The Mortgage Electronic Registration System, designed to facilitate the shift to electronic mortgages, has found itself at the center of an odd lawsuit and seen its lawyers chastised by a federal appeals court. The case is MERS v. Estrella (No. 04-2078). MERS filed suit to collect $306,000 owed by borrowers James and Laura Estrella on a note secured by a mortgage. The trial court ordered the property sold and appointed a special commissioner to conduct…