9rrpr~rrre yubicia1 QL:ourt

FOR THE COMMON WEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

NO. SIC-IO694
U.S. RANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE STKUCTURED ASSET SECURITIES CDFFOKATION MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-2,
PLArNTIFF/APPELT,ANT,
V.

W E U S FARGO BANK,N 4., AS TRUSTEE FOR .ABFC 20?5-0?T I TRUST, ABFC ASSET BACKED CEICTIFICATES SERIES 2ws-wr I , PI.AINTIrF/AP!F.LLANT,

MARK A. LARACE AND TAMMY L. J,ARACE, DEFENDANTS/AIPELLEES.

ONAPPFAL FROM JLJDGMENT TllE LANDCOURT A OF

APPELLANT U.S. BANK, AS TRUSTEES REPLY TO THE BRIEF OF APPELLEE ANTON10 IBANEZ

R. Bruce Allensworth (RRO#015820) Phoebe S . Winder (BBO#S67103) Andrew C. Glass (BBW638362) Robert W. Sparkes, I11 [BB0#663626) K k L GATES LLP State Street Financial Center One iincolri Street Boston, Massachusetts 02 11 1-2950
617.261.3100 (telephone) .Al~ome~.r,forAp~t~lk~~nt

.-

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

I.
11.

TNTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STANDARD OF REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1
2
3

111. ARGUMENT A.

........................................

The Securitization Agreements Assigned The Ibanez Mortgage To U.S. Bank, As Trustee And Vested Legal Authority To Foreclose . . . . 3
1.

Securitization Agreements, As A Matter Of Law, Can Effectuate Assignments Of Mortgages To A Securitization 3 Trustee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Private Placement Memorandum Provides Sufficient Evidence of Assignment Of The Ibanez Mortgage . . . . . 6 Ibanezs Waiver Argument Must Fail . . . . 8

2.

3.

B.

The Court Should Disregard Ibanezs Mischaracterizations of U . S . Bank, As Trustees Arguments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.
U.S.

Bank, A s Trustees Financial Interest And Possession Of All Indicia Of Ownership Of The Ibanez Loan Confirm Its Authority To Foreclose As Assignee 9

..............................

2.

Ibanez Misunderstands The Relevance Of The Assignment Of Mortgage In Blank..ll Ibanezs Challenge To The Confirmatory Assignment Is Misplaced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3.

C.

Ibanez Makes Speculative Factual Contentions Which Do Not Address The Issue Presented And Should Be Disregarded. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.

Ibanezs Reliance On The Bloomberg Compilation Report Is Misplaced . . . . . 14

2.

U.S. Bank, As Trustee Is The Holder Of The Ibanez Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + . . 14 Ibanez Cannot Challenge The Validity Of The Recorded Rose Mortgage Assignment Of Mortgage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -16

3.

D.

Ibanez Lacks Standing To Argue That The Assignment Was Not In Compliance With The Trust Agreement ............................ 11 Ibanez's Efforts To Minimize The Land Court's Rejection Of Title Standard No. 58 Thereof Must Fail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Ibanez's Request To Strike Is Without Merit... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19

E.

F. IV.

CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . , . . . . . . . 2 0

ADDENDUM........

....................................

24

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Page
FEDEIlAL CASES

In re Almeida, 417 B.R. 140 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2009). . . . . . . . 13, 17 Livonia Property Holdings, L.L.C. v. 12840-12976 -.__ Farminqton Road Holdings, L.L.C., No. 10-11589, 2010 WL 1956867 (E.D. Mich. June 14, 2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 17 Nichols v. Cadle Corp., Cir. 1998) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 11 139 F.3d 59 ( l B t Rubijono v. Arneriquest Mortaqe Co., ....... No. 07-01076-FJB, Supplemental Order on Motion for Summary Judgment (Bankr. D. Mass. May 21,
2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4, 5,

Saffran v . Novastar Mortage, Inc., ....

NO. 4:07-CV-40257-PBS(D. Mass. OCt. 18, 2007) .............................

