MERS Wins Rhode Island Recording Fee Suit

""Merscorp Holdings, Inc."":http://www.mersinc.org/ announced it received another favorable ruling in a recording fee suit.

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The town of Johnston in Rhode Island brought suit against Merscorp, Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS), and other defendants, which included large banks and servicers, alleging the MERS system used for mortgages and mortgage assignments violated state law.

In _Town of Johnson v. MERSCORP Holdings, Inc., et al._, the town claimed Rhode Island law requires that all mortgages

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and assignments be recorded with the city or town where the land is located.

The town further alleged damages, arguing it was entitled to recording fees for each mortgage or mortgage assignment that should have been recorded.

The claim was rejected because Rhode Island law ""does not require that all mortgages and mortgage assignments be recorded,"" wrote U.S. District Judge John McConnell.

""Absent a statutory requirement to record, there are no damages, and, therefore there is no cause of action,"" he further noted.

The decision was backed by a Rhode Island Supreme Court opinion in _Bucci v. Lehman Bros. Bank, FSB_.

""It is only when a loan is transferred to a nonmember that an assignment of the mortgage must be executed and recorded,"" McConnell clarified.

MERS has won other similar cases in other states.

""This ruling mirrors similarly dismissed recorder fee lawsuits brought by counties in North Carolina, Iowa, Florida, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky,"" said Jason Lobo, director of corporate communications at Merscorp.