The attorney representing the borrower who lost his case attempting to block the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. from filing foreclosures in California has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court.
The California Court of Appeal ruled in February that MERS can foreclose in the state.
In the case, Jose Gomes claimed that MERS did not have authority to initiate foreclosures in the state because the current owner of his mortgage note had not authorized MERS to proceed with the action after he defaulted.
In a news release Wednesday, Gomes’ attorney Ehud Gersten said he has filed a formal petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking an expedited review of the case.
The attorney claims that Gomes didn’t get the opportunity to question if the mortgage servicer, Countrywide Home Loans Inc., actually held the note on his house.
“This will be the first case in the country to petition the nation’s highest court regarding the foreclosure fraud that has taken place, though its emphasis will be specifically on California law,” Gersten stated in the announcement.
Gersten claims the California ruling is out of step with courts that have taken stands in favor of borrowers such those in Florida, Massachusetts and New York.
A spokesman for Countrywide-parent Bank of America Corp. wasn’t immediately able to provide a comment.
Gomes v. Countrywide Home Loans Inc.
Case No. D057005, (California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District, San Diego).
