In Davis v M&T Bank, an unpublished Michigan Court of Appeals decision, the mortgagor granted a mortgage to Worldwide Financial Services, which assigned the mortgage to Countrywide Home Loans. Countrywide went belly up and was acquired by Bank of America. Bank of America then assigned the mortgage to M&T Bank. When the mortgagor defaulted on the loan and before M&T could foreclose, the mortgagor filed suit challenging the Bank of America - M&T Bank assignment. The court found that the assignment was valid and that the mortgagor had no standing to challenge the assignment.
"It is a long-standing rule in Michigan that an individual who is not a party to an assignment lacks standing to challenge that assignment.” The validity of an assignment does not affect whether the mortgagor owes an obligation, but to whom the obligation is owed. The mortgagor has no standing to challenge to whom the obligation is owed when the obligee has changed by an assignment to which the mortgagor was not a party.