FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Karmela Lejarde
703-761-1274

July 20, 2007, Jacksonville, Fl.—The United States District Court today issued a ruling dismissing a proposed class action suit against MERS which called into question the company’s right to operate. The ruling confirmed the right of MERS to act as mortgagee in county land records and its ability to foreclose on delinquent loans on behalf of its members (Sandy S. Trent, etc., et al., Plaintiffs, vs. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., etc., Defendant).

The Court dismissed the case with prejudice, citing the Plaintiff’s inability to state a viable case against MERS.

In dismissing the allegations, Judge Timothy J. Corrigan of the Middle District Court of Florida confirmed in his written opinion that “lenders disclosed MERS’s role from the outset of the transaction” and “were aware that MERS was a nominee of the lender and that it had foreclosure rights.” He also noted that MERS “was not hidden or materially misrepresented,” as the suit had alleged.

“We are gratified that the Court declared all the allegations against MERS as unfounded,” said R.K. Arnold, President and CEO of MERS. “Homebuyers in Florida and around the nation can now continue to utilize MERS both as a means to lower the cost of the home buying process and to prevent fraud by confirming the identity of the mortgage company that services their loan.”

Over the last ten years, the fifty million loans registered on MERS have established the company as a trustworthy partner for both borrowers and lenders. When a mortgage loan is registered on MERS, the homeowner actually possesses more information about his loan, such as the identity of his Servicer, than without MERS. Every MERS loan is recorded in the county land records. Registering a loan on MERS lowers the cost of buying a home by squeezing unnecessary fees out of the process and eliminating fraud by identifying the true mortgage company attached to that property.

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