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PROPERTY: INNOVATIONS TO HISTORIC LEGAL TRADITIONS―JACKSON V. MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. Christian J. Hansen† I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 356 II. HISTORY ................................................................................. 358 A. The Current Mortgage Crisis.............................................. 358 B. A Brief History of Foreclosures ............................................ 361 C. Development of the Electronic Registration Concept .............. 363 D. A Glitch in the System........................................................ 367 III. SUMMARY OF THE CASE .......................................................... 372 A. Background ...................................................................... 372 B. District Court .................................................................... 375 C. Minnesota Supreme Court—the Majority Decision .............. 376 D. The Dissent ....................................................................... 378 IV. ARGUMENT ............................................................................. 378 A. What About the MERS Statute? ......................................... 378 B. Hiding Behind an Opaque Corporate Wall ......................... 380 C. Tax Evasion or Efficient Business? .................................... 383 D. The Implications of Ruling Against MERS......................... 385 V. CONCLUSION ......................................................................... 389 † J.D. Candidate 2012, William Mitchell College of Law; "Winged" Naval Aviator, Naval Aviation Schools Command, February 2001; B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, December 1998. The author would like to give special thanks to his beautiful wife and daughter, Hyun Young and Alexandria, for their love and support. 355 356 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 I. INTRODUCTION The United States is now recovering from the most severe 1 economic meltdown since the Great Depression. This meltdown was caused by the record number of defaults on mortgage loans 2 and the foreclosures that followed; the catalyst being the financial risks taken by the mortgage industry to capitalize on the rapid 3 increase in property values experienced earlier this decade. Eventually, the risks became too great and borrowers began 4 defaulting. Property values quickly decreased, and with the 5 decrease came an even bigger wave of foreclosures. In the movie It's a Wonderful Life, George Bailey stopped a run on the Bailey Brothers Building & Loan Association by offering his explanation of mortgage finance: You're thinking of this place all wrong. As if I had the money back in a safe. The money's not here . . . your money is in Joe's house, right next to yours . . . and in the Kennedy house, and Mrs. Macklin's house, and a hundred others. Why, you're lending them the money to build, 6 and they're going to pay it back to you as best they can. Although most people are unaware, nearly everyone who maintains a savings account is also in the business of lending money to the 7 mortgage industry. With that said, we've come a long way since 1. See A. Mechele Dickerson, Over-Indebtedness, The Subprime Mortgage Crisis, and the Effect on U.S. Cities, 36 FORDHAM URB. L.J. 395, 396 (2009) (noting that, in 2009, the United States was "in the midst of a severe economic meltdown" with government bailout efforts surpassed only by the Great Depression). 2. See id. at 396, 413; Kenneth R. Harvey, The Lowdown on Low-Doc Loans, WASH. POST, Nov. 25, 2006, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112400503.html (noting the significant risk lenders were undertaking by issuing more high-interest low-documentation and no-documentation home loans). 3. Dickerson, supra note 1, at 396. Once home prices start to rise, the market builds the expectation that the increase is the norm and this expectation, in turn, increases the demand for houses. Id. See, e.g., Harvey, supra note 2. 4. See Adam J. Levitin, The Crisis Without a Face: Emerging Narratives of the Financial Crisis, 63 U. MIAMI L. REV. 999, 1009–10 (2009). 5. Dickerson, supra note 1, at 414; Steven Gjerstad & Vernon L. Smith, From Bubble to Depression?, WALL ST. J., Apr. 6, 2009, at A15, available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123897612802791281.html. 6. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (Liberty Films 1946) (quoting James Stewart's character, George Bailey). 7. See Lee Ann Obringer, How Banks Work, HOWSTUFFWORKS, http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/banking/bank4.htm (last visited Oct. 23, 2010). 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 357 8 the days of George Bailey. To keep pace with the demands of modern banking, over the years the mortgage industry has made a number of business innovations, including some significant 9 changes to the land records. This has allowed a mortgage debt to be purchased from loan originators, like the Bailey Brothers Building & Loan, and sold to large investment firms where each mortgage may be bundled together with hundreds of other 10 mortgages and resold in fractionalized shares to private investors. In George Bailey's era, each time a mortgage was sold to another bank or financial institution, the new owner would record a 11 mortgage assignment in the county land records. Today, because of the complexity of the transfers, many of 12 these assignments are now recorded electronically. Looking at the security instrument in the county recorder's office, you are likely to find the name "Mortgage Electronic Recordation Systems" listed as the mortgagee of record—a stand-in for the real owner of 13 the debt. Although this innovative business technique has saved 14 millions of dollars since its inception, it also represents a 15 departure from the long-standing traditions of property law. This departure was the focal point in Jackson v. Mortgage 16 Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., where the Minnesota Supreme 17 Court interpreted the foreclosure by advertisement statutes. The 8. See Edward Rothstein, What Would George Bailey Do?, N.Y. TIMES, Nov. 4, 2008, at C1, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/arts/television /04conn.html. 9. See Phyllis K. Slesinger & Daniel McLaughlin, Mortgage Electronic Registration System, 31 IDAHO L. REV. 805, 812 (1995). 10. See R. K. Arnold, Yes, There is Life on MERS, 11 PROB. & PROP., July/Aug. 1997, at 32, 34. 11. See Slesinger & McLaughlin, supra note 9, at 810–11. 12. Steve Cocheo, Moving From Paper to Blips, 88 A.B.A. BANKING J., January 1996, at 48, 48 (1996). 13. Steve Brandt, Lawsuit Seeks to Block Some Foreclosures, STAR TRIB. (Minneapolis), Jan. 26, 2008, available at http://www.startribune.com/local/west /14444016.html (noting that in Hennepin County, MERS is listed as the mortgagee of record on at least half of all new mortgage filings). 14. See Slesinger & McLaughlin, supra note 9, at 812–13; Arnold, supra note 10, at 35. 15. See GRANT S. NELSON & DALE A. WHITMAN, REAL ESTATE FINANCE LAW § 5.27 (5th ed. 2007); MERSCORP, Inc. v. Romaine, 861 N.E.2d 81, 86 (N.Y. 2006) (Kaye, C.J., dissenting in part). 16. 770 N.W.2d 487 (Minn. 2009). 17. The foreclosure by advertisement statutes interpreted by the court in Jackson are essentially unchanged from the versions enacted over 160 years ago. Id. at 494 ("The requirements of the statutes have changed very little over the past 160 years."). 358 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 court found that although electronic recordation may not have been contemplated when common law principles were established, 18 this innovation is in accord with the plain language of the statutes. Had the court reached the opposite conclusion, the borrowers in default may have benefited from the delay, but such a decision 19 would have come at a high price to the public. This note first examines a brief history of the mortgage 20 industry and foreclosures in Minnesota. It then details the 21 supreme court's holding in Jackson, followed by an analysis of that 22 decision. Finally, this note concludes that the court's determination that the defendant's innovation complies with the long-standing traditions in Minnesota property law is a sound 23 approach that favors the public's best interest. II. HISTORY A. The Current Mortgage Crisis In the early part of this decade, the United States experienced 24 an unprecedented appreciation in property values. On average, between 1997 and 2005, national home values increased by over 25 fifty-five percent. However, these gains were not evenly 26 distributed and resulted in unaffordable housing for many buyers. 18. Id. at 500–501. 19. See infra notes 233–38 and accompanying text. 20. See infra Part II. 21. See infra Part III. 22. See infra Part IV. 23. See infra Part V. 24. Dickerson, supra note 1, at 399. 25. ALLEN J. FISHBEIN & PATRICK WOODALL, EXOTIC OR TOXIC? AN EXAMINATION OF THE NON-TRADITIONAL MORTGAGE MARKET FOR CONSUMERS AND LENDERS, CONSUMER FED'N AM., 28 (2006), available at http://www.consumerfed.org /elements/www.consumerfed.org/file/housing/Exotic_Toxic_Mortgage_Report0 506.pdf. Further, "[i]n 2005, the number of home sales hit a fifth consecutive record year and home price appreciation was steady across the country, with many metropolitan areas having annual price increases above 10 percent." Id. at 28. See also S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for Seasonally Adjusted U.S. National Values, STANDARD & POOR'S (Aug. 30, 2010), http://www.standardandpoors.com /indices/sp-case-shiller-home-price-indices/en/us/?indexId=spusa-cashpidff--p-us (follow the hyperlink at the "U.S. Home Price Values/Seasonally Adjusted" intersection). The index shows an increase in home values on par with inflation until 1998 when, over the course of a year, values began to grow rapidly reaching a value increase of over fifteen percent by 2005. Id. By early 2006, values had peaked and rapidly plummeted in the following quarters. Id. 26. Dickerson, supra note 1, at 400. Specifically, this included many first-time 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 359 Mortgage companies responded by offering nontraditional loans to 27 make housing more affordable. As a result, many consumers 28 believed they could afford previously unaffordable property. The extended duration of the housing boom further fueled 29 the consumption of home buyers. With the expectation that value increase was the norm, many borrowers began to view their home as an investment, borrowing recklessly based on a plan to refinance 30 when their monthly payments increased. Many renters were desperate to realize their own "American Dream of 31 Homeownership"; and many of those who already owned homes were in a frenzy to either upgrade to a larger, more luxurious 32 33 "McMansion" or buy a second home as an investment property. To capitalize on this opportunity, lenders further ignored the risks by substantially relaxing payment requirements and using 34 minimal standards to verify income and assets. Compounding the financial risk was the fact that many consumers already had buyers who had been renting during the boom and entirely missed the rapid increase in property values that homeowners experienced. See generally id. at 400 ("[H]ousing price appreciation ultimately created a significant unaffordability problem for renters who wanted to purchase homes."). 27. FISHBEIN & WOODALL, supra note 25, at 1 ("[L]enders offered essentially two mortgage products: fully amortizing, fixed rate and adjustable rate mortgages."). 28. See Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp., Mortgages: More Choices, New Risk for Borrowers, FDIC CONSUMER NEWS, Summer 2005, at 2, 2 http://www.fdic.gov/consumers /consumer/news/cnsum05/summer_05_bw.pdf ("[M]any new loan products are being widely offered that could benefit some people but be huge mistakes for others."). 29. Dickerson, supra note 1, at 400. 30. See Larry Rohter & Edmund L. Andrews, McCain Rejects Broad U.S. Aid on Mortgages, N.Y. TIMES, Mar. 26, 2008, available at http://www.nytimes.com /2008/03/26/us/politics/26mortgage.