Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Walker County, et al., [Ms. 1160926, June 28, 2019] __ So. 3d __ (Ala. 2019). The Court (Shaw, J.; Parker, C.J., and Bolin, Wise, Bryan, Mendheim, Stewart, and Mitchell, JJ., concur; Sellers, J., concurs specially) on Defendants’ petition for permissive appeal pursuant to Rule 5 reverses the Walker Circuit Court’s denial of the Defendants’ motion to dismiss.
The Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants improperly avoided the payment of probate recording fees by utilizing a private mortgage registration process executed through Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”). Ms. *7. The gravamen of the claims was that in order to be effective, an assignment of a mortgage must be recorded in the probate records. Ms. *8. The Court concluded that there is no legal requirement or duty to record mortgage assignments in the probate record. Ms. *27.