Maryland Governor Signs Power of Sale Law

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has signed a new law establishing that a power of sale is valid in existing and future deeds of trust originally granted to a corporate[IMAGE]

trustee. A power of sale clause is sometimes included in a mortgage contract or deed of trust that grants the lender the right to sell the property upon certain default without court approval.

Jeffrey Fisher, a principal of ""The Fisher Law Group, PLLC"":http://www.first-legal.com based in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, helped put the law change into play.

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According to a statement from the firm, courts in several Maryland counties have been ruling that there is no valid power of sale in a deed of trust originally granted to a corporate trustee and that this defect cannot be cured by substituting a natural person as trustee.

The law does require that the power of sale be exercised only by a natural person. It also preserves the deed of trust when, by inadvertence, no trustee is named in the deed of trust. The power of sale law becomes effective on June 1, 2010.

Fisher was the original proponent of a legislative response to the earlier court decisions invalidating a power of sale. In collaboration with Jacob Geesing, Esq. of Bierman, Geesing, Ward & Wood, LLC, Fisher prepared an original draft bill and obtained a sponsor in the Maryland House of Delegates. A coalition including the foreclosure bar, the Maryland Land Title Association, and the Maryland Bankers Association provided continuing support for the passage of the bill.

Fisher said, ""While we did not feel the judges were correct, it was a very technical issue. However, we thought we had established credibility with the legislature and could quickly resolve the matter legislatively.""