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2 (quoting Senator McCain stating that "[s]ome Americans bought homes they couldn't afford, betting that rising prices would make it easier to refinance later at more affordable rates") 31. Dickerson, supra note 1, at 408. 32. See Christopher Solomon, The Swelling McMansion Backlash, MSN REAL EST., http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=13107733 ("The average American home swelled from 983 square feet in 1950 to 2,349 square feet in 2004—a 140% increase in size."). 33. See Nicole Gelinas, Sheltering Speculation, CITY J., Oct. 29, 2008, http://www.city-journal.org/2008/eon1029ng.html. During 2006, twenty-two percent of homes were purchased for investment purposes. Les Christie, Homes: Big Drop in Speculation, CNN MONEY, Apr. 30, 2007, http://money.cnn.com/2007 /04/30/real_estate/speculators_fleeing_housing_markets/index.htm. 34. See Harvey, supra note 2. Lenders partly protected themselves from increased risk by charging consumers higher interest rates. Id. 360 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 significant consumer debt with minimal savings set aside as an 35 emergency fund. Worst of all, shady lenders took advantage of the housing frenzy and began promoting a variety of predatory 36 lending schemes. Eventually, the risks became too great and borrowers began 37 defaulting. As the number of foreclosed homes started to rise, property values quickly dropped, reducing or eliminating the home 38 equity many borrowers required in their plan to refinance. Further complicated by lenders no longer willing to take the same 39 risks they had during the housing boom, coupled with the aforementioned lack of consumer savings, 2008 foreclosure rates in 40 the United States hit record levels. The financial losses quickly spread to the rest of the economy and eventually morphed into a 41 national financial crisis. 35. See Dickerson, supra note 1, at 410 ("[C]onsumer debt has grown exponentially since 1976."); Kelly Evans, Hard-Hit Families Finally Start Saving, Aggravating Nation's Economic Woes, WALL ST. J., Jan. 6, 2009, at A1, available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123120525879656021.html (stating that during the last decade many Americans had a negative savings rate—spending more than they earned—and that economists now expect the savings rate to rebound to three percent to five percent or higher). 36. See Kathleen C. Engel & Patricia A. McCoy, Turning a Blind Eye: Wall Street Finance of Predatory Lending, 75 FORDHAM L. REV. 2039, 2043–44 (2007) (defining predatory lending as "a syndrome of loan abuses that benefit mortgage brokers, lenders, and securitizers to the serious detriment of borrowers"). In states with weak anti-predatory lending laws, the screening process is often "minimal or nonexistent." Id. at 2041. 37. For a discussion of some of the risks taken by national banks, see Levitin, supra note 4, at 1009. 38. See Dickerson, supra note 1, at 413; FISHBEIN & WOODALL, supra note 25, at 9–12. 39. See generally Dickerson, supra note 1, at 414 (indicating that it became harder to refinance or borrow once home values began to drop). 40. Id. at 412. By 2008, nearly one in ten mortgages was either past due or in foreclosure. Id. 41. See id. at 415–16 (noting that the housing crisis had a "catastrophic effect" on the entire financial industry). President Franklin D. Roosevelt viewed the housing market as the "wheel within the wheel to move the whole economic engine." Matthew D. Ekins, Large-Scale Disasters Attacking the American Dream: How to Protect and Empower Homeowners and Lenders, 30 W. NEW ENG. L. REV. 351, 366 (2008). See also Gjerstad & Smith, supra note 5, at A15 ("[A] financial crisis that originates in consumer debt, especially consumer debt concentrated at the low end of the wealth and income distribution, can be transmitted quickly and forcefully into the financial system."). 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 361 B. A Brief History of Foreclosures The common law principles applicable to mortgages 42 developed in England in the fourteenth century. Initially, the mortgagor was treated especially harshly. For example, if a mortgagor failed to make a required payment on its due date, the property often reverted to the mortgagee, causing the mortgagor to 43 lose all equity in the property. This is known as strict foreclosure 44 and is almost never used today. To prevent inequitable results, 45 most modern foreclosures involve a public sale of the property. These sales may be initiated by either judicial or nonjudicial 46 foreclosure in accordance with a state-specific statute. A judicial foreclosure may be initiated in virtually every state and in twenty- 47 two states is the only method. Minnesota is among the twenty- 48 eight states that also allow nonjudicial foreclosure. Although either judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings are allowed in Minnesota, nonjudicial foreclosure, normally called foreclosure by advertisement, is the preferred 49 method. Foreclosure by advertisement is a process by which, 42. WILLIAM F. WALSH, A TREATISE ON MORTGAGES §§ 2–3 (1934). 43. See JESSE DUKEMINIER ET AL., PROPERTY 544 (6th ed. 2006). 44. Id.; see also Gregory R. Henrikson, Perfecting Oregon's Land Sale Contract: Beyond Notice and Cure, 76 OR. L. REV. 945, 961 (1997) ("Nationally, strict foreclosure was already rare by 1929."). 45. DUKEMINIER, supra note 43, at 544. Strict foreclosure is now prohibited in all states except Illinois, Vermont, and Connecticut, and only then under certain limited circumstances. GRANT S. NELSON & DALE A. WHITMAN, REAL ESTATE TRANSFER, FINANCE, AND DEVELOPMENT 584 (7th ed. 2006); Debra Pogrund Stark, Facing The Facts: An Empirical Study of the Fairness and Efficiency of Foreclosures and a Proposal for Reform, 30 U. MICH. J.L. REFORM 639, 647 (1997). 46. Stark, supra note 45, at 643. 47. Plaintiffs' Brief at 12 n.6, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487 (Minn. 2009) (No. A08-397) [hereinafter Plaintiffs' Brief]. 48. Id. Minnesota Statutes section 580.01 also specifies that nonjudicial foreclosure is only authorized when the mortgage contains a "power of sale" provision. See also Backus v. Burke, 48 Minn. 260, 267, 51 N.W. 284, 285 (1892) ("The authority conferred upon a mortgagee to foreclose a mortgage by advertisement is that found in the power of sale, as that power appears in the instrument itself . . . ."). 49. See Soufal v. Griffith, 159 Minn. 252, 256, 198 N.W. 807, 809 (1924) (noting that foreclosure by advertisement was "devised to avoid the delay and expense of judicial proceedings") (internal quotations omitted). Amber Hawkins also stated the following: Judicial foreclosure is expensive and time consuming for the lenders because they have to file a lawsuit and get a court order allowing them to take the property, which is why the lenders almost always choose to foreclose by advertisement. However, one benefit of judicial foreclosure 362 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 "according to the mortgage instrument and a state statute, the mortgaged property is sold at a nonjudicial public sale by a public official . . . without the stringent notice requirements, procedural 50 burdens, or delays of a judicial foreclosure." The original Minnesota foreclosure by advertisement statutes were enacted in 51 1849, the same year Minnesota was established as a territory. Comparing these statutes with the modern statutes reveals that very 52 little has changed over the past 160 years. To be in compliance with the foreclosure by advertisement statute, the following are required: (1) the mortgagor must first have defaulted on his payment (or have satisfied another condition giving the mortgagee the power to sell); (2) there must not be any pending judicial proceeding concerning the mortgage; and (3) the mortgage, and all assignments thereof, must have been recorded in 53 the county recorder's office. Additionally, a notice of foreclosure must be served upon the occupant of the premises and published in the newspaper for at least six consecutive weeks prior to the 54 sheriff's sale. All foreclosure sales must be conducted by the county sheriff or the sheriff's deputy, who will issue a "Sheriff's Certificate of Sale," which must be recorded by the purchaser 55 within twenty days of the sale. After the sale, the mortgagor who was foreclosed on is granted a statutory period in which he may pay is that it provides a forum where the borrower can ask questions, request information about their loan, and assert any defenses they may have to the foreclosure. Interview with Amber Hawkins, Staff Att'y, Legal Aid Soc'y of Minneapolis, in Minneapolis, Minn. (July 21, 2010). See also Plaintiffs' Brief, supra note 47, at 12 (stating that foreclosure by advertisement deprives the homeowner of a judicial forum to raise Truth in Lending Act (TILA) defenses, or to challenge the process in which their home is being foreclosed). 50. BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 719 (9th ed. 2009). 51. See Act of Mar. 3, 1849, ch. 63, §§ 41, 42, 1849 Minn. Laws 139–40. 52. Compare id., with MINN. STAT. §§ 580.02, .04 (2008). 53. MINN. STAT § 580.02. 54. Id. §§ 580.03–.04. Furthermore, because foreclosure by advertisement is a statutory creation, failure to strictly comply with the statutory requirements renders the foreclosure void. Moore v. Carlson, 112 Minn. 433, 434, 128 N.W. 578, 579 (1910). 55. MINN. STAT. §§ 580.06, .12. One criticism of the foreclosure process is that when the lender purchases the foreclosed home they can obtain an unfair double recovery by bidding less than the debt due and then reselling the property within one year for more than they bid. Stark, supra note 45, at 665. However, one empirical study during the last decade shows that this inequity occurs only two percent of the time. Id. In reality, lenders rarely make any true profit upon resale, and in most cases suffer a loss. Id. at 664–68. 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 363 56 off the amount necessary to redeem the property. Typically this period is six months from the date of sale; but it may be up to a year in situations where a longer period is needed for agricultural reasons or the mortgagor has satisfied more than one-third of the 57 original principle balance. The mortgagor may tender the amount due for redemption to either the foreclosure purchaser or 58 the sheriff on behalf of the foreclosure purchaser. If the mortgagor does not tender the amount due within the statutory redemption period, the Sheriff's Certificate of Sale acts as a 59 conveyance of the property to the foreclosure purchaser. C. Development of the Electronic Registration Concept After generating a loan, the originating lender often sells the loan on the secondary market to government-sponsored entities such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or 60 the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Alternatively, the originator may assign the loan to an affiliated 61 trust or sell the loan to a loan aggregator or wholesale lender. After being sold or assigned, the individual loan is often pooled 62 together with hundreds of other loans. If purchased by an entity such as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, they are issued as publicly 63 traded stock, which is then purchased by third-party investors. 56. MINN. STAT. § 580.23. 57. Id. When it is established that the property has been abandoned, the redemption period may be reduced to five weeks. Id. § 582.032. 58. Id. § 580.24. 59. Id. § 580.12. 60. Hashop v. Fed. Home Loan Mortg. Corp., 171 F.R.D. 208, 210 (N.D. Ill. 1997). The primary market is where the originating financial institution creates the mortgage loan to the borrower. Id. Often this is done via a third-party salesperson known as a mortgage broker. Mortgage brokers are typically paid a fee of between one and three percent of the loan value. James R. Hagerty, Mortgage Brokers: Friends or Foes?, WALL ST. J., May 30, 2007, available at http://finance.yahoo.com/loans/article/103075/mortage–brokers-friends-or-foes. 61. Engel & McCoy, supra note 36, at 2045; Christopher L. Peterson, Predatory Structured Finance, 28 CARDOZO L. REV. 2185, 2209–10 (2007). 