10, 11

In re Samuels, . 415 B.R. 8 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2009) . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 12

STATE CASES

Costa v. Fall River Housinq Authority, . . . . 453 Maas. 614 (2009). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cottarn v. CVS Pharma9, 436 Mass. 316~~(2002).

. . .19
19

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,

Department. of State Police v. Massachusetts -..... Orqanization o f S t a t e Engineers -and Scientists, . ... ,. .. . 456 Mass. 450 (2010)............................ 9 MacFarlane v. Thompson, 241 Mass. 486 (1922).

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .2, 11

Matthews v. Planninq Board of Brewster, 7 2 Mass. App. Ct. 456 (2008).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

-iv-

McSweeney v. Cambridge, . 422 Mass. 648 (19961............................

Millennium Equity Holdings, LLC v. Mahlowitz, - ....... -456 Mass. 627 (2010)....................... Montaque v. Dawes, , 94 Mass. 397 (1866). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15, 16

2, 11

Norfolk & Dedharn Mutual Fire Insurance Co. v. Morrison, 456 Mass. 463 (2010). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
NovaStar Mortgage, Tnc. v. Saffran, .. No. 09-ADMS-70017,2010 WL 2010880 (Mass. App. D i v . May 17, 2010)............................. 17

Otis v. Arbella Mutual Insurance Co., . 443 Mass. 634 (2005)...........................

Powers~,v. Wilkinson, 399 Mass. 650 (1987)........................... Scaplen v. Blanchard, 187 Mass, 73 (1904). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Southwestern Resolution Corp. v. Watson, . . 964 S.W.2d 262 (Tex. 1997).....................
STATE STATUTES

16
19

12
16

Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 106, Section 3-log..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 106, Section 3-204. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 183, Section 4 ......................... Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 183, Section 5 .
16 17 17
3, 5

........................

Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 244, Section 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

-v-

TREATISES

ARTHUR L

E N O , JR. , WLLLIAM V. HOVEY, ET AL. , 26B MASSACHUSETTS PRACTICE: REAL ESTATELAW, REBA Title Standard No. 58 ( 4 t h Ed. 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . assim .p

-vi

I.

INTRODUCTION Appellant U . S . Bank National Association, as

Trustee for the Structured Asset Securities Corporation Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series
2006-2, ( " U . S . Bank, as Trustee") respectfully submits

the following reply brief in response to the brief of Appellee Antonio Ibanez ("Ibanez") . In his brief, Ibanez does not discuss or dispute that a securitization agreement can validly assign a mortgage to a securitization trust in compliance with Massachusetts law, conceding that such an agreement
can do so.

Instead of addressing the issue central to

this appeal, Ibanez examines the effect of the "assignment of mortgage" in blank held by U . S . Bank,
as Trustee, and the "confirmatory assignment" that

U.S, Bank, as Trustee recorded after the foreclosure

sale.

This is off point.

U . S . Bank, as Trustee's

possession of these documents, and the original note and the original mortgage, merely confirm and evidence the assignment of the mortgage effectuated by the operative securitization agreements. Furthermore, in advocating against the purported dangers of "private, undisclosed and unrecorded securitized conveyances" (Ibanez Br. at 14-15), Ibanez

-1-

ignores the long-standing principle that an assignment

of mortgage need not be recorded to be enforceable.

See MacFarlane v. .Thompson, 241 Mass. 486, 489 (1922); ,, , ,... Montague v . Dawes, 94 Mass. 397, 400 ( 1 8 6 6 ) . . ... . .,

There is

nothing in Massachusetts law that prohibits the "private, undisclosed and unrecorded securitized conveyances" to which Tbanez takes exception. Ibanez,

in effect, seeks to have over one hundred fifty years

o f established law set aside in the name of "integrity

of title."

Ibanez Br. at 14.

