In In re Marron, 455 B.R. 1 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2011), the bankruptcy court trustee argued that MERS, as the mere nominee of the lender, did not have the right to foreclose on the mortgage because it did not hold the promissory note. 455 B.R. at 5. The trustee argued that because MERS did not have the right to foreclose it could not assign the mortgage to HSBC, and therefore HSBC had no right to foreclose either. Id. The trustee further argued that there was no adequate chain of title from Fieldstone (the original lender) to the current holder of the note and that Fieldstone had since gone bankrupt. Id. Consequently, the trustee argued that HSBC could not establish that it was acting under the direction and authority of the holder of the note when it initiated the foreclosure proceedings at issue in the Marron case. Id. The federal bankruptcy court noted that the promissory note repeatedly changed hands through a line of owners, including some who entered bankruptcy or liquidation. Id. at 7. Nonetheless, throughout those transfers "MERS remained the mortgagee in its capacity as trustee and as nominee for whomever happened to own the note." Id. The court further observed that by the plain language of the mortgage instrument, MERS was granted the authority to foreclose through the power of sale. Id. The court recognized that in exercising this power of sale, MERS would have to act as a fiduciary or trustee of the holder of the note. Id. If MERS foreclosed on the property through the power of sale, as a fiduciary it would be required to account for the proceeds of sale to the holder of the note. Id. Finally, the court held that "to the extent MERS held only bare legal title to the mortgage on the debtors' residence in its capacity as trustee for the note owner, MERS was able to assign its interest to HSBC." Id. In In re Marron, the debtor took out a loan from Fieldstone Mortgage Company to purchase her home. Id. at 2. In connection with that transaction, she also granted a mortgage on the property to secure the loan. Id. MERS was named as the mortgagee "acting solely as nominee for Lender and Lender's successors and assigns." Id. MERS eventually assigned the mortgage to HSBC. Id. at 3. The debtor fell behind on her loan payments and eventually a foreclosure sale was initiated. Id. at 2-3. The debtor sought bankruptcy protection in federal court which stayed the foreclosure proceedings. Id. at 3. HSBC then filed a motion in bankruptcy court seeking relief from the automatic stay so that the foreclosure sale could go forward. Id. The bankruptcy trustee objected to HSBC's motion on the ground that MERS did not have authority to assign the mortgage to HSBC because it was only the nominee of the lender and did not actual hold the promissory note. Id. at 2. In this context, the federal bankruptcy court analyzed the role of MERS and its assignees in foreclosure proceedings, noting: "MERS is a Delaware corporation based in Virginia that along with its parent corporation, MERSCORP, Inc., was incorporated in the 1990s by several major residential mortgage lenders and investors intent on streamlining the process of transferring the ownership of mortgage loans. Mortgage lenders, loan servicers, law firms and other parties involved in the residential mortgage lending business become "members" of MERSCORP by paying an annual fee and agreeing to abide by the MERSCORP Rules of Membership (the "MERS Rules"). As members, lenders agree to name MERS as mortgagee in mortgages they originate, service or own, solely as nominee for the servicer and/or owner, and their successors and assigns. A nominee is a "person designated to act in place of another, usually in a very limited way" and a "party who holds bare legal title for the benefit of others... ." Black's Law Dictionary (9th ed. 2009). The upshot is that MERS holds legal title to the mortgage in which it is the named nominee under authority that is limited by the terms of its nominee relationship with the MERS member/nominor. MERS maintains an electronic database that is intended to track the identities of the current servicers and owners of the mortgage loans for which it serves as mortgagee/nominee, and the MERS Rules require that it may act only on behalf, and at the direction of the holders of the promissory notes or their servicers. MERS does not own any of the mortgage loans associated with the mortgages registered in its system and is not entitled to receive payments from borrowers." (Id. at 3-4.)