62. Hashop, 171 F.R.D. at 210; Peterson, supra note 61, at 2209. 63. See About Fannie Mae, FANNIE MAE, http://www.fanniemae.com/kb/index ?page=home&c=aboutus (last visited Sept. 17, 2010); see also Our Business, FREDDIE MAC, http://www.freddiemac.com/corporate/company_profile/our_business/ (last visited Sept. 17, 2010) (stating how the process of securitization works). 364 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 If held in an affiliated trust or sold to an intermediary party, the mortgage pool is typically sold to a Wall Street investment firm 64 known as an "issuer/depositor." The issuer/depositor then assigns the mortgage pool to a trust, and the trust issues mortgage- backed bond certificates to third-party investors with beneficiary 65 interests in the trust. The trust (which technically still owns the loans) guarantees the third-party investors the return of the loan principle plus a portion of the interest payments over the life of 66 67 each loan. The issuer/depositor and the loan servicer also 68 receive a portion of the interest payments. Over the life of a mortgage, it is common for the loan to be bought and sold several 69 times. This type of financing is essential to the American mortgage industry in order to free the capital necessary for the 70 continuing creation of additional loans. Traditionally, each time a mortgage was sold, the security 71 instrument would be recorded in the public land records. However, as the secondary mortgage industry became an increasingly common player, the recordation requirements created 72 a rising tide of paper that began to stifle loan productivity. Loans 64. Plaintiffs' Brief, supra note 47, at 5. 65. Id. at 6; accord Hashop, 171 F.R.D. at 210. Government-sponsored entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also issue mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage-Backed Securities, U.S. SEC. & EXCHANGE COMMISSION, http://www.sec.gov /answers/mortgagesecurities.htm (last modified July 23, 2010). 66. Hashop, 171 F.R.D. at 210. 67. A loan servicer is a company that secondary market purchasers hire "to handle payment processing, tax and insurance escrows, foreclosure and other matters related to the loan or the property." Arnold, supra note 10, at 34. In many cases, the servicer is the loan originator. Id. (noting that a servicing contract does not represent an interest in the land and thus does not appear in the public land records). 68. Hashop, 171 F.R.D. at 210. 69. Affidavit of William C. Hultman ¶ 9, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 08-305, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10798 (D. Minn. Feb. 13, 2009) [hereinafter Affidavit of Hultman] (Hultman is the Senior Vice President of MERSCORP, discussed below). A mortgage note by itself (as opposed to the combination of a mortgage note and a security instrument) is a negotiable instrument under U.C.C. section 3-203. Arnold, supra note 10, at 34. 70. See Arnold, supra note 10, at 34 ("Home ownership in most other countries is far less attainable, largely because financing is not as readily available."). 71. See Slesinger & McLaughlin, supra note 9, at 810–11. 72. See id. at 811; see also Arnold, supra note 10, at 34 ("[T]he sheer volume of transfers between servicing companies and the resulting need to record assignments caused a heavy drag on the secondary market. The burden affected lenders, title companies, consumers and even local recorders."). 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 365 often were traded several times before the first assignment was recorded, leaving the public land records out of date and "clogged 73 with unnecessary assignments." Many times these assignments 74 were recorded in the wrong sequence, creating title problems. 75 In an effort to "streamline the lending process," the Mortgage 76 Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERSCORP) was created. 77 MERSCORP is a "nonstock corporation" currently managed by 78 twenty-six shareholding financial institutions that are also its users. With the cooperation of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America and several leading mortgage banking firms, including several government agencies, MERSCORP developed a secure computer database to electronically track mortgage assignments for 79 the secondary mortgage industry. This database is known as the 80 MERS System. The MERS System is modeled after the Depository Trust Corporation (DTC), which has enabled securities markets to eliminate paper stock certificates to record the transfer of stocks, 81 bonds, and other securities since the 1970s. Similarly, the 73. Arnold, supra note 10, at 34. 74. Id. (stating that error rates as high as thirty-three percent were common). See, e.g., Cocheo, supra note 12, at 48 (noting that prior to the MERS System, discussed below, the process of recording multiple assignments added up to a "massive paperwork challenge" such that, by one industry estimate, "it can cost as much as $250,000 to clean up assignment problems relating to a single block of 2,500 loans"). 75. This phrase is used by Carson Mullen. See Carson Mullen, MERS: Tracking Loans Electronically, ALLBUSINESS (May 1, 2000), http://www.allbusiness.com /finance/3594162-1.html. 76. See Arnold, supra note 10, at 33; see also MERS's Brief and Addendum at 3, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487 (Minn. 2009) (No. A08-397) [hereinafter MERS's Brief] (stating that the severe title problems created during the savings and loan crisis were one of the main catalysts for the creation of MERS). MERS was conceived in 1993 and incorporated in 1995, becoming fully operational in 1997. See Arnold, supra note 10, at 33. 77. Arnold, supra note 10Error! Bookmark not defined., at 33. 78. Brandt, supra note 13. MERSCORP is registered in Delaware and headquartered in Virginia. Peterson, supra note 61, at 2211. 79. Arnold, supra note 10, at 33; Peterson, supra note 61, at 2211. 80. Affidavit of Hultman, supra note 69, ¶ 2. MERS members, including some 3100 mortgage lenders and secondary market investors, pay the membership dues necessary to maintain this database. See id.; Peterson, supra note 61, at 2211; see also Arnold, supra note 10, at 34 ("[A]nnual membership fees currently range from $500 to $7,500, depending on a member's size and types of business."). 81. Arnold, supra note 10, at 35 ("[The DTC] revolutionized the way securities are traded."); see also Mullen, supra note 75 ("The Depository Trust Corporation (DTC), of New York City, provided a good model."). 366 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 creation of the MERS System reduces paper recording in the 82 mortgage industry, greatly simplifying property chains of title. The concept works by MERS acting as the "nominal mortgagee of record" for the MERS member/lender or secondary mortgage 83 investor who actually owns the debt. In other words, MERS doesn't own the debt obligation, but it keeps track of who does. All the while, MERS is listed in the public land records as the party holding the security interest in the property, but only as a stand-in 84 for the true owner of the debt. MERS becomes the nominal mortgagee of record in one of two ways: (1) the borrower and lender designate MERS as the nominal mortgagee of record at the time the mortgage loan is originated, or (2) the mortgagee of record for an existing loan 85 subsequently assigns the record to MERS. Ideally, MERS then 86 remains mortgagee of record throughout the life of the loan. When loans are transferred, an assignment of the promissory note is executed electronically within the MERS System, but the security instrument remains registered with MERS in the county recorder's 87 office. Considering that there are no means available to publicly record assignments of the promissory notes alone, the MERS 88 System technically supplements the public land recording system. As an additional benefit to vastly improving the accuracy of land records, the MERS System also significantly reduces the transaction 82. Arnold, supra note 10, at 35; see also id. at 33 ("Some have called MERS the most significant event for the mortgage industry since the formation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."). 83. See Peterson, supra note 61, at 2211; see also Slesinger & McLaughlin, supra note 9, at 806–7) ("Consistent with mortgage participations where a lead participant holds legal title on behalf of the other participants, and with secondary market transactions where mortgage servicers hold legal title on behalf of their investors, MERS will serve as mortgagee of record in a nominee capacity only."). This eliminates the need to record each assignment of the promissory note. Slesinger & McLaughlin, supra note 9, at 806–7. 84. See Brandt, supra note 13. 85. Affidavit of Hultman, supra note 69, ¶ 5. 86. Arnold, supra note 10, at 34. 87. Id. However, when changing loan servicers, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) requires both the old and new servicer to notify the homeowner in writing when loan servicing is traded. 12 U.S.C. § 2605 (2006). These notifications are commonly called "hello/goodbye letters." Arnold, supra note 10, at 34. 88. See MERS's Brief, supra note 76, at 9 ("MERS thus fills an information void that the county recorders and registrars of title cannot provide—the identity of the servicer of the mortgage loan, which is not required to be recorded in Minnesota."). 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 367 costs and filing fees that had previously been associated with preparing and recording the security interest in the public land 89 records each time the loan was sold. Since its inception, MERS has grown substantially. MERS now operates in all fifty states and the District of Columbia, and is regularly accepted as nominal mortgagee of record by over 3000 county clerks and county recorders throughout the United States, 90 including all eighty-seven counties in Minnesota. Over the course 91 of the last decade, MERS registration has grown very rapidly. MERS is the current mortgagee on approximately sixty million 92 mortgage loans, which represents roughly sixty percent of all 93 newly originated mortgages nationwide. In Hennepin County, MERS is listed as the mortgagee of record "on at least half of all 94 new mortgage filings." D. A Glitch in the System Although the MERS System was specifically "designed to operate within the existing legal framework in all U.S. jurisdictions," defending the MERS concept has been a continuous 95 uphill battle. The problem is that mortgage documentation in America is bifurcated into the promissory note and security 89. Joint Brief of Am. Land Title Ass'n et. al. as Amici Curiae for Defendant at 4–5, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487 (Minn. 2009) (No. 08-305) [hereinafter Amici for MERS]. 90. Affidavit of Hultman, supra note 69, ¶ 32; see also MERSCORP, Inc. v. Romaine, 861 N.E.2d 81, 85 (N.Y. 2006) (affirming a ministerial duty ordering the county clerk to record and index instruments in which MERS is mortgagee of record). 91. See Peterson, supra note 61, at 2211 n.161 (stating that in 2001, the total number of loan registrations within the MERS System was less than just five percent of all loans nationwide; and in the following years, MERS experienced growth rates of nearly two-hundred percent). The MERSCORP Website touts "[o]ur mission is to register every mortgage loan in the United States on the MERS® System." About MERS, MERS, http://www.mersinc.org/about/index.aspx (last visited Aug. 2, 2010). 92. Mike McIntire, Tracking Loans Through a Firm That Holds Millions, N.Y TIMES, Apr. 23, 2009, at B1, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24 /business/24mers.html?_r=1&ref=mortgage_electronic_registration_systems_inc. 93. Karmela Lejarde, SunTrust Becomes Third Major Mortgage Provider in Recent Months to Require MERS® System, MERS (Mar. 18, 2010), http://www.mersinc.org /newsroom/press_details.aspx?id=235; see also Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487, 491–92 (Minn. 2009). 