. The MERS® System is a national electronic database that tracks changes in mortgage servicing and beneficial ownership interests in residential mortgage loans on behalf of its members.