Finally, the Land Court's rulings as to Title Standard No. 58 of the Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts, Inc. ( " R E B A " ) , were wrong as a matter of law and, if affirmed, must apply prospectively only. Ibanez's attempt to minimize the ramifications

of the Land Court's wholesale rejection of Title Standard No. 5 8 , completely ignores the thousands of foreclosures conducted over the past two decades in reliance on the standard.
11.
STANDAIU3

OF REVIEW

Ibanez argues that the standard of review for

denial of a motion to vacate judgment is abuse of discretion.
Ibanez Br. at 16.

This appeal, however,

challenges the Land Court's interpretation of the

-2-

contractual materials before it and the legal

conclusions on which it affirmed its entry of judgment

U . S . Bank, as Trustee.

The Court reviews Legal ? 5 Norfolk e

&

conclusions de novo.'

Dedham Mut. Fire

Ins. Co. v . Morrison, 456 Mass. 463, 467 (2010);

Matthews v . Planning Bd. of Brewster, 72 Mass. App. .

Ct. 4 5 6 , 4 6 2 ( 2 0 0 8 ) .
111. ARGUMENT
A.
I)

The Securitization Agreements Assigned The Ibanez Mortgage To U . S . Bank, As Trustee And Vested Legal Authority TO FOreClOSe

1.

securitization agreements, as a matter of law, can effectuate assignment of mortgages to a securitization trustee

( I

Ibanez does not dispute that an assignee may foreclose on a mortgage under the statutory power of

sale and issue foreclosure notice per Mass. Gen. L. ch. 244, 5 14. U . S . Bank, as Trustee became the assignee of the Ibanez mortgage by virtue of the securitization of the Ibanez loan and the corresponding assignment of the mortgage to the securitization trust. The written securitization

agreements conveying the Ibanez loan (including the Application of an abuse of discretion standard to the Land Court's legal conclusions made in connection with its disposition of the Motion to Vacate would effectively deny U.S. Bank, as Trustee any meaningful opportunity to appeal those conclusions.
-31

*
e

mortgage) into the trust served to give U.S. Bank, as Trustee authority to foreclose. Ibanez offers no

argument why securitization agreements that satisfy the requirements for assignments under Massachusetts law cannot effect an assignment of mortgage.2 Nor does Ibanez dispute that courts in several jurisdictions have found that securitization agreements act to assign the subject loans (including the mortgages) to a securitization trustee, or meaningfully address the case law cited in the Appellants Opening Brief.
24.
~

See A p p s . Op. Br. at 2 3 -

Ibanezs argument that U.S. Bank, as Trustee can

cite to o n l y one supporting Massachusetts case, In re Samuels, 415 B.R. simply wrong.
8,

18 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2 0 0 9 ) , j 1s

The United States Bankruptcy Court for

the District of Massachusetts recently reaffirmed that

a securitization agreement can assign a mortgage.

See

Rubijono v. Ameriquest -Mortqaqe Co., et al., NO. 0 7 . .. _ See Appellants Opening Brief ( Apps. Op. Br. at 24-28.
2
~

fbanezs efforts to distinguish Samuels (Ibanez Br. at 3 7 - 3 8 ) fall short, The court in Samuels found unequivocally that, as a matter of law, [tlhe PSA itself, in conjunction with the schedule of mortgages deposited through it into the pool trust, served as a written assignment of the designated mortgage loans, including the mortgages themselves. In re Samuels, 415 B . R . at 18.
3

-4-

01076-FJB, Supp. Order on Mot. for S.J., at 1 (Bankr.

D. Mass. May 27, 2010) .4

In Rubijono, the plaintiff alleged that Deutsche

Bank, as the trustee or a securitization trust, was not the holder of the plaintiffs mortgage and did not have the authority to issue notice of sale pursuant to Mass. Gen. L. ch. 244, 5 14, or to conduct a sale. The plaintiff contended that: (1) Deutsche Trust incorrectly represented to the Land Court that it had the authority to exercise the power of sale based on an Assignment chat was invalid;
(2)

