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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 85 IN THE NEWS Sixth Circuit Court Denies Petition for Rehearing in Promissory Note Transfer Case e U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday denied an en banc rehearing of a case in Kentucky that held that recording statutes in the state do not require a recording in the land records when promissory notes are transferred. e Sixth Circuit Court denied two petitions to rehear Higgins v BAC Home Loans Servicing, a case in which the plaintiffs were Kentucky landowners who obtained loans in exchange for promissory notes secured by mortgages on their properties. Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) was named as the mortgagee on each mortgage deed. MERS remained the mortgagee when the original noteholders and their assignees (all members of MERSI) transferred the notes to the defendant, BAC Home Loans Servicing, IN THE NEWS Aspen Grove Solutions Welcomes MB Field Services to List of Clients Aspen Grove Solutions, a Maryland- based provider of property-centric technology solutions to the financial and mortgage services industry, has announced the addition of Atlanta-based nationwide property preservation and inspection company MB Field Services to their list of clients. "MB Field Services is excited about the turn-key solution our partnership with Aspen Grove provides, we now bring all facets of our business into one comprehensive technology platform," Alma Emery of MB Field Services said. "is provides seamless servicing which enables MB to meet the demands of any client with respect to CFPB compliance, reporting, vendor and workflow management. Additionally, above and beyond the business quality of the solution is Aspen Grove's outstanding responsiveness, flexibility and willingness to work in a true partnership fashion. We look forward to a long prosperous relationship." MB Field Services will avail of the Aspen Grove suite of property-related technologies for asset management, property preservation, vendor management, and compliance. at suite of products includes Aspen iFamily, which was developed by Aspen Grove Solutions for companies that are ready to elevate their internal and third-party business processes and compliance to the next level. "We are delighted that MB Field Services has selected our solutions to enhance their offering," said Ed Buckley, COO of Aspen Grove Solutions. "eir commitment to use vendors that have been credentialed and background checked to the industry standard through Aspen iRecord, is a welcome endorsement. Our solutions provide internal controls and third party vendor line of sight, from point of work order assignment to point of service delivery, thus providing documented and auditable proof of regulatory and client compliance." Aspen Grove Solutions was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1997 and is now based in Frederick, Maryland. e company's clients include top-tier banks, servicers, investors, property preservation companies, contractors, realtors, and asset managers. which is also a member of MERS. According to the court ruling, when BAC accepted transfer of the notes, by operation of Kentucky law it acquired equitable interests in the mortgages securing the notes. BAC did not record their acquisitions of equitable interests in the mortgages with county records offices and the plaintiffs subsequently filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Lexington, alleging that "transfer of the notes was an assignment of the underlying mortgages for purposes of Kentucky's recording statutes," according to the filing. e district court originally ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but the Sixth Circuit court reversed the district court's decision. e Sixth Circuit Court ruled that BAC did not violate Kentucky law because they transferred only promissory notes, which are not required to recorded by law in Kentucky, and they did not fail to record any transfers of mortgage deeds. e Sixth Circuit Court on Friday denied two petitions to rehear the case, saying that "the original panel has reviewed the petitions for rehearing and concludes that the issues raised in the petitions were fully considered upon the original submission and decision of the cases." e petitions had been circulated to the full court and no judge had requested a vote on the suggestion of an en banc rehearing; hence the two petitions were denied. "We're pleased that the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held firm in its decision that the Kentucky recording statues do not require that promissory notes be recorded," MERSCORP Holdings VP for Corporate Communications Janis Smith said. is is the fourth major court victory for MERS in just a little more than a month. In early September, a district court in Collin County, Texas, granted a motion for summary judgment in the favor of MERS and reinstated a MERS lien that had previously been extinguished. In mid-August, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee Nashville Division dismissed a lawsuit that challenged MERS' role in a deed of trust in Tennessee. In early August, MERS was awarded a victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the ird Circuit, which ruled that MERS was not duty-bound by the Pennsylvania recording statute to record all land conveyances. Kentucky RANK: 25 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate JULY 2015 1.87% 1.44% 5.2 YEAR AGO 2.23% 1.59% 6 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -16.2% -9.8% -0.8 Top County FLOYD COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JULY 2015 4.11% 5.33% YEAR AGO 4.28% 3.03% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -4.0% 76.2% Top Core-Based Statistical Area LONDON, KY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JULY 2015 2.29% 2.58% YEAR AGO 2.73% 3.10% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -16.1% -16.9% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the July 2015 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary July 2015 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. The total mortgage property count in January was 454,000 homes, according to CoreLogic. KNOW THIS

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