94. Brandt, supra note 13 (paraphrasing comment by Mike Cunniff, the Hennepin County Recorder and Registrar of Titles). 95. Arnold, supra note 10, at 35. 368 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 96 97 instrument. Historically, these two parts could not be separated. The MERS concept is based on two ideas: (1) every state permits a nominee to hold legal title in the public land records for 98 another person, and (2) the "mortgage follows the note." Consequently, the rights to the security interest in the land will 99 naturally follow each time a debt is assigned. However, quite possibly, using these two notions in conjunction was never 100 contemplated. A leading treatise on mortgage law states the following: [S]ecurity is worthless in the hands of anyone except a person who has the right to enforce the obligation; it cannot be foreclosed or otherwise enforced. . . . [Separating the security interest from the debt] will leave one person with an unsecured debt and the other with a 101 security instrument that cannot be enforced. Thus, the modern day concept of the MERS System detracts from the authority of the common law rule. Minnesota real estate professionals foresaw this derogation as a potential roadblock to real estate transactions and banded together 102 to find a common solution. The solution came in the form of 96. Dale A. Whitman, Chinese Mortgage Law: An American Perspective, 15 COLUM. J. ASIAN L. 35, 62 (2001) (noting that bifurcation derives from historic English traditions). 97. Affidavit of Ann Burkhart ¶ 3, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487 (Minn. 2009) (No. 08-305) [hereinafter Affidavit of Burkhart]. 98. Arnold, supra note 10, at 34–35. 99. Id. at 34. 100. See Brandt, supra note 13. MERS represents "an off-record system which the statute didn't contemplate." Id. (quoting Rick Little, the former Deputy Examiner of Titles for Hennepin County). 101. NELSON & WHITMAN, supra note 15, § 5.27; see also Affidavit of Burkhart, supra note 977 ¶ 3 (citing Nelson & Whitman in her assertion that mortgage bifurcation is a derogation to the common law). But see MERS's Brief, supra note 76, at 32 (stating that despite the common law rule that a promissory note and security interest should not be separated, "[t]here is no requirement under Minnesota law that the mortgagee of record and the beneficial owner of the mortgage loan must be the same entity . . . .") (emphasis added). 102. See MERS's Brief, supra note 76, at 13 (stating that "the real property section of the Minnesota State and County Bar Associations, the Registrar of Title for Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, and other Minnesota county recorders' offices" worked together to address the MERS title problem). See also Interview with Chuck Hoyum, Chief Underwriting Counsel, Old Republic Nat'l Title Ins. Co., in Minneapolis, Minn. (July 20, 2010) (stating also that Minnesota is blessed in that, unlike many other states, the property law community here works particularly well together). 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 369 Minnesota Statutes section 507.413, commonly referred to as the 103 "MERS statute," which was intended to officially recognize MERS 104 as a nominee of record. Specifically, the statute grants nominal mortgagees of record the authority to record assignments, 105 satisfactions, releases, and powers of attorney to foreclose. The statute applies to all instruments executed, recorded, or filed 106 before, on, or after August 1, 2004. Just two years later, the Minnesota Court of Appeals heard In re 107 Sina, where a couple sought to void the foreclosure sale 108 conducted by MERS for their home in Champlin, Minnesota. In December 2002, David and Candice Sina financed their new home with a mortgage originated by Maribella Mortgage, LLC (Maribella), and the mortgage was recorded in the Hennepin County land records with Maribella listed as the mortgagee of 109 record. Subsequently, MERS was assigned as the nominal mortgagee of record and the debt was sold on the secondary 110 market to Aurora Loan Services, Inc. (ALS). By June 2003, the 111 Sinas had become delinquent on their mortgage payments. Shortly thereafter, MERS initiated foreclosure by advertisement proceedings, which culminated in a sheriff's sale of the property in 112 November 2003. 103. Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487, 491 (Minn. 2009). 104. See Act of Apr. 6, 2004, ch. 153, § 2, 2004 Minn. Laws 76, 76–77 (codified at MINN. STAT. § 507.413 (2008)); Audio tape: Mortgage Satisfaction Certificates and Assignments or Releases, Hearing on S.F. 1621 Before S. Judiciary Comm., 83rd Legislative Session (Feb. 10, 2004) (on file at the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library) [hereinafter Hearing on S.F. 1621]; Mortgage Satisfaction Certificates and Assignments or Releases: Hearing on H.F. 1805 Before the H. Civ. Law Comm., 2003–2004 Leg., 83rd Sess. (Minn. 2004) (statement of Chuck Parsons, at 9:07; and statement of Rep. Thomas Pugh, at 13:10), audio available at http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/audio/archivescomm.asp?comm=4&ls_year=83 (follow "Listen Now" hyperlink under "Civil Law" and "Tuesday, February 3, 2004"). MERS was, however, referenced in connection with the statute. Id. 105. MINN. STAT. § 507.413. 106. Id. 107. No. A06-200, 2006 Minn. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1094 (Minn. Ct. App. Sept. 26, 2006). 108. Id. at *1–2. 109. Id. at *2. 110. Id. 111. Id. 112. Id. 370 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 Believing that MERS had not complied with the Fair Debt 113 Collection Practices Act, the Sinas brought an action in state 114 court to void the foreclosure and vacate the sale. MERS removed the case to federal court, where the court granted summary 115 judgment for MERS. The Sinas appealed to the Eighth Circuit, 116 which affirmed the district court's decision. The Sinas then amended their original complaint, again bringing the action in state court, alleging that MERS, acting as nominee for ALS, did not fulfill the foreclosure requirements necessitated by Minnesota state 117 law. On appeal, the Minnesota Court of Appeals found that MERS had standing to foreclose and met the statutory requirements of foreclosure by advertisement; affirming what each 118 of the previous courts had determined. It would seem that this case properly addressed the observed derogation, filling in with common law situations (such as foreclosure), that which was either ambiguous or omitted by the 119 MERS statute. However, the plaintiffs' expert witness in Jackson 113. See 15 U.S.C. § 1692(a)–(p) (2006). 114. In re Sina, 2006 Minn. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1094, at *7. 115. Id. 116. Sina v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., 124 F. App'x 479 (8th Cir. 2005). 117. In re Sina, at *8. 118. Id. at *5–6. The court also determined that even if MERS had violated state law, res judicata barred vacating the foreclosure sale because the Sinas' amended claim arose from the same operative facts that had been the subject of previous litigation. Id. at *7–8. 119. In re Sina was just one of many similar lawsuits that were filed across the country prior to Jackson. The majority of jurisdictions favored MERS's standing to foreclose as nominee of record, but unlike In re Sina and Jackson, many of the cases involved MERS's authority to appear in court on behalf of the MERS members, not to foreclose by advertisement. See Trent v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 288 F. App'x 571, 572 (11th Cir. 2008) (stating that MERS has standing to foreclose as nominee for lender); Morgera v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., No. 2:09-cv-1476-MCE-GGH, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2037, at *21 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 12, 2010) (stating that the majority of courts have found that MERS has standing to foreclose as the nominee of the lender); Hilmon v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 06-13055, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29578, at *8–9 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 23, 2007) (finding that MERS does not need to hold the note to foreclose and that borrower expressly gave MERS right to foreclose as nominee); In re Huggins, 357 B.R. 180, 183 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2006) (finding that MERS had authority to conduct a foreclosure by power of sale under Massachusetts law); Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc. v. Ventura, No. CV054003168S, 2006 Conn. LEXIS 1154, at *3 (Super. Ct. Apr. 20, 2006) (finding that "there is no question that [MERS] is the correct party to bring this [foreclosure] action"); Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc. v. Revoredo, 955 So. 2d 33, 34 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007) (finding that the clear majority of cases support MERS's standing to maintain mortgage foreclosure proceedings); Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc. v. Azize, 965 So. 2d 151, 153–54 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 371 noted that Sina is an unpublished decision, and is thus without 120 precedential value. She also noted that the Sinas were not 121 represented by legal counsel. Therefore, Sina only represented a temporary fix to any gaps not expressly covered by the MERS statute. Given the high rate of foreclosures in the years that followed, it was only a matter of time before MERS's ability to 122 foreclose in Minnesota was challenged again. (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007) (finding that a party seeking to foreclose need not be beneficial owner of the note); MERSCORP, Inc. v. Romaine, 861 N.E.2d 81, 84 (N.Y. 2006) (holding that the county clerk must accept the MERS assignments and discharges of mortgage for recording). But see In re Vargas, 396 B.R. 511, 516 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2008) (finding that without knowing the identity of the beneficial owner of the note, MERS lacked standing to obtain stay relief in court); Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc. v. Sw. Homes of Ark., Inc., 301 S.W.3d 1, 5 (Ark. 2009) (finding that MERS held no authority to act as an agent for foreclosure because they held no interest in the land); Landmark Nat'l Bank v. Kesler, 192 P.3d 177, 179–80 (Kan. Ct. App. 2008) (finding that MERS was not the true mortgagee but rather an agent of the true mortgagee because mortgage stated MERS was "solely" nominee); Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc. v. Neb. Dep't of Banking & Fin., 704 N.W.2d 784, 787–88 (Neb. 2005) (MERS does not acquire mortgage loans as defined under state law and, therefore, it is not subject to the requirements of the Act). 120. Affidavit of Burkhart, supra note 97, ¶ 7. See also Vlahos v. R&I Constr. of Bloomington, Inc., 676 N.W.2d 672, 676 n.3 (Minn. 2004) ("[W]e pause here to stress that unpublished opinions of the court of appeals are not precedential. The danger of miscitation is great because unpublished decisions rarely contain a full recitation of the facts. Unpublished decisions should not be cited by the district courts as binding precedent.") (citations omitted); State ex rel. Hatch v. Emp'rs Ins. of Wausau, 644 N.W.2d 820, 828 (Minn. Ct. App. 2002) ("We remind courts that our unpublished opinions are [a]t best of persuasive value and are not controlling.") (alteration in original) (citation omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted). 121. Affidavit of Burkhart, supra note 97, ¶ 7. Although the opinion indicates that David Sina represented himself pro se, In re Sina, No. A06-200, 2006 Minn. LEXIS 1094, at *1 (Ct. App. Sept. 26, 2006), David Sina possesses a J.D. degree from William Mitchell and claims to have at least thirty years of experience in construction law. See Dave Sina's Biography, FIVE STAR LEGAL SERVICES, http://sinalegalservices.com/biography.aspx (last visited Sept. 16, 2010). 