American Interstate Mortgage Corp. v. Edwards

2002 UT App 16, 41 P.3d 1142, 439 Utah Adv. Rep. 20, 2002 Utah App. LEXIS 5, 2002 WL 93105
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedJanuary 25, 2002
DocketNo. 20001004-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2002 UT App 16 (American Interstate Mortgage Corp. v. Edwards) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Interstate Mortgage Corp. v. Edwards, 2002 UT App 16, 41 P.3d 1142, 439 Utah Adv. Rep. 20, 2002 Utah App. LEXIS 5, 2002 WL 93105 (Utah Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

GREENWOOD, Judge.

{1 American Interstate Mortgage (AIM) initiated this action to foreclose on certain real property (the Property) located in Weber County, Utah. James and Helen Edwards (the Edwardses) held title to the Property pursuant to a sheriff's sale, subject to a Deed of Trust (the Deed) and a Note (the Note) held by AIM. The estate of James Edwards (the Estate) succeeded to the Edwardses' title. The trial court determined that AIM [1145]*1145could foreclose on the Property. The trial court also ordered that AIM's attorney fees incurred in this foreclosure action and a previous case were to be added to the principal due under the Note. The trial court refused to allow AIM to present evidence regarding a portion of its claimed attorney fees. AIM appeals the trial court's exclusion of the attorney fees evidence. AIM also challenges the Estate's standing before the trial court and on appeal. The Estate eross-appeals, challenging the trial court's order allowing attorney fees from the earlier action and the trial court's order foreclosing the Property. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

1 2 On August 28, 1981, James and Beverly Rothey, as trustors, and Mountain West Savings & Loan (Mountain West), as beneficiary, executed the Deed and Note in relation to the Property. Later, Michael Flynn assumed the rights and obligations of the Roth-eys and Mountain West assigned its rights to AIM. In July 1992, a civil judgment was entered against Flynn. A writ of execution was entered, resulting in a sheriffs sale of the Property. Judgment Collection Systems successfully bid on the Property and assigned its interest in the Property to the Edwardses. The Edwardses then leased the Property to their son, Bruce Edwards, who remains in possession of the Property. The Edwardses never assumed the rights or obligations of Flynn under the Note or Deed. The Edwardses are both deceased, and the Estate of James Edwards is now the real party in interest, with Bruce Edwards acting as the personal representative of his father's estate.1 The Estate is the only remaining defendant, as all other defendants have disclaimed their interest in the Property or have been dismissed by the trial court.

13 After the sheriff's sale, Bruce Edwards contacted AIM and paid the arrearage due under the Note. He made payments to AIM until the summer of 1998, when a dispute arose between Bruce Edwards and AIM regarding missing payments and late fees. AIM demanded payment and threatened foreclosure on the Property. Bruce Edwards commenced a suit against AIM in 1994 (the 1994 Action) seeking to enjoin non-judicial foreclosure of the Property. AIM counterclaimed, seeking attorney fees and foreclosure of the Property. The trial court in the 1994 Action granted Bruce Edwards's motion for a restraining order and ordered him to pay the missing payments to AIM. The trial court entered its Decision in early 1998. The Decision did not award attorney fees to AIM. Further, the Decision stated that Bruce Edwards was a party to that action because he had an interest as the possessor of the property, not under the Note or Deed, because he had no privity under either. Neither party appealed from the Decision in the 1994 Action.

4 In the present case, no payments were made on the Note after January 1998. AIM sent a notice to Flynn, demanding ten months of payments to cure the default as well as $19,930.20 in attorney fees it incurred in the 1994 Action. AIM also sent the notice to Bruce Edwards. Bruce Edwards tendered payment of $7,006.50 for the missing payments, but refused to pay the demanded attorney fees. AIM did not cash the check and it was later returned to Bruce Edwards. In October of 1998, AIM filed suit seeking foreclosure, naming Bruce Edwards as a defendant. Bruce Edwards filed a motion for dismissal or summary judgment seeking, among other things, to prevent AIM from recovering attorney fees denied in the 1994 Action. The trial court denied the motion, but held that AIM could not recover the fees from the prior litigation as they were now barred by res judicata.

1 5 The trial court also ordered that James and Helen Edwards be joined as defendants in the action. AIM amended its complaint accordingly and Bruce Edwards was dismissed from the action. The trial court later ruled that the attorney fees claim from the 1994 Action could be raised against the Ed-wardses as they were not parties to the previous action.

[1146]*114616 In July 1999, the Edwardses served AIM with interrogatories and requests for document production. Document Request number 7 requested all "time slips, billings, and payment records ... relating to the ... prosecution of the present legal action." Request number 8 sought "[alll documents that [AIM] and his counsel intend to introduce into evidence at the trial of the matter, not previously furnished to [Edwardses] as part of the court's order compelling discovery." AIM responded to both requests as follows: "All documents responsive to this request will be produced for inspection and copying at a mutually convenient time and place." AIM included with its written answers copies of the billing records that had been created to date by the Durbano law firm (Durbano) 2 relating to this matter. At no time did the Edwardses or their counsel request to inspect or copy any additional documents. The trial court would not allow AIM's counsel to introduce Durbano billing records generated between July 1999 through June 2000 that had not been previously provided to the Ed-wardses. The trial court, relying on Rule 26 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, refused to allow evidence of $11,456.95 in attorney fees, holding that AIM did not properly supplement its discovery responses. No order was in place requiring the parties to supplement their discovery responses, but the trial court relied on Rule 26's specification of an ongoing duty to provide information.

T7 Based on the Deed language, the trial court ordered that the fees incurred by AIM in the 1994 Action be added to the principal due under the Note in the amount of $17,346.25 plus interest at 7.75% from January 28, 1998. From the evidence it allowed AIM to present, the trial court found that $9,788.41 in attorney fees was incurred by AIM in the present action. The trial court denied $1000.00 in fees incurred by AIM in its motion to reconsider the trial court's decision excluding the additional attorney fees.

T8 Consequently, the trial court awarded AIM attorney fees of $22,168.25 from the 1994 Action and $12,488.41 for the present action and ordered that AIM could foreclose on the Property. The fees awarded were included as indebtedness on the Note and Deed, to be recovered if proceeds from foreclosure of the Property were adequate. The trial court did not award, nor did AIM seek, any money judgment against the Edwardses or the Estate.

19 AIM appeals the trial court decision denying the $11,456.95 in Durbano attorney fees, which the trial court excluded from evidence. AIM also claims the Estate lacked standing to contest AIM's rights to attorney fees or to foreclose before the trial court and on appeal. The Estate cross-appeals the order of the trial court allowing attorney fees from the 1994 Action and the decision of the trial court allowing the foreclosure to proceed.

ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW

AIM argues the trial court erred in excluding evidence of part of Durba-no's billing statements because AIM did not supplement its discovery requests.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Thomas v. Thomas
2021 UT App 8 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2021)
Wight v. Wight
2011 UT App 424 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2011)
Wasatch Oil & Gas, L.L.C. v. Reott
2007 UT App 223 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2002 UT App 16, 41 P.3d 1142, 439 Utah Adv. Rep. 20, 2002 Utah App. LEXIS 5, 2002 WL 93105, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-interstate-mortgage-corp-v-edwards-utahctapp-2002.