COMPLAINT | MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, RECORDER OF DEEDS v THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON et al | $100+ Million Dollar Suit Against Big Banks Due to MERS System
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, RECORDER OF DEEDS, by and through NANCY J. BECKER, in her official capacity as the Recorder of Deeds of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on its own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, vs. THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., CITIBANK, N.A., DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS, HSBC BANK USA, N.A., JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., and WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., Defendants. I. NATURE OF THE ACTION 1. The Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Recorder of Deeds, by and through Nancy J. Becker, the Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds, brings this action on its own behalf and on behalf of a class of all other similarly situated Pennsylvania County Recorders of Deeds (collectively, the "Recorders" or the "Class") against The Bank of New York Mellon, The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., Citibank N.A., Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, HSBC Bank, N.A., JPMorgan Chase N.A., and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ("Defendants") to remedy Defendants' failures to properly and timely record mortgage assignments as required by Pennsylvania law. 2. Defendants have been among the most active participants in the mortgage-backed securities ("MBS") industry, including as trustees for numerous MBS trusts into which the securitized mortgage loans are ultimately conveyed. In a securitization, a mortgage loan typically is transferred multiple times before it is conveyed to the trustee on behalf of the MBS trust. Each of the Defendants has engaged in transfers of mortgage loans secured by real property located in Montgomery County and throughout Pennsylvania, 3. Each of the Defendants is also a member of, and participates in, the "MERS System," a private, members-only electronic registry for recording and tracking transfers of mortgage loans without recording mortgage assignments in public land records offices. 4. In Montgomery County, Pa. v. MERSCORP, Inc., l1-CV-6968, 2014 WL 2957494 (E.D. Pa. Jun. 30,2014), this Court, per the Honorable 1. Curtis Joyner, entered a declaratory judgment in Plaintiffs favor, finding that the failure to create and record mortgage assignments evincing the transfers of promissory notes secured by mortgages on Pennsylvania real estate, under the MERS System and otherwise, violates Pennsylvania recording statutes, including 21 P.S. §§ 351,444 and 623-1. 5. Each of the Defendants has systematically failed to create and timely record mortgage assignments in connection with transfers of promissory notes secured by mortgages on Pennsylvania real estate, both when operating within the MERS System and otherwise. These failures to record mortgage assignments have damaged the integrity of Pennsylvania's public land records by creating gaps in the chain of title and creating confusion amongst property owners and others about the identity of the owners of their mortgages, and have wrongfully deprived the Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds and all of the other Pennsylvania Recorders of millions of dollars in recording fees, in violation of21 P.S. §§ 351,444 and 623-1 (together, the "Pennsylvania Recording Statutes"). Plaintiff seeks an award of damages for these violations, to quiet title on all of the adversely affected Pennsylvania properties by requiring Defendants to record the missing mortgage assignments and pay the related recording fees, restitution for Defendants' unjust enrichment, and for declaratory and permanent injunctive relief [...]