122. Not long after In re Sina, foreclosure rates in the United States hit record levels. See Dickerson, supra note 1, at 396. In the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area, MERS was the mortgagee of record in approximately forty percent of all foreclosures. See Brandt, supra note 13. See also FISHBEIN & WOODALL, supra note 25, at 1 ("There has been a proliferation of new mortgage products in recent years."); Michael Grover, Fed-Led Research Reveals Need For Better Twin Cities Foreclosure Data, COMMUNITY DIVIDEND, Sept. 2006, http://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/pub_display.cfm?id=2200 ("MERS-related loan volume is growing quickly. When the researchers compared later records with the foreclosure sales records from 2002, the portion of foreclosure sale documents with MERS listed as the lender was much larger, with over one-third of the foreclosure sales in Hennepin County alone in 2005."). 372 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 III. SUMMARY OF THE CASE A. Background In the barest sense, the plaintiffs in Jackson v. Mortgage Electronic 123 Registration Systems, Inc. could be described as five individuals who collectively borrowed nearly one million dollars from various lenders and, for one reason or another, did not comply with their 124 loan obligations. However, telling each plaintiff's story not only better describes the background of this case, it also paints a clearer picture of what led America into the mess we found ourselves in just a few short years ago. Jewelean Jackson and her daughter lived in a house in North 125 Minneapolis since 1991 in what has long been regarded as a 126 rough neighborhood. Early in 2004, Jackson's home, which was 127 in severe disrepair, was condemned by the City of Minneapolis. Shortly thereafter, Jackson missed several mortgage payments and 128 the property was sold at a foreclosure sale. At the time, she owed 129 approximately $40,000 on the mortgage. Sometime after the mortgage foreclosure sale, Jackson was approached by a real estate agent-investor who offered to help her 130 keep the property. After Jackson accepted his help, the investor paid roughly $45,000 to redeem the property and arranged for the 123. Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487 (Minn. 2009). 124. See MERS's Brief, supra note 76, at 2. 125. Plaintiffs' Complaint ¶ 40, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 08-305, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10798 (D. Minn. Feb. 13, 2008) [hereinafter Complaint]; Affidavit of Jewelean Jackson in Support of Motion for Temporary Injunction ¶ 1, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 08-305, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10798 (D. Minn. Feb. 13, 2008) [hereinafter Affidavit of Jackson]. 126. See, e.g., Minneapolis Police Dep't, Fourth Precinct Other Tracked Offenses: January 6, 2008–January 12, 2009, http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crime-statistics /codefor/maps/572_Pct4_OtherC4Offenses.pdf (last visited Oct. 11, 2010) (depicting high crime activity in North Minneapolis); City Pages Staff, North Side Story: This Year the Murder Rate Has Doubled in North Minneapolis. What's Changed? Nothing, Really. That's the Trouble., CITY PAGES, Aug. 25, 2004, available at http://www.citypages.com/2004-08-25/news/north-side-story ("In June, the residential street erupted in violence. An ice-cream man was shot during a botched robbery involving just $40. Later that month, a teenager involved in gang activity was shot three times in the leg."). 127. Complaint, supra note 125, ¶ 41. 128. Id. ¶ 42. 129. Id. ¶ 41. 130. Id. ¶ 43. 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 373 131 necessary repairs to the house to lift the condemnation order. 132 Jackson moved out while the repairs were in progress. Early 2006, the investor informed Jackson that the repairs were 133 complete and that it was time to compensate him for his services. The investor arranged a meeting with a mortgage broker and guided Jackson through the loan application process, which resulted in her obligation to a thirty-year ARM with a principle 134 balance of $229,500. The initial annual interest rate began at 8.9% and after six months became adjustable to a maximum of 135 15.9%. Additionally, the amortization schedule was based on a forty-five year term; thus, after making thirty years of payments Jackson would be required to make a balloon payment of 136 approximately $160,000. For his services, the investor would have 137 received a payoff of $215,317. David Williams purchased his home in South Minneapolis, where he had lived and cared for his eighty-two-year-old uncle since 138 1989. Williams, despite only being able to read at a fourth grade 139 level, was employed and consistently paid his mortgage for twenty 140 years. However, in 2006, Williams responded to an internet 141 survey that promised him a free gift. Within hours of filling out the survey, Williams was contacted by a mortgage broker who 142 offered to refinance his existing mortgage. Williams was told the new loan would be about the same interest rate as his current loan, 143 and as an added bonus he could obtain some cash out. Needing money to make repairs on the home and pay off consumer debt, 144 Williams agreed. As a result, Williams ended up with two new 131. Id. 132. Id. 133. Id. ¶ 44. 134. Affidavit of Jackson, supra note 125, ¶¶ 2–3. 135. Complaint, supra note 125, ¶ 49. 136. Id. 137. Id. ¶¶ 43, 45 ("Many of the repairs done to the home were shoddy and unprofessional."). 138. Complaint, supra note 125, ¶¶ 86–87. 139. Affidavit of David Williams ¶ 3, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 08-305, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10798 (D. Minn. Feb. 13, 2008) [hereinafter Affidavit of Williams]. 140. Interview with Amber Hawkins, supra note 49. Hawkins was the colead attorney for the plaintiffs. 141. Id. ¶ 4. 142. See id. ¶ 4. 143. Id. ¶ 7. 144. Id. ¶ 6. 374 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 mortgages: one for $192,000 and a junior mortgage for an 145 additional $48,000. The first mortgage was a thirty-year ARM with 146 an initial annual interest rate of 8.125%. Like Jackson's loan, the payments were based on a forty-five 147 year amortization schedule. Thus, after thirty years Williams 148 would still owe a balance of over $162,000. The junior mortgage was a thirty-year fixed at the rate of 11.125%, with payments based 149 on a forty-year year amortization schedule. At the closing, Williams was presented with many documents that he could neither 150 read nor understand. These documents and the terms of the 151 mortgages were never correctly explained. Unable to keep up with the new payments, Williams's home eventually went into 152 foreclosure, and was purchased by MERS in November 2007. Brenda Doane, a single mother of two, purchased her home in 153 Richfield in 2004, where she was employed as a dental assistant. 154 Early in 2007, Doane lost her job. She searched for a new job to no avail, and within months she fell behind in her mortgage 155 payments. Eventually, her home went into foreclosure and was 156 sold to MERS in July 2007. Ethylon and William Brown purchased their home in 157 Southwest Minneapolis in 2007. Rather than selling their old home, the couple decided to keep their previous residence as an 158 investment property. However, not long after their first renters 159 moved in, they stopped paying rent. After evicting the renters, 160 the property was vacant for several months. Eventually, the 145. See Complaint, supra note 125, ¶¶ 96, 99 n.9. 146. Id. ¶ 96. 147. Id. 148. Id. 149. Id. ¶ 99 n.9. 150. Affidavit of Williams, supra note 139, ¶ 8. 151. Complaint, supra note 125, ¶ 93. 152. See id. ¶ 102. 153. Id. ¶ 70. 154. Affidavit of Brenda Doane ¶ 4, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 08-305, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10798 (D. Minn. Feb. 13, 2008). 155. Id. ¶ 4; Complaint, supra note 125, ¶ 77. 156. See Complaint, supra note 125, ¶¶ 78, 83. 157. See id. ¶ 63. 158. Interview with Amber Hawkins, supra note 49; see Affidavit of Ethylon B. Brown ¶ 5, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 08-305, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10798 (D. Minn. Feb. 13, 2008). 159. Interview with Amber Hawkins, supra note 49; see Affidavit of Brown, supra note 158, ¶ 6. 160. Interview with Amber Hawkins, supra note 49; see Affidavit of Brown, supra 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 375 couple's savings dried up and they missed several mortgage 161 payments. Shortly after, both of their properties went into foreclosure, and the Browns' new home was sold at a sheriff's sale 162 in February, 2008. Thus, each plaintiff arrived at financial troubles in different ways. However, each of their stories is shared by thousands of 163 164 others, both in Minnesota and around the country. Whether by an equity-stripping scheme, shady lending practices, unemployment, or over-reliance on a booming housing market with too little cash savings, the common element among the plaintiffs was that their mortgages were held by MERS as a nominee 165 of record. Moreover, following default, it was MERS that 166 instituted the foreclosure by advertisement proceedings. B. District Court Banding together in an effort to prevent losing their homes, the plaintiffs filed a class action suit in state court claiming that MERS violated Minnesota property law by foreclosing mortgages by advertisement without the proper recordation of all mortgage 167 assignments. Accordingly, the plaintiffs sought to restrain MERS from commencing any further nonjudicial foreclosures without first recording assignments and from evicting homeowners 168 following the redemption period on MERS-initiated foreclosures. 169 MERS responded by removing the case to federal court. Believing the likelihood of the plaintiffs' success at trial to be slight, note 158, ¶¶ 6–7. 161. Interview with Amber Hawkins, supra note 49; see Complaint, supra note 125, ¶ 64. 162. Complaint, supra note 125, ¶¶ 65–66; Affidavit of Brown, supra note 158, ¶¶ 7, 10. 163. See, e.g., Ford Fesseden, The American Dream Foreclosed, N.Y. TIMES, Oct. 14, 2007, available at http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res= 9A0CEFDE1038F937A25753C1A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. 164. See Interview with Amber Hawkins, supra note 49; see also Prentiss Cox, Foreclosure Reform Amid Mortgage Lending Turmoil: A Public Purpose Approach, 45 HOUS. L. REV. 683, 688 (2008) (describing the scope and magnitude of the foreclosure crisis). 165. See Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 08-305, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10798, at *6 (D. Minn. Feb. 13, 2008). 166. Id. at *7. 167. Id. at *1–2. 168. See id. at *2. 169. Id. at *1. 376 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 170 the district court denied a temporary injunction. In contemplation of a permanent injunction, the court realized that the dispositive issue in the case concerned the 171 interpretation of Minnesota state law. Furthermore, in addition to being novel and likely to reoccur, the court also recognized that the class action suit sought sweeping relief and had arrived in federal court solely on the basis of diversity rather than being a 172 federal question. The district court therefore certified the following question for the Minnesota Supreme Court: Where an entity, such as defendant MERS, serves as mortgagee of record as nominee for a lender and that lender's successors and assigns and there has been no assignment of the mortgage itself, is an assignment of the ownership of the underlying indebtedness for which the mortgage serves as security an assignment that must be recorded prior to the commencement of a mortgage 173 foreclosure by advertisement under Minn. Stat. ch. 580? C. Minnesota Supreme Court—the Majority Decision In answering this question, the court first looked to the foreclosure by advertisement statutes, ultimately determining that a phrase within the statute unambiguously distinguished a "mortgage" (i.e., the instrument used to secure a debt) as separate 174 from the "debt" itself (represented by the promissory note). Since, according to the statute, only recordation of the "mortgage" is required, MERS, as the continuous record holder of the security 175 interest, was in full compliance. The court next considered the effect of the traditional concept 170. See id. at *2, *4–12. 