[ a l t the time

Deutsche Trust sent and published statutorily mandated notices . . . , Deutsche Trust did not have a valid written assignment in accordance with the Statute o f Frauds; and ( 3 ) [tlhe notices did not meet the statutory requirements because the notices incorrectly identified Deutsche Trust as the holder of the mortgage.5 The plaintiff also argued that the

A copy of the courts Order i n Rubijono is attached in the addendum hereto at Tab A .
5

77

Pl.s Second Am. Compl., dated A p r . 29, 2009, at 186-189, attached in the addendum hereto at Tab B.
-5-

securitization agreements were not valid assignments because they were not in recordable form. The Kubijono court rejected each of plaintiffs arguments and held that Deutsche Bank, as the trustee

of the trust:
became the holder o f the note and assignee of the mortgage on or around November 5 , 2004, by virtue of the [Mortgage Loan Purchase Agreement] and the [Pooling and Servicing Agreement] of November 1, 20 IO41 . Deutsche Bank therefore had standing to foreclose the mortgage at all times relevant to this proceeding. No recording of the transfer documents was necessary to make the transfer binding and effective against the debtor.7
A s a matter of law, an assignment of a mortgage

may be effectuated by the securitization of a mortgage loan and the agreements incidental thereto. The Land Courts decision is, thus, at odds with recent decisions of the Bankruptcy Court, as well as other courts that have considered the issue.
2.

provides sufficient evidence of

The Private Placement Memorandum assignment of the Ibanez mortgage

As

evidence of the securitization of the Ibanez

loan, W.S. Bank, as Trustee submitted to the Land

, Court a Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) dated

Pl.s Oppn to Def. Deutsche Banks Mot. for S.J., dated Mar. 17, 2010, at 7-8, attached in the addendum hereto at Tab C.
7

Rubijono, Supp. Order on Mot. for .. .. . .. .

-6-

S.Y.,

at *l.

December 26, 2 0 0 6 .

[A1167-1441]. The PPM describes

the securitization process as carried out primarily by the Trust Agreement, dated December 1, 2006, and demonstrates that an assignment o f the Ibanez note and mortgage to U.S. Bank, as Trustee occurred.
981.

tA1295-

The PPM establishes that the Trust Agreement

contains operative language of assignment.

[%I.

Ibanez makes much of the fact that the Trust Agreement and the mortgage loan schedule were not submitted to the Land Court. Ibanez Br. at 4, 3 3 - 3 4 .

U.S. Bank, as Trustee does not purport to introduce

new evidence into the record before the Court, and it relies on the Trust Agreement only to the extent that it is described in the PPM. [A1295-981. Ibanez's

request to strike references to the Trust Agreement is without merit. See Section III.F, infra.

In relying on narrow arguments concerning the factual record below, Ibanez avoids addressing the larger issue of whether securitization agreements, as a matter of law, can effect a valid assignment of mortgage. This legal issue was raised and considered

by the Land Court in the consolidated Ibanez and Larace actions, and it is presented on appeal here. The evidence in the record from the consolidated

-7-

actions provides more than sufficient basis on which the Court can decide the issue.
To the extent that

the Court believes additional evidence of the securitization of the Ibanez loan is necessary the

Court should decide the legal issue and remand for consideration of the application of its Legal r u l i n g

on a more complete factual record.

Remand would be

particularly appropriate in this case as the Land Court entered judgment against U.S. Bank, as Trustee in ruling on its unopposed Motion for Entry of Default Judgment, and denied U . S . Bank, as Trustee an

opportunity to amend its complaint.

613-17, 1143-451.
3.

[A594-95, 601-02,

Ibanezs waiver argument must fail

Ibanez incorrectly contends that U . S . Bank, as Trustee waived its right to argue that the securitization of the Ibanez loan acted to assign the Ibanez mortgage. Ibanez Br. at 3 4
&

n.

28,

U.S.

Bank, as Trustee expressly raised the issue below in its Motion to Vacate Judgment [ A 6 4 9 1 , at the April 17,
0
2009 hearing [A690-697, 700-701, 7 0 9 - 7 1 3 1 , and in its

Third Supplemental Memorandum of Law in Support of

Motion for Entry of Default Judgment r A 9 5 2 - 9 5 5 1 . Bank. as Trustee in no way waived this argument.

