Booth v. Attorneys Title Guaranty Fund, Inc.

2001 UT 13, 20 P.3d 319, 414 Utah Adv. Rep. 46, 2001 Utah LEXIS 23, 2001 WL 111243
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 9, 2001
Docket990551
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2001 UT 13 (Booth v. Attorneys Title Guaranty Fund, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Booth v. Attorneys Title Guaranty Fund, Inc., 2001 UT 13, 20 P.3d 319, 414 Utah Adv. Rep. 46, 2001 Utah LEXIS 23, 2001 WL 111243 (Utah 2001).

Opinion

RUSSON, Associate Chief Justice:

T1 Jacqueline Booth and Donald Tevini appeal the seventh district court's grant of *321 summary judgment in favor of Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. ("ATGEF"), William Benge, and Charles Critchlow. The court held that title to the Moab Travelodge motel ("Travelodge") was marketable, Booth and Tevini had sustained no injuries, and the statute of limitations precluded any claim of fraud. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

T2 Richard Rose and Robert Rud! were general partners of the Moab Travelodge Limited Partnership ("MTLP"). The part nership was formed in 1980, and MTLP's primary asset was the Travelodge in Moab, Utah, Rose acted as the managing general partner of MTLP from its formation. 1

1 3 Rud! filed a voluntary petition for chapter 7 bankruptcy 2 in California in 1983 or 1984 and thereafter became inactive as a general partner of MTLP. At no time did Rudl's bankruptcy trustee act as a general partner of MTLP.

T4 On February 18, 1985, Rose filed for personal bankruptcy in California under chapter 11. 3 In October 1989, this proceeding was involuntarily converted to a chapter 7 proceeding, and the California bankruptcy court appointed a trustee.

T5 On June 6, 1985, after Rose had filed for personal bankruptey in California, MTLP filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in Utah. As part of its bankruptey proceedings, MTLP filed an amended disclosure statement to its bankruptcy plan, designating Rose as manager of the ongoing concern and providing that Rose be paid $1000 per month as compensation for this responsibility.

16 The Utah bankruptey court filed an order confirming the MTLP bankruptey plan on December 14, 1986. The order provided: "Upon the entry of the Order of Confirmation the Debtor [MTLP] shall be entitled to manage its affairs without further order of the Court." The confirmation order also stated: "The Court shall retain jurisdiction of this Chapter 11 case pursuant to and for the purposes set forth in 1127(b) 4 of the Code .... (c) Order a sale of assets. (d) Supervise such other matters as may be set forth in the Order of Confirmation."

T7 In the summer of 1989, Booth and Tevini, both California residents, visited Rose in Moab. Booth knew Rose and Rud! and had lent $40,000 to MTLP in 1982. That loan was secured by a trust deed on the Travel-odge. Booth acknowledged in her deposition that because she was a creditor of MTLP, she had previously received a notice of the MTLP bankruptcy by mail. Booth also stated in her deposition that she had started receiving monthly payments on the note about one and one-half years before MTLP filed for bankruptcy, and the payments continued after the filing.

18 While visiting Moab, Booth and Tevini decided to purchase the Travelodge. Booth and Tevini were aware that Rose was in personal bankruptey at that time, but Booth claimed Rose had told her MTLP was no *322 longer in bankruptey. In August 1989, Tevi-ni submitted an earnest money sales agreement to MTLP to purchase the Travelodge for $1,725,000 subject to a tax deferred exchange involving other property Tevini planned to sell. 5 Rose signed the agreement on behalf of MTLP on September 8. Tevini then arranged for Lloyd Kendall at LAM in California to act as the accommodator in the tax deferred exchange, and Rose arranged for ATGF to serve as the escrow agent, as well as to provide title insurance.

T9 In preparation for the closing, ATGEF and LAM exchanged documents. It is not certain exactly which documents were sent and received, but all parties agreed that the cover page of the ATGF title commitment was sent to and received by LAM. Kendall, Booth, and Tevini all acknowledged having seen the title commitment cover page before completing the closing. At the bottom of the cover page, in bold print, was the statement: "This Commitment must contain Schedules A and B and be duly validated by this signature." It was signed by William Benge as authorized agent.

T10 Schedule B of the title commitment listed the exceptions to title such as judgments, liens, and bankruptcies. Kendall claimed Tevini had made him aware that there may be a bankruptey issue. Therefore, Kendall claimed that when he did not receive schedule B of the title commitment, he advised Booth and Tevini that they should wait to receive and review that information before they closed on the Travelodge. Booth and Tevini admitted that they knew they did not have the entire title commitment prior to closing. 6 Nevertheless, without schedule B, on January 10, 1990, Booth and Tevini closed on the first portion of the tax deferred exchange. 7 A promissory note was placed in escrow with First Western National Bank so that payments could be received on the note and disbursed pursuant to the terms of the escrow agreement.

111 Sometime in January 1990, shortly after closing on the first portion of the tax deferred exchange, Booth and Tevini went to the office of John Richardson, the case administrator for the trustee in Rose's personal chapter 7 bankruptey in California, to discuss the sale of the Travelodge. 8 Richardson allegedly told Booth and Tevini that the sale could not take place unless Rose's trustee had been notified. Nevertheless, Tevini claimed that he and Booth gave Richardson all the documents regarding the sale to review and Richardson said he would get back to them. Tevini claimed that approximately one week later, Richardson called and told him that Tevini and Booth had apparently paid fair market value for the Travelodge and that the trustee approved the sale.

112 In April 1992, MTLP's bankruptcy attorneys sent a letter to the Travelodge regarding the closure of MTLP's chapter 11 bankruptcy. Booth and Tevini saw this letter when they picked up their mail at the Travelodge in May 1992. Tevini claimed that shortly thereafter, he and Booth contacted ATGF and expressed concerns regarding marketability of the Travelodge's title.

T13 The Utah bankruptcy court closed MTLP's bankruptey case by entry of a final decree on August 16, 1992. Booth and Tevi-ni eventually made a claim against ATGEF under their title policy on the Travelodge. They alleged they had suffered damages because title to the Travelodge was clouded due to the fact that approval for the sale had *323 never been acquired from the California court with jurisdiction over Rose's chapter 7 bankruptcy. They also claimed that Rose did not have the authority to act for MTLP because he was in chapter 7 bankruptcy when he executed the sale.

14 The ATGF title insurance policy insured Booth and Tevini against loss or damage sustained or incurred, up to $1,725,000, as a result of "1. Title to the estate or interest described in Schedule A being vested other than as stated therein; 2. Any defect in or lien or encumbrance on the title; 8. Unmarketability of the title; and 4.

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Bluebook (online)
2001 UT 13, 20 P.3d 319, 414 Utah Adv. Rep. 46, 2001 Utah LEXIS 23, 2001 WL 111243, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/booth-v-attorneys-title-guaranty-fund-inc-utah-2001.