171. See Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 08-305, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14785, at *5 (D. Minn. Feb. 27, 2010) ("In a federal system, it is obviously desirable that questions of law which . . . are both intensely local and immensely important to a wide spectrum of state government activities be decided in the first instance by state courts.") (quoting Elkins v. Moreno, 435 U.S. 647, 662 n.16 (1978)). 172. Id. at *4. 173. Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487, 489 (Minn. 2009) (stating the Minnesota Supreme Court's reformulation of the district court's certified question). 174. Id. at 496; see MINN. STAT. §§ 580.02, .04 (2008). 175. Jackson, 770 N.W.2d at 496. 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 377 176 that "the mortgage follows the note." In short, each time a promissory note is assigned, an equitable interest in the mortgage 177 is created in the assignee. Thus, the question was whether this change in equitable interest of the mortgage required 178 recordation. Case history indicated that the "manifest purpose" of the recording requirement was "to make the title to the mortgage [a] matter of record," thus creating certainty of 179 ownership; however, the requirement is not one of 180 "supertechnical niceties and details of description." Therefore, the court has never required the recording of equitable interests to 181 be in compliance with the foreclosure by advertisement process. Last, the plaintiffs contended that because MERS acted only as nominee for MERS members, they did not actually hold legal title 182 to the mortgage. They claimed that legal title was actually held by the MERS member who was assigned the debt; thus, each time the debt was assigned, legal title transferred, which required 183 recordation. But the court held that this argument also failed because it has been established that assignment of a debt did not 184 affect legal title to the security interest. Therefore, the court found that MERS properly held both record and legal title to each 185 of the plaintiff's mortgages. Finally, the court verified MERS's authority to foreclose, stating that "the power of sale must be exercised in the name of the 176. Id. at 497; see also First Nat'l Bank v. Pope, 85 Minn. 433, 434, 89 N.W. 318, 318 (1902); Affidavit of Burkhart, supra note 97, ¶ 3 (footnote omitted) (quoting NELSON & WHITMAN, supra note 15, § 5.27) ("The security [mortgage] is virtually inseparable from the obligation unless the parties to the transfer expressly agree to separate them."). 177. Jackson, 770 N.W.2d at 497. 178. See id. 179. Id. (quoting Morrison v. Mendenhall, 18 Minn. 232, 236 (1872)). 180. Id. at 498 (quoting Soufal v. Griffith, 159 Minn. 252, 255–56, 198 N.W. 807, 808–9 (1924)). 181. Jackson, 770 N.W.2d at 498; see also Morrison, 18 Minn. at 237 (stating that a "mere equitable" interest does not require recordation to be in compliance with the statutes). 182. Jackson, 770 N.W.2d at 498. 183. Id. 184. See id. at 499 ("[I]t is possible for a party to hold legal title in the security instrument . . . without holding an interest in the promissory note."); see also Wilson v. Hayes, 40 Minn. 531, 42 N.W. 467 (1889) (holding that a promissory note did not affect legal title in the mortgage). 185. Jackson, 770 N.W.2d at 499. 378 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 186 party who has the legal title." Accordingly, the certified question 187 was answered in the negative. D. The Dissent In his dissent, however, Justice Alan Page believed that MERS 188 had not complied with the foreclosure by advertisement statutes. The statutes state that foreclosure by advertisement is not available 189 until "all assignments . . . have been recorded." Thus, when the majority acknowledged that each transfer of debt also conferred an 190 assignment of equitable interest in the mortgage, Justice Page concluded that, to be in compliance, this equitable interest must 191 also be recorded. IV. ARGUMENT A. What About the MERS Statute? 192 As mentioned previously, by passing the MERS statute, the legislature appears to have officially recognized MERS and expressly approved MERS's authority to record mortgage 193 instruments on behalf of its members. Ever since this amendment took effect, MERS has contended that because the Minnesota Legislature gave its blessing to the MERS concept, the statute naturally extended to foreclosure by advertisement 194 proceedings. However, the plaintiffs referred to this perceived extension as a "sweeping exception to the requirements of the 195 foreclosure by advertisement statute." Ultimately, the court did 196 not agree with the plaintiffs. 186. Id. at 500 (quoting Burke v. Backus, 51 Minn. 174, 179, 53 N.W. 458, 459 (1892)). 187. Id. at 503. 188. See id. (Page, J., dissenting). 189. Id. (emphasis added) (quoting MINN. STAT. § 580.02(3) (2008)). 190. Id. at 494. 191. See id.; see, e.g., Moore v. Carlson, 112 Minn. 433, 434, 128 N.W. 578, 579 (1910) (stating that because foreclosure by advertisement is a statutory creation, the foreclosing party must "must show an exact and literal compliance with its terms"). 192. See supra note 104 and accompanying text. 193. Jackson, 770 N.W.2d at 494. 194. See MERS's Brief, supra note 76, at 18–19. 195. Plaintiffs' Reply Brief at 9, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487 (Minn. 2009) (No. A08-397) [hereinafter Plaintiffs' Reply Brief]. 196. Jackson, 770 N.W.2d at 495. 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 379 Most convincing is what is not in the legislative history of section 507.413. There is no discussion of MERS's right to foreclose by advertisement and very little indication that the legislature intended its blessing to extend beyond the authority of 197 recording mortgage instruments. The plaintiffs contended that it is the legislature's duty alone to determine whether or not the 198 MERS statute also confers the right to foreclose. The plaintiffs further contended that when the foreclosure by advertisement statutes were enacted, the legislature never intended to allow "an entity with as little interest as MERS to act as a straw man to hide the chain of assignments of a mortgage loan in 199 foreclosure." Construing section 507.413 to allow MERS the right to foreclose as nominal mortgagee would defeat the purpose of the foreclosure by advertisement statutes by allowing assignments of 200 the mortgage to no longer be a part of the public record. The plaintiffs maintained that the legislature enacted the MERS statute 201 as a recording act solely to grant MERS the authority to record. Thus, plaintiffs argued, when a MERS member decided to initiate foreclosure proceedings, MERS had the ability to update the security instrument by tracing the chain of custody of the note and to file corresponding mortgage assignments in the county 202 recording office to be in compliance with the foreclosure statutes. MERS, however, contended that this logic gave way to 203 inconsistent results. After all, MERS argued, if the requirement 197. Plaintiffs' Brief, supra note 47, at 35–36; see Hearing on S.F. 1621, supra note 104. This possibly is the case because when the bill was passed in 2004, property values were increasing rapidly and foreclosure rates were relatively low. See supra note 25 and accompanying text. 198. See Plaintiffs' Reply Brief, supra note 195, at 9 ("[The] legislature alone should determine whether the convenience and cost savings for MERS and its members justify such a fundamental change."). 199. Plaintiffs' Brief, supra note 47, at 32. To be clear, when legal title to the mortgage and note are separated, there is no method of recording besides the MERS System that determines who maintains the right to foreclose on the promissory note. Interview with Chuck Hoyum, supra note 102 ("Only the security interest is recorded in the land recording office . . . not the note, and certainly not assignments of the note."). 200. Plaintiffs' Brief, supra note 47, at 35. 201. See Jackson, 770 N.W.2d at 495 ("[A] Recording Act creates no obligations; rather, it uses recording to resolve disputes between parties who have no contractual relationship, but who lay claim to the same title."). 202. Plaintiffs' Brief, supra note 47, at 35. 203. MERS's Brief, supra note 76, at 19. 380 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 to record assignments was to make transfers of the debt a matter of public record, then why shouldn't the ninety-eight percent of mortgagors who honor their debt obligations have also benefited 204 from this requirement? MERS stated that under the plaintiffs' analysis, only those who failed to honor their debt obligations 205 benefited from this interpretation of the MERS statute. Ultimately, the Minnesota Supreme Court recognized that the MERS statute represented the legislature's approval of the MERS concept, but because the amendment was technically a recording statute and never specifically addressed foreclosure, the court 206 refused MERS the authority to foreclose by advertisement. B. Hiding Behind an Opaque Corporate Wall A common theme that seems to unite all of the plaintiffs among the different jurisdictions who have brought suits against MERS was their belief that MERS helped to facilitate the mortgage 207 crisis. A number of lawyers and academics claimed that the MERS System served as nothing more than an "opaque corporate 208 wall" hiding the true owner of the mortgage loan, that MERSCORP was simply a corporate-driven "profit-engine" for the 209 mortgage industry, and that this wall provided an impenetrable 210 shield for the wealthy investors who controlled the capital. Academics also argued that plaintiffs in different jurisdiction can also claim that in the heyday of shady lending practices, thinly financed loan originators would be used as "disposable filter[s]" for 211 Wall Street investment firms. The theory was that after a 204. Id. 205. Id. 206. See Jackson, 770 N.W.2d at 495. 207. See Mark A. Cohen, Foreclosure Challenge is Rebuffed by Minnesota Supreme Court, MINN. LAWYER, Aug. 17, 2009, available at http://www.allbusiness.com/legal /legal-services-litigation/12687396-1.html ("The rapid and careless expansion of mortgage loan sales on the secondary market is a well recognized cause to the current financial meltdown . . . .") (quoting Amber Hawkins). 208. See, e.g., Peterson, supra note 61, at 2266. 209. Brief for South Brooklyn Legal Services et al. as Amici Curiae Supporting Appellant at 46, MERSCORP, Inc. v. Romaine, 861 N.E.2d 81 (N.Y. 2006) (No. 179), available at http://4closurefraud.org/2010/06/09/amicus-brief-challenging- mers-standing-to-foreclose [hereinafter Amici for Romaine]. 210. See Engel & McCoy, supra note 36, at 2041. 211. See, e.g., Peterson, supra note 61, at 2275 ("If Wall Street firms use the tools of structured finance to knowingly or recklessly facilitate and profit from predatory lending, surely they are as responsible as the fly-by-night brokers, originators, and servicers they capitalize."); see id. at 2273 ("The lending entities 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 381 predatory lender made a loan, the debt would quickly be sold via 212 MERS to the lender's financier on the secondary market. This practice would continue while claims against the predatory lender 213 accumulated. When enough lawsuits mounted to make the scheme unprofitable, the lender would simply declare bankruptcy 214 and close up shop. All the while, the bulk of the capital in this operation was held securely by an unknown party in the secondary 215 market—with MERS serving as a shield. In the dissent, Justice Page noted that being unable to identify who owns a debt also precludes a number of defenses under the 216 Truth in Lending Act (TILA). After the trial, the plaintiffs' lead attorney, Amber Hawkins, stated that "[a]s a result of the court's decision, an agent with no responsibility or authority related to the loan can foreclose upon a homeowner through an expedited non[- 217 ]judicial process without identifying who it is working for." She claimed that because the MERS concept was developed to avoid recording laws, the result is a private structure that conceals crucial 218 information from the public. Defendants in New York also counterclaimed that a single corporation should not be allowed to privatize the nation's land records without greater transparency are used like a disposable filter: absorbing and deflecting origination claims and defenses until those claims and defenses render the business structure unusable."). It should be noted that "[m]ost individual consumers bring their predatory lending claims not as plaintiffs, but as counterclaims in defense of foreclosure proceedings." Id. at 2267. 