U.S.

-8-

Dep't of State Police v ... Mass.....O x . of State Eng'rs __. . . . . . . . Scientists, 4 5 6 Mass. 450, 457 n.12 (2010).

&

Moreover, the Land Court expressly considered the scope and effect of the securitization agreements in its Memorandum and Order on the Motions to Vacate Judgment [A1146-1161]. The Land Court itself recognized that the issue of whether securitization agreements serve to assign mortgages to a trust "is clearly of importance, not only to the litigants, but also to others" and "that the plaintiffs' new facts and new arguments [should] be addressed on their merits since they are alleged to be common to many securitized loans." [A1146]. As the Land Court

noted, this issue is of clear public importance and

should be considered here.

See Cottam v . CVS

Pharmacy, 436 Mass. 316, 3 2 0 ( 2 0 0 2 ) ; McSweeney v. Cambridge, 422 Mass. 6 4 8 , 6 5 3 ( 1 9 9 6 ) .

B.
T h e Court Should Disregard Ibanez's

Mischaracterizations Of U.S. Bank, As Trustee's Arguments

1.

U.S. Bank, as Trustee's financial interest and possession of all indicia of ownership of the Ibanez loan confirm its authority to foreclose as assignee

U.S. Bank, as Trustee does not, as Ibanez argues,

rely merely upon some undefined "financial interest,"

-9-

splintered rights or indicia of ownership to demonstrate its authority to issue foreclosure notice

or exercise the power of sale. Rather, U.S. Bank, as

Trustee had the authority to do so by virtue of the operative securitization agreements that assigned the Ibanez mortgage to it well before it issued notice of
sale and conducted the sale.
U . S . Bank, as Trustee cites its possession of all

indicia of ownership in the subject loans, including the original note, the original mortgage, and the original assignment o f mortgage in blank, to both confirm and evidence its status as assignee.

See

A p p s . Op. BY. at 34-37. Taken alone, these indicia

of ownership may not provide authority to foreclose,

but taken together they confirm and evidence U.S. Bank, as Trustees authority to do so. Ibanezs efforts to distinguish Saffran v. Novastar Mortgage, Inc., No. 4:07-cv-40257-PBS (D. Mass. Oct. 18, 2007), and Nichols v . Cadle Corp., 139 . , , . . __
~.3d 59, 62 ( l ECir. 1 9 9 8 ) , are of no moment. t

Both

cases support the proposition that to determine authority to foreclose, courts should not mechanically determine the holder of a mortgage, but should evaluate each partys financial interest and rights in

-10-

a mortgage loan.
-.

Saffran, 4:07-cv-40257,at

5-6;

Nichols, 139 P.3d at 6 2 ; Apps' Op. Br. at 34-42. .Contrary to Ibanez's argument, U . S . Bank, as Trustee does not seek to "abrogate" statutory law, "expand and obscure" the persons authorized to foreclose on a mortgage, or to create a secret, nontransparent land transfer system. Rather, it is Ibanez who seeks to create a new regime of assignment not supported by the law. Under Massachusetts law an

assignment o f mortgage need not be recorded to be enforceable, see MacFarlane, 241 Mass. at 4 8 9 ; Montague, 94 Mass. at 4 0 0 , and Ibanez fails to explain
h o w the unrecorded assignment to U.S. Bank, as Trustee

is inconsistent with this long-standing law.

2.

Ibanez misunderstands the relevance of the "assignment of mortgage" in blank

Ibanez's discussion of the "assignment of mortgage" in blank (Ibanez Br. at 38-41) misses the point.
U . S . Bank, as Trustee does not rely

on the

"assignment of mortgage" in blank as vesting its right to foreclose. The "assignment of mortgage'' in blank

was not the operative legal document acting to

transfer the legal right and interest in the mortgage

-11-

to U.S. Bank, as Trustee.

