In a late-March ruling in Adamson v. MERS (pdf), a Suffolk County Superior Court judge refused to enjoin MERS’s transfer of a foreclosed property to the purchaser at the foreclosure sale. The defaulting borrower’s main argument for an injunction was that MERS – which the mortgage identified as the mortgagee – didn’t have authority to foreclose because it was acting solely as the lender’s nominee. The judge rejected that argument, noting that, although MERS’s rights as a nominee are limited in scope, the mortgage expressly granted MERS the right to foreclose and sell the property. On this point, the judge cited with approval the Land Court’s recent decision in Lyons v. MERS (pdf) (see related commentary here). The judge also rejected the borrower’s argument that MERS couldn’t foreclose because it didn’t hold the note. MERS and the other defendants (the lender, pool trustee, and servicer) have now moved to dismiss the case.