212. See id at 2273. 213. Id. at 2189. 214. Id. 215. See id.; Brandt, supra note 13. 216. See Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487, 503–4 (Minn. 2009) (Page, J., dissenting). The TILA specifies that if certain disclosures are not made (e.g., incorrect calculation of finance charges or payment schedules) the loan may be rescinded for up to a period three years. See 15 U.S.C. § 1635(a), (f) (2006). Upon rescission, the loan principle must be paid back but the borrower is not responsible for any finance charges (i.e., like an interest free loan, all payments made up to that point are credited toward repayment of the principle). See § 1635(b). However, a rescission can only be made "against any assignee of the obligation." § 1641(c). This defense does not affect the loan originator or servicer. See id. MERS noted that none of the plaintiffs were raising a TILA defense. See MERS's Brief, supra note 76, at 36 ("It should be noted that Plaintiffs raise absolutely no defenses to the foreclosures they are seeking to stop, reverse, void, cancel, or delay."). 217. See Cohen, supra note 207, at 1 (quoting Amber Hawkins). 218. See id.; see also Peterson, supra note 61, at 2266–67, 2280 (noting that homeowners can no longer turn to the land records to learn the identity of owner of their debt). 382 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 219 and significant government oversight. Partly in response to the numerous MERS lawsuits raising this issue, the federal government recently passed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, which amended the TILA by requiring lenders to notify homeowners within thirty days when 220 their loan is sold or transferred. Following this amendment, MERS announced its new InvestorID program, which is designed to automatically send a notice to borrowers when ownership of their 221 loan changes. In an effort to address predatory lending concerns, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson pushed the legislature to make 222 several amendments to state banking laws. Amber Hawkins, former Staff Attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis, stated that "Minnesota's new anti-predatory lending laws are now 223 among the strongest in the country." Unfortunately, these laws were not enacted in time to help the plaintiffs in Jackson. 219. See, e.g., Amici for Romaine, supra note 209, at 1 ("MERS is eroding the public databases of this nation and unjustly withholding critically important information from homeowners. . . . [MERS is designed] without regard to its infringement of essential public and individual rights."). 220. Interview with Amber Hawkins, supra note 49. See also Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, Pub. L. No. 111-22, 123 Stat. 1632 (2009) (codified as amended in scattered sections of the United States Code) (promulgating an effort to prevent mortgage foreclosures and enhance mortgage credit availability). 221. See Karmela Lejarde, MERS Response to New TILA Legislation Passed by Congress and the Obama Administration, MORTGAGEMAG NEWS (June 10, 2009), http://www.mortgagemag.com/news/2009/0601/1000010667070.htm. On its website, MERS also offers the ServicerID function, which provides a number of ways to search for the servicing agent for loans registered with MERS. See MERS® Servicer Identification System, MERS, https://www.mers-servicerid.org/sis/ (last visited Sept. 17, 2010). Typically, the results display the names of the servicer and the investor, with contact information for both. Id. See also supra note 87 and accompanying text (discussing the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act's requirement of sending a "hello/goodbye letter" when changing loan servicers). 222. See MINN. STAT. §§ 58.13, .137, .161, .18 (2008). The amendments protect borrowers by (1) creating a duty of agency between the borrower and mortgage broker, (2) preventing fraud on mortgage applications, and (3) requiring verification of a borrower's ability to repay their obligation over the entire course of the loan, as opposed to just the first year. See Drum Major Institute's Marketplace of Ideas, Predatory Mortgage Lending with Lori Swanson (Jan. 4, 2010), http://www.mortgagerefinancingref.com/predatory-mortgage-lending-with-lori- swanson.html (online video recording of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson speaking on Minnesota's "successful predatory mortgage lending law"). 223. Interview with Amber Hawkins, supra note 49. Minnesota has also amended the foreclosure by advertisement statutes by requiring that the foreclosing party provide a defaulting borrower with information on the availability of counseling prior to foreclosure. See MINN. STAT. § 580.021 (2008). 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 383 When reading the plaintiffs' affidavits, you can't help but feel sorry for them, particularly Jewelean Jackson and David Williams. Both were taken advantage of through predatory lending 224 schemes. However, the legal issue for the Minnesota Supreme Court was solely to decide whether MERS was in compliance with 225 the foreclosure by advertisement statutes. MERS considered the plaintiffs' attempt to interject any connection between the MERS System and predatory lending as "unfounded and irrelevant to the 226 legal question [the] Court must decide." Ultimately, the court chose to narrow its focus to the issue of foreclosures, leaving the 227 broader predatory lending issues for the legislature. C. Tax Evasion or Efficient Business? Advocates of the MERS System often point out the substantial cost savings electronic recordation provide over the traditional method of recording a paper copy of the security instrument with the county recorder or registrar of titles each time the loan changes 228 hands. Others claim that these "cost savings" really amount to a 229 form of legalized tax evasion. MERS currently charges a fee of $4.95 to register a loan on the 230 MERS System. Once on the system, MERS members, who pay annual fees based on their size and trading volume, can transfer 224. See Affidavit of Jackson, supra note 125, at 1–2; Affidavit of Williams, supra note 139, at 1–2. 225. See MERS's Brief, supra note 76, at 40–41. 226. Id. at 40. The plaintiffs' Amicus Brief also largely focused on racial discrimination. See Brief for Myron Orfield et al. as Amici Curiae for Plaintiffs at 1, Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 08-305, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10798 (D. Minn. Feb. 13, 2008) (stating in the first two sentences that "housing discrimination did not end with the passage of the Fair Housing Act. Discrimination against racial minorities seeking to rent, buy, and insure houses continues to be an endemic problem across the United States."). 227. Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487, 502 (Minn. 2009) ("[R]esolving these problems is beyond the scope of the issue before us and thus beyond our decision-making authority."). Robert Pratte, MERS's attorney, stated that he respects the plaintiffs' attorneys' efforts in trying to help the plaintiffs avoid foreclosure, but "this is not the way to do it." Cohen, supra note 207, at 1. 228. Amici for MERS, supra note 89, at 4–5; see also supra note 88 and accompanying text. 229. Peterson, supra note 61, at 2212. 230. Affidavit of Hultman, supra note 69, ¶ 10. 384 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 231 loans electronically to other members. By contrast, the filing fee 232 for each mortgage assignment in Hennepin County is $46. Depending on the number of transactions a company makes in a year, this difference can represent a significant cost savings per transaction. One estimate claims MERS saves the mortgage 233 industry $200 million a year. Those who are opposed to MERS argue that the money the county recording offices charge is often used to fund a variety of other government functions, including court systems, legal aid 234 organizations, and schools. With respect to how the loss indirectly harms the public, they consider the MERS System as a 235 tool for tax evasion. Advocates of MERS maintain that the public greatly benefits 236 from this business innovation. Not only is lending capital more 237 quickly freed up to create more loans, a portion of the cost 238 savings is typically passed onto the borrower. The remaining portion of the savings benefits the millions of investors who have a direct interest in mortgage-backed securities and, to a lesser degree, nearly everyone else who maintains an interest-bearing 239 account through indirect exposure. The amici brief point out that, "without such benefits, it is unlikely that consumer-oriented government corporations and agencies—Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, and the Federal Housing Administration, and the Department of Veteran Affairs— would have participated in the creation of MERS and served on the 231. See Arnold, supra note 10, at 34–35; see also MERS Pricing, MERS, https://www.mersinc.org/MersProducts/pricing.aspx?mpid=1 (last visited Sept. 17, 2010). 232. Brandt, supra note 13. 233. Arnold, supra note 10, at 35. 234. Peterson, supra note 61, at 2212. 235. Id. See also Diane Lim Rogers, Even Taxes on 'Evil Corporations' Will Affect Real People, SEEKING ALPHA (May 5, 2010), http://seekingalpha.com/article/203090- even-taxes-on-evil-corporations-will-affect-real-people (stating that ultimately the burden of evaded taxes falls on individual taxpayers). 236. See Slesinger & McLaughlin, supra note 9, at 812–13. 237. See supra note 70 and accompanying text. 238. Affidavit of Hultman, supra note 69, ¶ 10. 239. Brett Arends, Should You Invest In Toxic Assets? WALL ST. J., Jul. 29, 2009, http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB1000142405297020360920457431 6610509900476.html; see also Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys. v. Revoredo, 955 So. 2d 33, 34 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007) (describing the MERS System as a "commercially effective means of business"). 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 385 240 MERS steering committee." Beyond the federal government, many state and county officials have also served on the MERS 241 Advisory Council. Considering all this government support for MERS, as well as the benefits passed on to the public, the opposition's highly theoretical argument that these cost savings amount to tax evasion appears to be broken from reality. D. The Implications of Ruling Against MERS MERS considered the plaintiffs' suit "nothing less than a frontal attack" on the current methods to maintain land records 242 used by Minnesota's property law community. They claimed that the plaintiffs' efforts to avoid or delay foreclosure were nothing more than an attempt to undercut the sanctity of the contracts they agreed to by avoiding the debt obligations they owed while 243 remaining in their homes. According to MERS, not only would a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs require more expensive and inefficient foreclosure procedures, it would have also had a devastating impact on the ability of many Minnesotans to obtain 244 future financing. MERS also argued that an affirmative answer to the certified question had the potential to cloud thousands of titles in Minnesota, further eroding the value of many properties and 245 doing nothing to help the current economic crisis. Justice Anderson stated that the majority affirmed the long- 246 standing principles that govern Minnesota real property law, a decision which is in accord with the majority of other jurisdictions 240. Amici for MERS, supra note 89, at 4. 