The securitization

agreements themselves effectuated that transfer. The Trust Agreement, as reflected in the PPM, requires an assignment of mortgage in blank solely for the convenience of the parties to the agreement as evidence of the prior assignment.
3.
tA12951.

Ibaneza challenge to the confirmatory assignment i s miaplaced

Ibanez argues that the confirmatory assignment, recorded after the foreclosure, does not support U . S . Bank, as Trustees authority to foreclose.
~

See Ibanez It

Br. at 33, 42. But Ibanez again misses the point. is undisputed that a confirmatory assignment does not itself convey the mortgage.
.. Scaplen v. See ,. . . --

Blanchard, 187 Mass. 73, 76 (1904). Rather, such an assignment is evidence of the making of the former conveyance as of the time when it was made ... it is only confirmatory evidence of the title which passed

by the original [conveyance].

Id.

Thus, recording a confirmatory assignment of mortgage after a foreclosure sale acts to confirm, by an instrument in a more easily recorded form, the prior assignment that occurced through the securitization. See In re Samuels, 415 B.R. at 20-22;

-12-

In re Almeida, 417 B.R. 140, 149-50 (Bankr. D. Mass.

2009).

It also serves as a means to update the public

record to reflect the assignment to the ultimate assignee.* While the 'confirmatory assignment" is not the conveyance, the recording of such an assignment is in no way contrary to Massachusetts law.9
I )

C.

Ibanez Makes Speculative Factual Contentions Which Do Not Address The Issue Presented And Should Be Disregarded

Ibanez makes several 'fact" arguments, which are

irrelevant to the legal issue presented, were not addressed by the Land Court, and have never been tested or challenged by way of discovery. The Court should disregard these arguments.

I ,

Massachusetts law does not require that all assignments in a given chain-of-titlebe recorded. The Land Court recognized as much when it ruled in Rosario [A5801 that an unrecorded assignment of mortgage, which was indorsed from the last assignee of record to the foreclosing entity, was valid. Livonia Prop. Holdings, L.L.C. v. 12840-12976 Farmington Road Holdings, L . L . C . , No. 10-11583, 2010 WL 1956867, at . ., *ll (E.D. Mich. June 14, 2010) ("Notably,even the Ibanez court recognized that an assignment to the bank from the last assignee of record would be sufficient without the necessity to obtain or record assignments for each interim transfer.").
~

To the extent that Ibanez challenges the authority of American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc. to issue the confirmatory assignment, this challenge i s immaterial to the legal issue presented here. In reaching its decision, the Land Court assumed the validity of the confirmatory assignment. [A1155].

I )

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1.

fbanez's reliance on the "Bloomberg compilation" report is misplaced

Ibanez relies upon a report produced by Bloomberg Professional Service to suggest that the Ibanez mortgage was never assigned to the Trust. at
8-9,

Ibanez Br.

41.

The report supports no such conclusion,

namely because after the foreclosure sale, but before the date of the report, the Ibanez property was sold to a third-party purchaser.10 In addition, the report is dated May 2 6 , 2009,

well. after the assignment on December 1,

foreclosure sale in July 2007.

2006

and the

[Supp. App. 2 2 - 5 4 1 .

The report has no bearing on the validity of the assignment effectuated by the securitization of the Ibanez loan. Even i f it did, U.S. Bank, as Trustee

never had the opportunity to challenge the report, its creation, or its veracity, or to subject it to the rigors of discovery.
2.
U.S.

