Bennett v. Chicago Title and Trust Co.

936 N.E.2d 1068, 404 Ill. App. 3d 1088
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 3, 2010
Docket1-09-2041
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 936 N.E.2d 1068 (Bennett v. Chicago Title and Trust Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bennett v. Chicago Title and Trust Co., 936 N.E.2d 1068, 404 Ill. App. 3d 1088 (Ill. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

JUSTICE ROBERT E. GORDON

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff Robert Bennett filed a pro se action for declaratory judgment and to quiet title in the circuit court of Cook County. Plaintiffs verified complaint concerns a marital home previously owned by plaintiff and his ex-wife, Maisha B.H. Bennett (Maisha). The parties established a land trust for the marital home conveying a one-third beneficial interest to each of their three children pursuant to the Illinois Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (Act) (760 ILCS 20/1 et seq. (West 1992)) and designated themselves as joint custodians. The parties’ marriage was dissolved in 1994.

Plaintiff alleges in his verified complaint that Maisha and two of their children obtained loans secured by a mortgage against the former marital home without his knowledge and between two to four years after his youngest child attained the age of 21. Defendant Chicago Title and Trust Company (Chicago Title) became the successor land trustee at the time the loans were obtained. Defendant Logan Asset Backed Fund, L.E (Logan), was the lender that issued a loan to one of the children, Karega.

Chicago Title filed a motion to dismiss plaintiffs complaint, pursuant to section 2 — 615(a) of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2 — 615(a) (West 2008)), claiming that plaintiff lacked standing because, under the Act, the custodianship terminated when his youngest child attained the age of 21. Logan filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, pursuant to section 2 — 615(e) of the Code (735 ILCS 5/2 — 615(e) (West 2008)), also claiming that plaintiff lacked standing because his custodianship terminated when his youngest child attained the age of 21. Logan also filed an alternative motion to dismiss plaintiffs complaint, pursuant to section 2 — 615(a) (735 ILCS 5/2 — 615(a), (e) (West 2008)), on the same basis. Plaintiff responded that the custodianship never terminated because he never transferred the custodial property to the children after their twenty-first birthdays and that his children requested him to continue to serve as custodian of their beneficiary interests in the land trust.

The trial court granted Chicago Title’s motion to dismiss with prejudice and Logan’s motion for judgment on the pleadings. The trial court found plaintiff lacked standing because he did not have an ownership interest in the property, since his custodianship terminated when all his children attained the age of 21, and that he should have transferred the custodial property to the adult children, as required by the Act. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff’s verified “Complaint For Declaratory Judgment and Quiet Title” contained the following allegations: On January 8, 1993, plaintiff and Maisha established a land trust agreement under trust number 116488-05 for the marital home they “jointly” owned, located at 4847 South Woodlawn Avenue in Chicago. The land trust agreement was established with American National Bank of Chicago as the land trustee, and at an unspecified time thereafter, LaSalle Bank became the successor land trustee (after LaSalle Bank acquired American National Bank).

Pursuant to the Act, the land trust conveyed a one-third beneficial interest to the parties’ three minor children and designated plaintiff and Maisha as joint custodians.

In September 1993, Maisha filed a complaint for the dissolution of the parties’ marriage. Plaintiff alleges in his verified complaint that, as part of an oral agreement between the parties, plaintiff could continue to reside in the marital home following the dissolution, so long as he paid the mortgage, paid all debts associated with the property, and maintained the property in good condition.

Ten years later, in November 2003, Ayinde, the parties’ youngest child, celebrated his twenty-first birthday, and plaintiff continued to reside in the former marital home. Plaintiff admits in his verified complaint that he never transferred the custodial property after all his children attained the age of 21 as required under section 21 of the Act.

Plaintiff’s verified complaint also alleges the following: In 2005, Maisha caused the preparation of three “Directions to Convey” the former marital home out of the land trust to herself, one for each of her three children in 2005. Only two of the alleged three directions to convey documents are included in the record, namely, the ones allegedly executed by Kinshasa and Karega. The children’s signatures on the directions to convey were forged and Maisha committed fraud in producing them. In August 2005, LaSalle Bank, as successor trustee, issued a trustee’s deed for the former marital home to Maisha. Approximately a month later, Maisha obtained two loans from Community Bank of Lawndale (Community Bank), for a total loan of $400,000. Maisha secured the loan by executing a mortgage to Community Bank on the former marital home. Approximately three months later, Maisha defaulted on the Community Bank loan. Maisha executed a deed in trust and reconveyed the title to the former marital home to the same land trust number, 116488-05 in February 2006. Plaintiff alleges that he had no knowledge of any of these transactions.

Plaintiffs verified complaint further alleges as follows: Community Bank filed a mortgage foreclosure against Maisha in August 2006. 1 Karega and Ayinde obtained a loan for $950,000 from Eastern Savings Bank (Eastern Bank) in March 2007 and secured the loan with a mortgage to Community Bank on the former marital home. Karega and Ayinde paid the balance on Maisha’s loan from Community Bank out of the proceeds. Karega obtained a loan in the amount of $1,235,000 from Logan and secured the loan with a mortgage to Logan on the former marital home in November 2007. Karega paid the balance of the $950,000 Eastern Bank loan from the proceeds.

In plaintiffs pro se one-count verified complaint, plaintiff seeks a determination that: (1) he remain in possession of the former marital home; (2) the transfer of title of the former marital home from LaSalle Bank to Maisha was fraudulent; (3) Maisha fraudulently obtained loans from Community Bank, secured by the former marital home; (4) Chicago Title, as land trustee, was negligent in its transfer of title to Maisha; (5) Chicago Title’s termination of plaintiff as joint custodian of the children was negligent; (6) Karega’s and Ayinde’s exercise of authority and direction of the land trust agreement was improper; and (7) Logan’s mortgage was improperly authorized and executed.

On October 28, 2008, Chicago Title filed a motion to dismiss plaintiffs verified complaint pursuant to section 2 — 615(a) of the Code (735 ILCS 5/2

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
936 N.E.2d 1068, 404 Ill. App. 3d 1088, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bennett-v-chicago-title-and-trust-co-illappct-2010.