An Act To Create Transparency in the Mortgage Foreclosure Process
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0401
Committee Amendment CA_A_H257 (House)
Amends: 14 MRSA §6321

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "~,, to H.P. 267, L.D. 401, Bill, "An Act To Create 
Transparency in the Mortgage Foreclosure Process" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §6321, 3rd ~, as amended by PL 2009, c. 476, Pt. B, §5 and 
affected by § 9, is further amended to read: . 
The foreclosure must be commenced in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil 
Procedure, and the mortgagee shall within 60 days of commencing the foreclosure also 
record a copy of the complaint or a clerk's certificate of the filing of the complaint in each 
registry of deeds in which the mortgage deed is or by law ought to be recorded and such a 
recording thereafter constitutes record notice of commencement of foreclosure. 
The 
mortgagee shall further certify and provide evidence that all steps mandated by law to 
provide notice to the mortgagor pursuant to section 6111 were strictly performed. ill 
order to state a claim for foreclosure upon which relief can be granted, the complaint 
must contain a certification of proof of ownership of the mortgage note. The mortgagee 
shall certify proof of ownership of the mortgage note and produce evidence of the 
mortgage note, mortgage and all assignments and endorsements of the mortgage note and 
mortgage. The complaint must allege with specificity the plaintiff's claim by mortgage 
on such real estate, describe the mortgaged premises intelligibly, including the street 
address of the mortgaged premises, if any, which must be prominently stated on the frrst 
page of the complaint, state the book and page number of the mortgage, if any, state the 
existence of public utility easements, if any, that were recorded subsequent to the 
mortgage and prior to the connnencement of the foreclosure proceeding and without 
mortgagee consent, state the amount due on the mortgage, state the condition broken and 
by reason of such breach demand a foreclosure and sale. If a clerk's certificate of the 
filing of the complaint is presented for recording pursuant to this section, the clerk's 
certificate must bear the title "Clerk's Certificate of Foreclosure" and prominently state, 
immediately after the title, the street address of the mortgaged premises, if any, and the 
book and page number of the mortgage, if any. Service of process on all parties in 
interest and all proceedings must be in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROPS 
- 8 
COMMlTTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 267, L.D. 401 
Procedure. "Parties in interest" includes mortgagors, holders of fee interest, mortgagees, 
lessees pursuant to recorded leases or memoranda thereof, lienors and attaching creditors 
all as reflected by the indices in the registry of deeds and the documents referred to 
therein affecting the mortgaged premises, through the time of the recording of the 
complaint or the clerk's certificate. Failure to join any party in interest does not invalidate 
the action nor any subsequent proceedings as to those joined. Failure of the mortgagee to 
join, as a party in interest, the holder of any public utility easement recorded subsequent 
to the mortgage and pri<?r to commencement of foreclosure proceedings is deemed 
consent by the mortgagee to that easement. Any other party having a claim to the real 
estate whose claim is not recorded in the registry of deeds as of the time of recording of 
the copy of the complaint or the clerk's certificate need not be joined in the foreclosure 
action, and any such party has no claim against the real estate after completion of the 
foreclosure sale, except that any such party may move to intervene in the action for the 
purpose of being added as a party in interest at any time prior to the entry of judgment. 
Within 10 days of submitting the complaint for filing with the court, the mortgagee shall 
provide a copy of the complaint or of the clerk's certificate as submitted to the court that 
prominently states, immediately after the title, the street address of the mortgaged 
premises, if any, and the book and page number of the mortgage, if any, to "the municipal 
tax assessor of the municipality in which the property is located and, if the mortgaged 
premises is manufactured housing as defined in Title 10, section 9002, subsection 7, to 
the owner of any land leased by the mortgagor. The failure to provide the notice required 
by this section does not affect the validity of the foreclosure sale.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill but still requires proof of the owner of the mortgage 
note to be included in the foreclosure complaint. 
The Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule l2(b)(6) provides that a complaint must be 
dismissed if it fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. This amendment 
makes a foreclosure case subject to dismissal ifit does not include a certification of proof 
of the owner of the mortgage note. The purpose of this amendment is to remove the 
ambiguity left by the Law Court in Bank of America v. Cloutier, 2013 ME 17,61 A.3d. 
1242, in which the Law Court held that the plaintiffs must identify the owner of a loan 
but did not say when and how that identification must occur. This amendment requires 
the identification at the begi1ll1ing of the lawsuit when the parties most need that 
information as they engage in mediation and loan modification efforts. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: OS/26115 
MaC 
LD401 
LR 1469(02) 
An Act To Create Transparency in the Mortgage Foreclosure Process 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment '~{ ~ -;)5 ~ 
Committee: Judiciary 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation from the provisions of this bill are 
expected to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR1469(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1