It should not be considered

Bank, as Trustee is the holder of the Ibanez note

Ibanez's challenge to U.S. Bank, as Trustee's status as holder of the Ibanez note must also fail. First, this argument was not a basis for the Land Information regarding the sale is publicly available at the Hampden County Registry of Deeds, at http://www.registryofdeeds.co.hampden.ma.us/
lo

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Court's decision, which rested on the assumption that

U . S . Bank, as Trustee was the holder of the note.
~

[A1147-491. Ibanez cannot raise an argument before

this Court that the Land Court did not consider below,

nor can he ask this Court to make contrary factual

findings. See Millennium Equity Holdings, LLC v.
~

Mahlowitz, 4 5 6 Mass. 627,

642

n.20 (2010).
U . S . Bank,

Second, the argument ia wrong.

as

Trustee properly submitted the original collateral

file for the Ibanez loan to the Land Court,ll which the
authenticating affidavits in the record confirm. [A1071-72; 1078-79; 1082-831. The collateral file

contained, among other things, the original Ibanez note, an allonge to the note indorsed by Rose Mortgage, Inc. (the originator of the Ibanez loan) and payable to Option One Mortgage Co. ("Option One"), and an allonge to the note indorsed by Option One in blank, and thus bearer paper.
[A960-66; 948-491

Both allonges were affixed to the original note contained therein LA9531, and U.S. Bank, as Trustee's possession of the original note and the two allonges establish it as the legal noteholder.
I'

See

Mass. Gen.

The Land Court has had possession of the original collateral file for the Ibanez loan since on or about June 8 , 2009. [ A 9 4 8 , 9 5 3 1 .
-15-

L. ch. 106, 5 5 3-109, 3-204. U.S. Bank, as Trustee,

was the holder of the note, further evidencing its ownership of the Ibanez mortgage.12
3.
Ibanez cannot challenge the validity of the recorded Rose Mortgage assignment of mortgage

Ibanez's suggestion that the Rose Mortgage assignment of mortgage to Option One was altered or invalid is pure speculation. Ibanez Br. at 3 3 , 41-42.

To the contrary, the Land Court expressly assumed the

validity of the Rose Mortgage assignment of mortgage

in rendering its decision.

[A1149].

Ibanez cannot

now request this Court to make contrary factual findings not considered by the Land Court. See .

Mahlowitz, 456 Mass. at 642 n.20; Otis v. Arbella Mut. .....

Ins. ~. ....Co.,

443 Mass. 634, 640 ( 2 0 0 5 ) .

Furthermore, the Rose Mortgage assignment of mortgage to Option One was recorded and, thus, is afforded at the very least an inference of validity

an inference which Ibanez has not provided sufficient Ibanez identifies a third allonge, indorsed by Rose Mortgage i n blank. Ibanez Br. at 11, 25, 44. Ibanez has produced no evidence to show that the third allonge was ever affixed to the original note. Speculation as to a contrary conclusion is not enough to establish the fact. See S.W. Resolution Corp. v. Watson, 964 S.W.2d 262, 264 (Tex. 1997). -- -l2

-16-

rebuttal. See NovaStar-Mortqaqe, Inc. v. Saffran, No. . .. . . . ..

~

09-ADMS-70017,2010 WL 2010880, at * 2 (Mass. App. Div. May 17, 2010); Mass. Gen. L. ch. 183, S 4, 5 .
D.
Ibanez Lacks Standing To Argue That The Assignment Was Not In Compliance with T h e Trust Agreement

Despite his contrary suggestions (Ibanez Br. at

3 6 n.321, Ibanez has

no legal basis to challenge

whether the assignment of mortgage to the trust failed

to satisfy the terms of the Trust Agreement.

Ibanez

was not a party to the Agreement and is not an

intended third-party beneficiary. He thus lacks

standing to challenge compliance with the Agreement.

~

See In re Almeida, 417 B.R. at 149 n . 4 ; Livonia Prop. -...I. ,.,. .--.Holdinqs, 2010 WL 1956867, at *11. E. Ibanez's Efforts To Minimize The Land Court's Rejection Of Title Standard No. 58 Must Fail

- . .

Ibanez's efforts to minimize the significance of the Land Court's rejection of REBA Title Standard NO.
58

must fail.l 3 Title Standard No. 58 has served as an

authoritative guide for real estate practitioners

Ibanez does not cite any Massachusetts case law to support the rejection of Title Standard No. 58. Instead, he relies almost entirely on cases from New York state court. See Ibanez Br. at 22 n.17.
l3
~

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since at least 1995.l4

Since then, industry practice

has recognized the validity of foreclosures for which assignees have executed and recorded confirmatory assignments only after completion of foreclosure sales. [A1084-921.