241. See Arnold, supra note 10, at 36 ("Generally, county recorders have been far more supportive than some would believe."). Some believe the future of land recording offices lies in electronic recording systems. Interview with Chuck Hoyum, supra note 102. "Over the course of one generation we are likely to see some major changes in our current recording system." Id. "One major change will likely be a push towards electronic recordation" but it will likely be one that is similar to the current grantor-grantee indexes now used, rather than one that is similar to MERS. Id. Some have expressed concerns about MERS destroying land records, others fear losing their jobs. See Arnold, supra note 10, at 36 ("Some recorders have expressed concerns that MERS will eliminate their offices nationwide or destroy the public land records by breaking the chain of title."). 242. MERS's Brief, supra note 76, at 35. 243. Id. 244. Id. at 35–36. 245. Interview with Chuck Hoyum, supra note 102. 246. Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 N.W.2d 487, 500–501 (Minn. 2009). 386 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 247 who have considered MERS's authority to foreclose. The dissent, on the other hand, was left unconvinced that an "equitable 248 assignment" required no recordation. Justice Page stated that if the assignment can be made in writing, according to plain language of the foreclosure by advertisement statutes, it must be 249 recorded. However, if taken literally, this interpretation of what must be recorded would require a wholesale transformation of Minnesota's recording system. Currently, there is no way to record anything other than legal title to the security instrument in the county 250 recording offices. As Judge Schwartz from the Florida District Court of Appeals stated, "the problem arises from the difficulty of attempting to shoehorn a modern innovative instrument of commerce into nomenclature and legal categories which stem 251 essentially from the medieval English land law." It is doubtful that an electronic database that tracks loans being bundled together and traded nationally could have been foreseen under the lamp light over 160 years ago when the 247. See supra note 119 and accompanying text. Since Jackson, several new cases have been tried; the majority of jurisdictions continue to favor MERS. See Cervantes v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., No. CV 09-517-PHX-JAT, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87997 (D. Ariz. Sep. 24, 2009) (dismissing claims made by three borrowers against a group of defendants that included MERS); Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys. v. Mosley, No. 93170, 2010 Ohio LEXIS 2380 (Ct. App. Jun. 24, 2010) (finding MERS had standing to foreclose); Bucci v. Lehman Bros. Bank, No. PC-2009-3888, 2009 R.I. LEXIS 110 (Sup. Ct. Aug. 25, 2009) (holding that MERS had the authority to foreclose as a nominee for the debts owner). But see Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys. v. Chong, No. 2:09-CV-00661-KJD-LRL, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127500, at *9 (D. Nev. Dec. 4, 2009) (stating that because MERS provided no evidence that it was the agent or nominee for the current owner of the beneficial interest in the note, it failed to meet its burden of establishing that it is a real party in interest with standing); In re Sheridan, No. 08-20381-TLM, 2009 Bankr. LEXIS 552 (D. Idaho Mar. 12, 2009) (denying MERS standing in court because they failed to provide evidence of any interest in the note and deed of trust); Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys. v. Johnston, No. 420-6-09 Rdcv, 2009 Vt. LEXIS 15 (Super. Ct. Oct. 28, 2009) (dismissing MERS's action to foreclose for lack of standing). 248. Jackson, 770 N.W.2d at 503 (Page, J., dissenting). 249. Id. 250. Interview with Chuck Hoyum, supra note 102. 251. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys. v. Revoredo, 955 So. 2d 33, 34 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007); see also MERSCORP, Inc. v. Romaine, 861 N.E.2d 81, 101 (N.Y. 2006) (Kaye, C.J., dissenting in part) ("It is the incongruity between the needs of the modern electronic secondary mortgage market and our venerable real property laws . . . that frames the issue before us."). 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 387 252 foreclosure by advertisement statutes were enacted. The question then becomes: How is a court to determine the legislative intent when the issue falls outside of what reasonably could have been contemplated at the time the law was conceived? To resolve a dilemma such as this, the court must turn to the canons of construction. In part, these statutes state that in ascertaining the intent of a statute, a court must "presume that the legislature intended to favor a public interest over a private 253 interest." Thus, when contemplating the certified question, the court likely weighed the effect of a decision either way, on both the plaintiffs and the public. The prevailing negative answer resulted in Jewelean Jackson, David Williams, and Brenda Doane losing the opportunity to challenge the foreclosure of their homes and to discover who 254 owned the note at the time of foreclosure. Fortunately, Ethylon and William Brown were able to save their primary residence 255 through a loan modification. This was a sad and unfortunate outcome, but it was also the lesser of two evils. After all, had the court ruled against MERS, the delay in the plaintiffs' foreclosures sooner or later still would have ended. Eventually, MERS would have either traced the chain of custody of the debts and filed the corresponding mortgage assignments in the county recording 256 257 office, initiated judicial foreclosure, or pursued and received the legislative blessing to foreclose what many argue section 258 507.413—the MERS statute—was intended to confer. Thus, in the end, more than likely, whichever course pursued after trial would have concluded with the same results; however, the cost to society would have been staggeringly high. A ruling against MERS would have affected many more than just those in or soon facing foreclosure. Because secondary market investors would be forced to bear the additional costs of preparing and recording old assignments prior to initiating foreclosure, the present value of 252. See Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 08-305, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10798, at *14 (D. Minn. Feb. 13, 2008). 253. Amaral v. St. Cloud Hosp., 598 N.W.2d 379, 384 (Minn. 1999); see also MINN. STAT. § 645.17(5) (2006). 254. Interview with Amber Hawkins, supra note 49. 255. Id. 256. See supra note 203 and accompanying text. 257. Amici for MERS, supra note 89, at 13. 258. Interview with Chuck Hoyum, supra note 102. 388 WILLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 37:1 259 mortgage loans would be substantially reduced. If the investment value of mortgage debt decreased, naturally fewer investors would be willing to purchase the debt from mortgage originators. Thus, ultimately the consequences of this decision would impact future borrowers by not only increasing the associated 260 mortgage fees and title insurance costs, but also by severely 261 limiting the availability of capital to generate new loans. Therefore, it would be both more difficult and more costly to obtain a mortgage loan in Minnesota. Worse yet, an affirmative answer had the potential to cloud an 262 enormous number of titles. If the court had ruled that MERS never actually held legal title or that the debt holder's equitable interest somehow needed to be recorded, property owners who have satisfied their debts would be faced with the daunting task of first retracing the chain of custody of each debt that had been registered on the MERS System and then preparing and filing the corresponding mortgage assignments in the county recorder's 263 office. In the end, individual property owners would likely be stuck with the bill. Then, there are the even more troubling problems of what to do with properties purchased at foreclosure sales initiated by MERS 264 or those acquired through bankruptcy proceedings. If it was deemed that MERS was never the proper mortgagee of title, all of the sales in which they were the seller or trustee are put in question. In a suit against MERS initiated in Florida's circuit court in Miami-Dade, the Honorable Judge Jon Gordon stated, I am not certain what remedy, if any, these people would have were it to be determined that MERS was not ever the proper party notwithstanding that these folks might have been in default what their recourse, if any, would be. I'm not certain with the satisfaction of mortgages that have been filed on behalf of MERS how good those are and I 259. See Amici for MERS, supra note 89, at 12–13. 260. Id. at 13; Cohen, supra note 207, at 2. 261. See MERS's Brief, supra note 76, at 36–37. 262. See Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., No. 08-305, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14785, at *4–5 (D. Minn. Feb. 27, 2008) ("[T]he premise of Plaintiffs' claims threatens grave uncertainty with respect to establishment of chain of titles for releases and satisfactions of mortgages . . . ."). 263. See supra notes 198–202 and accompanying text. 264. Interview with Chuck Hoyum, supra note 102. 2010] JACKSON V. MERS 389 am not certain how good title to property is that people bought at these foreclosure sales if it turns or becomes established that MERS was indeed not only not the right party but misrepresented by way of their pleadings and affidavits that they held something they didn't own, so I'm 265 not certain of the consequences but it seems vast. With over sixty million mortgage loans registered on the MERS 266 System nationwide, indeed the consequences would be vast. V. CONCLUSION Although the number of foreclosures in this country is staggeringly high, the Minnesota Supreme Court was correct in their analysis of this decision. There is no doubt that greed of the mortgage industry played a significant role in the current economic recession. However, MERS, representing one of the most significant business innovations in the mortgage industry since the formation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is not the proper party to blame. The correct parties to blame are the shady lenders and financiers who funded and originated the predatory loans that ultimately caused the subprime lending crisis. MERS simply acts as a middleman for its members; unfortunately, on occasion, this may include dishonest individuals and companies. The MERS System represents significant change by developing the way transfers of interests in mortgage loans are tracked. With any change as great as this, there are bound to be those who resist. New legal issues may surface that we have never addressed before. Many may attempt to take advantage of this new development by seeking results that would otherwise not be available. These growing pains are to be expected. This, however, does not mean that this new innovation is not an improvement over our historic land recording system or without benefit to the public. In Jackson v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., the Minnesota Supreme Court had the power to severely limit MERS's ability to foreclose on behalf of their members. Fortunately, they realized such a decision would have come at a high price. 265. See Serving History, MERS: Litigation and Major Legal Decisions, available at http://www.servinghistory.com/topics/MERS::sub::Litigation_And_Major_Legal _Decisions (last visited Oct. 10, 2010). 266. McIntire, supra note 92.
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it was totally religious. i left. also the seats were in the 1st row had i stayed. i had to apoligiz to my guest.
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I enjoyed the 300 voice choir and orchestra. The music was great! Will attend again.


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