County seeking $38 million from MERS, big banks
Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen touted the MERS suit in his Feb. 1 State of the County speech as an example of the county’s “willingness to stand up to powerful interests.”
- Ben Jacklet[1]
- Business Journal staff writer- Portland Business Journal
- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.[2] | Twitter[3]
Multnomah County is suing a huge mortgage multinational and 18 co-defendants, including some of the biggest banks in the nation, for $38 million.
The suit focuses on the mortgage-backed securities system that wreaked such havoc in the economy in 2008.
The property records system that enabled the rapid, complex transactions involving these bundled mortgages was the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, or MERS.
The county is arguing that MERS devastated the public property records system while helping clients to sidestep required transaction fees. It is suing MERS and 18 co-defendants for negligence, unjust enrichment and fraudulent misrepresentation.
The co-defendants include Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, CitiMortgage, HSBC, Wells Fargo and Oregon banks Bank of the Cascades, Lewis and Clark Bank and West Coast Bank.
The complaint alleges that the flood of property deals fraudulently listing MERS as the lender left the county’s 80-year-old public record “riddled with false, inaccurate and incomplete records.”
The county is also seeking three-fold repayment of multiple $30 transaction fees avoided through the use of MERS.
Representing the county is the Lake Oswego-based D’Amore Law Group, which has agreed to take a percentage of the amount awarded rather than charge public money for its services.
MERS, which is facing numerous law suits nationally including a matter before the Oregon Supreme Court, has a policy of not commenting on litigation.
Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen touted the MERS suit in his Feb. 1 State of the County speech as an example of the county’s “willingness to stand up to powerful interests.”
References
- ^ Ben Jacklet (feeds.bizjournals.com)
- ^ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (feeds.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Twitter (twitter.com)