A Rhode Island Superior Court judge has granted MERSCorp’s and the other defendants in a wrongful foreclosure action a summary judgment dismissing the case.
Justice Allen P. Rubine wrote in his decision in the case Van Hoecke v. First Franklin Financial Corporation, that “a review of the record in this case reveals no genuine issue of material fact for trial and that defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
In the decision, the judge said that someone stated to the notary public at the closing table that they were an employee of MERS and they were authorized to execute the assignment on behalf of MERS. “This assignment conforms to the statutory form of assignments of a mortgage interest” and should be considered valid, the ruling noted.
Rubine has issued similar rulings in other cases, MERSCorp said. "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."
Other states have held differently regarding MERS’ authority.
Last summer, an
