MERS Foreclosure Issues To Be Heard By Oregon Supremes; High Court Will Address Four Certified Questions Sent By Federal Judge

The Oregonian reports:

• A day after a key ruling from a lower appeals court, the Oregon Supreme Court said it will resolve uncertainty surrounding the mortgage industry's controversial loan tracking system and its role in out-of-court foreclosures.
  
  The state's highest court on Thursday officially accepted questions sent to it by U.S. District Court chief judge Ann Aiken. The questions stem from four cases challenging the legality under Oregon law of the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. and non-judicial foreclosures.
  
  On Wednesday, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled in a separate case that a record of past mortgage sales must be filed publicly in Oregon before an out-of-court foreclosure can begin. It also said that MERS, the industry's private registry of mortgage transactions, could not act as a stand-in for filing the mortgage assignments in county recorders offices.

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• The Washington Supreme Court in March heard arguments on a similar set of questions but has yet to issue a ruling.

For more, see Oregon Supreme Court will tackle MERS foreclosure issues.

See the Oregon Supreme Court Order Accepting Certified Question for the four certified questions that will be addressed by the Oregon high court.