B of A vs. K.C. Bailey

I posted a link to this article on my firm website (here), but am reposting here given the implications of the Bailey case for Housing Court practice.  The basic effect of the SJC decision is to give the Housing Court authority to review the substance of disputes over ownership in the case of a foreclosure sale.  Judge Muirhead had initially ruled that that court's jurisdiction was limited to defenses to the eviction proceeding only, which would not include questions of ownership, as was put at issue by Mr. Bailey.  Given the prevalence of lenders' use of the MERS (i.e. "robo-signing") service, this will allow the Housing Court to resolve questions of possession that might have otherwise had to go through Superior court.  No doubt part of the concern of the SJC had to do with the distribution of court resources during a economic recession.  The matter was reported by the Boston Globe here.  The slip opinion is available to anyone with access to a decent electronic legal database.  I found it using the Social Law Library's "FastCase" system.