Affirming the Land Court's rejection of Title Standard No.

58

with retroactive effect would have

significant ramifications for properties sold pursuant

to this prior industry practice.

This would be

especially true with respect to innocent third-party purchasers who might then own pcoperty with an arguable cloud on title. h d while Ibanez argues that

a 'doomsday" scenario has not resulted from the Land Court's rulings, the chief of the Boston Housing Authority has already encountered their detrimental consequences, explaining that the Land Court's decisions have: delay[ed] the city's efforts to clean up areas plagued by abandoned homes . . . [which] holds up quite a bit of our work in revitalizing the neighborhoods that have been most devastated.15
14

See Eno & Hovey, 28B Massachusetts Practice: Real Estate Law, REBA Tit. Std. No. 58 (4th Ed. 2008).
~ ~ ~

15

See Jenifer B. McKim, Ruling . .Upheld on Sale of . . ,. . . . Property: Ownership Status of , Foreclosures Clouded, in . . The Boston Globe, dated Oct. 15, 2 0 0 9 , available at http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2009/10
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Thus, any rejection of Title Standard No. 58 and the validity of post-foreclosure confirmatory assignments must be applied prospectively only. See Powers v.

Wilkinson, 399 Mass. 650, 849 (1987). Finally, Ibanez's argument that the prospective application argument is waived is incorrect. U . S . Bank, as Trustee raised the effects of the Land Court's rejection of Title Standard No. 58 in its Motion to Vacate Judgment.
[A658-59]. The issue was

also raised by REBA in its amicus brief to the Land Court.

[A1085-91].

Moreover, the rejection of an

industry-wide standard is of significant public importance so as to warrant consideration by the Court.

~

See ~. Costa.. v .. Fall River Hous. Auth., 453 Mass. .

614, 621 n.11 (2009): Cottam, 436 Mass. at 3 2 0 . . -. ,. __

F.

Ibanez's Request To Strike Is Without Merit

Despite Ibanez's blanket request to strike unidentified facts and arguments allegedly not supported in the record, U . S . Bank, as Trustee has not cited to or relied upon any facts or arguments that are not included in the record.

/15/judge upholds ruling-on-sales-of-foreclosed_proper ties/ (a copy is attached at Tab D to the addendum).

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With respect to all references to the Trust Agreement, U.S. Bank, as Trustee has relied upon the
PPM which was submitted to the Land Court and is in

the record on appeal. 27,

33.

See Apps.' Op. Br. at 19-22,

U.S. Bank, as Trustee's statement of

"industry custom," cites to the transcript of the Land Court's April 17, 2009 hearing.
~

Id. at 45-46.

Lastly, as discussed above, Ibanez's contention that

U.S.

Bank, as Trustee waived the right t o address the

effect of the securitization agreements ox the need to prospectively apply the Land Court's decisions are plainly wrong.
IV, CONCLUSION
~

See Sections III.A.3

&

III.E, supra.

For the foregoing reasons, as w e l l as those presented in its Opening Brief, Appellant U.S. Bank,

as Trustee respectfully requests that the Court

reverse the Land Court's rulings, vacate the judgment entered against it, and remand for consideration of the relevant securitization agreements and any additional evidence the C o u r t deems appropriate.

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Respectfully submitted,
W . S . BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as TRUSTEE FOR THE STRUCTURED ASSET SECURITIES CORPORATION PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-2,

By its attorneys,

.A

R. Bruce Allensworth (BBO#015820) Phoebe S. Winder (BBO#567103)

__

Andrew C. Glass (BB0#638362) Robert W. S p a r k e s , I11 (BBO#663626) K&L GATES LLP State Street Financial Center One Lincoln Street Boston, Massachusetts 02111-2950 617.261.3100 (telephone) 617, 261.3175 (facsimile) September 10, 2010

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