Bryan v. JPMorgan Chase Bank

848 N.W.2d 482, 304 Mich. App. 708
Michigan Court of Appeals·Decided April 10, 2014·No. Docket No. 313279·Published·Cited by 98 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Plaintiff, Glenna Bryan, appeals as of right an order granting summary disposition in favor of defendant, JPMorgan Chase Bank, in this quiet title action. Finding no errors warranting reversal, we affirm.

I. BASIC FACTS

The trial court’s order granting summary disposition for defendant set forth the background facts of this case, none of which is in dispute:

This lawsuit arises from the foreclosure of a house located in Bloomfield Hills. Plaintiff defaulted on her mortgage payments and Defendant foreclosed by advertisement. On [711] January 26, 2010, the property was sold at a Sheriffs Sale. Defendant was the purchaser and the Sheriffs Deed was recorded on February 2, 2010. The redemption period expired on June 26, 2010. A Judgment of Possession was entered by the District Court on August 11, 2010. On August 31, 2010, Plaintiff filed a Claim of Appeal and a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition. The Bankruptcy case was dismissed on November 29, 2010. On April 11, 2011, Plaintiff filed a second Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition. On August 23, 2011, the Bankruptcy Court entered an Order discharging Plaintiff. The Appeal case was reopened on February 7, 2012 and this Court granted the motion to allow immediate execution of the Order of Eviction. The District Court denied Plaintiffs motion to set aside the Judgment of Possession on February 14, 2012. A Delayed Application for Leave to Appeal was filed and dismissed by this Court on March 8, 2012. Plaintiff filed this lawsuit on January 31, 2012, seeking to quiet title and alleging unjust enrichment, deceptive/unfair practice and wrongful foreclosure.

Plaintiffs complaint alleged, inter alia, that defendant was not the owner of the indebtedness secured by the mortgage nor the servicing agent of the mortgage as required in MCL 600.3204(l)(d). Specifically, plaintiff alleged that defendant acquired its interest in the property from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver when the original mortgagee, Washington Mutual Bank, was closed. However, defendant failed to record its interest in the property before the sheriffs sale. Plaintiff alleged that the sheriffs sale was, therefore, void ab initio.

The parties filed competing motions for summary disposition. Plaintiff admitted that the redemption period had expired, but argued that she still had standing to sue because of “fraud or irregularity” in the foreclosure process, specifically defendant’s failure to record its mortgage interest before the sale, as required by MCL 600.3204(3) and Kim v JPMorgan [712] Chase Bank, NA, 295 Mich App 200; 813 NW2d 778 (2012).1 Plaintiff did not believe that her claim was barred by res judicata or collateral estoppel because, although the district court had determined that defendant was entitled to possession, that decision was being appealed. Additionally, Kim was not decided until January 2012 and, therefore, the issue of whether the foreclosure was void ab initio was never fully addressed or resolved.

Defendant argued that plaintiffs claim was barred by the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel. Defendant further argued that, even if res judicata and collateral estoppel did not apply, plaintiff had no standing to challenge the foreclosure when the redemption period had expired and plaintiff had failed to redeem the property.

The trial court issued a written order granting defendant’s motion for summary disposition and denying plaintiffs motion for summary disposition:

The Court finds that Defendant is entitled to summary disposition. Res Judicata and collateral estoppel bar Plaintiff from challenging the foreclosure proceedings. There is no legal support for Plaintiffs argument that Kim v JP Morgan Chase, 295 Mich App 200 (2012) has retroactive effect that exempts Plaintiff from res judicata and collateral estoppel. Because the redemption period has expired, Plaintiff does not have standing to assert any interest in the subject property. The Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to state any claims upon which relief can be granted.

Plaintiffs motion for reconsideration was denied on October 19, 2012. She now appeals as of right.

[713] II. ANALYSIS

The trial court granted defendant summary disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(8). “MCR 2.116(C)(8) tests the legal sufficiency of the claim on the pleadings alone to determine whether the plaintiff has stated a claim on which relief may be granted. The motion must be granted if no factual development could justify the plaintiffs’ claim for relief.” Spiek v Dep’t of Transp, 456 Mich 331, 337; 572 NW2d 201 (1998). This Court reviews de novo a trial court’s decision on a motion for summary disposition. Coblentz v Novi, 475 Mich 558, 567; 719 NW2d 73 (2006). “The applicability of res judicata is a question of law that is reviewed de novo on appeal.” Peterson Novelties, Inc v City of Berkley, 259 Mich App 1, 10; 672 NW2d 351 (2003).

Defendant argues that plaintiff lacked standing to bring this action because the statutory period of redemption had expired and plaintiff made no effort to redeem the property. We agree.

Pursuant to MCL 600.3240, after a sheriffs sale is completed, a mortgagor may redeem the property by paying the requisite amount within the prescribed time limit, which here was six months. “Unless the premises described in such deed shall be redeemed within the time limited for such redemption as hereinafter provided, such deed shall thereupon become operative, and shall vest in the grantee therein named, his heirs or assigns, all the right, title, and interest which the mortgagor had at the time of the execution of the mortgage, or at any time thereafter. . . .” MCL 600.3236. If a mortgagor fails to avail him or herself of the right of redemption, all the mortgagor’s rights in and to the property are extinguished. Piotrowski v State Land Office Bd, 302 Mich 179, 187; 4 NW2d 514 (1942).

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Bryan v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, 848 N.W.2d 482, 304 Mich. App. 708 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014).

848 N.W.2d 482 (Bryan v. JPMorgan Chase Bank) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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