Alice M. Wood and Daniel L. Wood v. HSBC Bank USA, N, A. and Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C

439 S.W.3d 585, 2014 WL 3747618, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 8382
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 31, 2014
Docket14-13-00389-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 439 S.W.3d 585 (Alice M. Wood and Daniel L. Wood v. HSBC Bank USA, N, A. and Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alice M. Wood and Daniel L. Wood v. HSBC Bank USA, N, A. and Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C, 439 S.W.3d 585, 2014 WL 3747618, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 8382 (Tex. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

*588 OPINION

MARC W. BROWN, Justice.

This case arises out of a home-equity loan obtained by appellants Alice M. Wood and Daniel L. Wood in 2004 that encumbered their homestead with a lien. The Woods appeal the summary judgment granted in favor of appellees HSBC Bank USA, N.A. and Ocwen Loan Servicing, L.L.C. The Woods presented a single issue on appeal, which we address in two separate sub-issues:

(1) Whether the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.051 four-year statute of limitations bars the Woods’ claims for monetary and declaratory relief based on HSBC’s and Ocwen’s alleged violations of the home-equity lending protections found in article XVI, section 50(a)(6), of the Texas Constitution.
(2) Whether the section 16.051 statute of limitations bars the Woods’ claim for monetary relief based on HSBC’s and Ocwen’s alleged breach of the security instrument creating the home-equity lien.

Because we conclude that the Woods’ claims are barred by limitations, we affirm.

I. Facts and PRocedural Background

On July 2, 2004, the Woods obtained a home-equity loan of $76,000 from Fremont Investment & Loan, secured by a first lien on their homestead located in Fresno, Fort Bend County, Texas. On March 16, 2012, the Woods sent HSBC, the current holder of the lien, a “Notice of Request to Cure.” The Notice alleged that the home-equity lien violated seven provisions of article XVI, section 50(a)(6), of the Texas Constitution and demanded that HSBC cure the alleged violations. HSBC did not respond to the Woods’ letter.

On July 9, 2012, the Woods sued HSBC, Ocwen, Ameriapraise, Inc., and Joel Brock seeking forfeiture of principal and interest for the constitutional violations, damages for breach of contract, damages for fraud, and a declaratory judgment that (1) the loan and accompanying home-equity lien were void, (2) HSBC failed to cure the constitutional defects, and (3) HSBC must forfeit all principal and interest paid on the loan. HSBC and Ocwen answered on August 10, 2012. HSBC filed a counterclaim on February 28, 2013, seeking a declaration that it was equitably subrogated to the rights of the prior lienholders.

On January 3, 2013, the Woods filed a motion for summary judgment on their •claim that the fees exceeded three percent of the loan amount. On February 7, 2013, HSBC and Ocwen filed a hybrid traditional and no-evidence motion for summary judgment. In their motion, HSBC and Ocwen asserted that all of the Woods’ claims were barred by limitations, that no tolling rule delayed the accrual of the Woods’ claims, that the constitutional claims failed as a matter of law, that the Woods’ breach of contract claim failed as a matter of law, and that no evidence supported the Woods’ fraud claim. 1 On April 4, 2013, the trial court granted HSBC’s traditional and no- *589 evidence motions and denied the Woods’ motion for summary judgment. The Woods then nonsuited defendants Ameria-praise, Inc. and Joel Brock, and HSBC nonsuited its counterclaim for equitable subrogation against the Woods. The Woods timely appealed.

II. Summary Judgment Standard of Review

We review the trial court’s granting of summary judgment de noyo. Mid-Century Ins. Co. of Tex. v. Ademaj, 243 S.W.3d 618, 621 (Tex.2007). To prevail on a traditional motion for summary judgment, the movant must carry the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that judgment should be granted as a matter of law. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(c); KPMG Peat Marwick v. Harrison Cty. Hous. Fin. Corp., 988 S.W.2d 746, 748 (Tex.1999). When reviewing a traditional summary judgment granted in favor of the defendant, we determine whether the defendant conclusively disproved at least one element of the plaintiffs claim or conclusively proved every element of an affirmative defense. Am. Tobacco Co. v. Grinnelt, 951 S.W.2d 420, 425 (Tex.1997).

A defendant moving for summary judgment on the affirmative defense of limitations ... must (1) conclusively prove when the cause of action accrued, and (2) negate the discovery rule, if it applies and has been pleaded or otherwise raised, by proving as a matter of law that there is no genuine issue of material fact about when the plaintiff discovered, or in the exercise Of reasonable diligence should have discovered the nature of its injury. If the movant establishes that the statute of limitations bars the action, the nonmovant must then adduce summary judgment proof raising a fact issue in avoidance of the statute of limitations.

KPMG Peat Marwick, 988 S.W.2d at 748 (footnotes omitted). A matter is conclusively established if reasonable people could not differ as to the conclusion to be drawn from the evidence. Farmers Ins. Exch. v. Rodriguez, 366 S.W.3d 216, 221 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2012, pet. denied). In deciding whether a disputed material fact issue exists precluding summary judgment, we must take evidence favorable to the non-movant as true, and we must indulge every reasonable inference and resolve any doubts in favor of the non-movant. Sysco Food Servs., Inc. v. Trapnell, 890 S.W.2d 796, 800 (Tex.1994). We will affirm the summary judgment if any of the theories presented to the trial court and preserved for appellate review are meritorious. Provident Life & Accident Ins. Co. v., Knott, 128 S.W.3d 211, 216 (Tex.2003).

III. Discussion

A. The Woods’ claims for monetary and declaratory relief under Texas Constitution article XYI, section 50(a)(6), are barred by the section 16.051 four-year statute of limitations.

The Woods alleged in their petition that the home-equity hen on their residence violated article XVI, sections 50(a)(6)(B), 50(a)(6)(E), 50(a)(6)(Q)(v), and 50(a)(6)(Q)(viii), of the Texas Constitution. The Woods contend that their home-equity lien is void because of section 50(c), which states, “No mortgage, trust deed, or other lien on the homestead shall ever be valid unless it secures a debt described by this section-” Tex. Const, art. XVI, § 50(e). The Woods assert that section 50(c) renders “void but curable” any home-equity lien that does not strictly comply with a provision of section 50(a)(6). Consequently, because an action to remove a cloud on *590 title is not subject to the four-year residual statute of limitations if a lien is void, see Ford v. Exxon Mobil Chem. Co., 235 S.W.3d 615, 618 (Tex.2007), the Woods argue that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of HSBC.

HSBC and Ocwen respond that the Woods’ constitutional claims are barred by the four-year residual statute of limitations. Relying on the Dallas Court of Appeals’ decision in Williams v. Wachovia Mortg. Corp., 407 S.W.3d 391 (Tex.App.Dallas 2013, pet.

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439 S.W.3d 585, 2014 WL 3747618, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 8382, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alice-m-wood-and-daniel-l-wood-v-hsbc-bank-usa-n-a-and-ocwen-loan-texapp-2014.