Killing the MERS Boogeyman: a Clarification of a Secured Creditor’s Standing in Bankruptcy

by: Sherry A. Moore, Esq., Associate Attorney, McCarthy & Holthus, LLP

During my tenure as an attorney primarily representing creditors, I have encountered numerous challenges to my clients' standing. Such challenges have taken on many forms; however, the one constant challenge has been that the presence of Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) in the security instrument renders the document invalid as the result is the split of the security from the right to payment thus preventing foreclosure. Another variation of this split the note argument relates to the allegedly fraudulent securitization process itself and the execution of assignments of security . . .

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Critical Case Comment

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By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Despite a split in authority, funds held by a Chapter 13 Trustee at the time a case is dismissed prior to confirmation, are subject to the trustee’s commission before any balance is returned to the debtor. In re Doll, 17-20831-MER (Bankr. D.Colo. Feb. 19,...

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CFPB Settles with Student CU Connect CUSO Over ITT Private Loan Program

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On 6/14/19, the CFPB (Bureau) announced a settlement with Student CU Connect CUSO, LLC (CUSO), a company set up to hold and manage private loans for students at ITT Technical Institute. The Bureau filed a complaint and a proposed stipulated judgment in federal district court for the Southern District of Indiana alleging that CUSO provided substantial assistance to ITT Educational...

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Stephen F. Relyea

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The New DOJ/DOE Guidance for Student Loan Bankruptcy Litigation: Promising Early Results

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“The problem in the past for student loan borrowers in bankruptcy has been that hardship discharge litigation has been complex, expensive and arbitrary. . . . The new guidance has simplified the process.”

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Critical Case Comment–The Not DSO POC

Henry E. Hildebrand, III

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From the Editor

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By Wm. Houston Brown, United States Bankruptcy Judge (Retired) Debtor’s Attorney - Suspension of firm upheld. The District court affirmed the 90-day suspension of Law Solutions Chicago, LLC (d/b/a UpRight Law, LLC), with the record supporting the bankruptcy court’s findings that the firm failed to adequately represent the debtor in a “simple” consumer case. Disgorgement of fees was appropriate under...

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Tax Form 1099 Needs A Closer Look: Chances Are It’s Wrong

April 14, 2019

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2022 Bankruptcy Procedure Year in Review: Revised Statute and Rules and Selected Cases – Part 3 Rules Related to SBRA (Continued)

Lawrence R. Ahern, III

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From the Editor

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