Harris County Texas, which includes Houston, is planning to join the growing list of counties that are pursuing lawsuits against MERS for failure to pay recording fees.  Bexar County (San Antonio) is planning a similar lawsuit.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Harris County attorney Vince Ryan will seek authority from county commissioners to hire a law firm to conduct the planned lawsuit.  A hearing on the issue will be held Tuesday.

"MERS has jeopardized the clear title of every Texas homeowner with a mortgage and has cheated Texas counties out of millions of dollars in property recording fees," Ryan says.

Harris County officials estimate that damages could be from $10 million to over $100 million if penalties are included.

Harris County is the third largest county in the country measured by population with over 4 million people. 

Bexar County Texas, the 19th most populous county with about 1.7 million people, is following closely behind.  "There has been a process developed specifically for the purpose of circumventing the recording procedures and statutes in reference to real property," says Susan Reed, Bexar County District Attorney.

Hidalgo County Texas (McAllen), another heavily populated county, is also planning to sue MERS, according to the Chronicle. 

Dallas County, another huge county (9th most populous, 2.4 million people) has already filed suit against MERS, seeking over $58 million dollars for back fees for unrecorded MERS mortgage assignments. 

MERS has estimated that it has saved banks over $2 billion in recording fees nationwide.