Cross v. Fleet Mortgage Corp. (In re Cross)

290 B.R. 157, 2001 Bankr. LEXIS 2107, 2001 WL 34080739
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Nevada
DecidedSeptember 21, 2001
DocketBankruptcy No. BK-S-29679; Adversary No. 00-2154-RCJ
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 290 B.R. 157 (Cross v. Fleet Mortgage Corp. (In re Cross)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cross v. Fleet Mortgage Corp. (In re Cross), 290 B.R. 157, 2001 Bankr. LEXIS 2107, 2001 WL 34080739 (Nev. 2001).

Opinion

ROBERT C. JONES, Bankruptcy Judge.

The Defendant/Cross-Claimant, Wool-man Oval Holdings, LLC’s (Woolman), cross-claim for lost profits was heard at trial in the above-entitled court on January 12, 2001. The Defendant/Cross-Claimant appeared by and through counsel of record, Joseph P. Reiff, Esq. The Defendant Fleet Mortgage Corp. (Fleet) appeared by and through counsel of record, Jeremy T. Bergstrom, Esq. of the law firm of Miles & Associates, LLP. The Plaintiff, Ronald Cross (Cross), appeared by and through counsel of record, Gary Gowan, Esq.

The Court, having read and considered the Statements, Briefs, and Replies, finding that the notice given of the hearing on [159]*159the Motion was adequate, and good cause appearing therefore,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Claim for Lost Profits is hereby DENIED.

FACTS

The relationship between the Debtor Cross and the Creditor Fleet Mortgage began September 4, 1986 when Cross purchased property at 32 Sir Noble Street and executed a deed of trust in favor of Fleet for $74,787.00. The debtor filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection on December 17, 1997. Apparently, questions arose as to Cross’ mortgage payments and an order granting Fleet relief from the automatic stay was entered May 24, 1999. On that same date, Cross motioned the Court for reconsideration of its previous relief from stay order and for reimposition of the stay. Then, on October 4, 1999, Cross’ Motion to Reconsider was granted subject to Cross remaining current on his mortgage payments.1 If Cross were to fall into arrears, the order required that Fleet give Cross notice and ten days to cure any default. If the delinquency was not cured, the stay would be automatically lifted and Fleet could then proceed to foreclosure.

On March 9, 2000, Fleet issued a notice of default which was not answered in writing by Cross. Fleet then entered a Motion for Relief From Stay which was granted April 14, 2000. In reaction, Cross entered a Motion to Reinstate Automatic Stay on May 8, 2000. Despite this, Cross’ home was sold to Defendant Woolman Oval Holdings, LLC for $73,827.18. On June 15, 2000, the instant adversary proceeding was filed by Cross to recover the foreclosed property. Woolman cross-claimed for lost profits. On September 28, 2000, an Order for Preliminary Injunction was entered on the basis that Cross was not in default at the time the stay was lifted. A trial was held January 12, 2001 and this Court rescinded the foreclosure sale. Pursuant to the rescission, Cross is to recover title to the Sir Noble Street property. Therefore, the question remaining for this Court to decide is whether the third-party purchaser Woolman can recover expectation damages from Fleet as a result of Fleet’s wrongful foreclosure.

DISCUSSION

Under state and federal law, an act in violation of the automatic stay is void ab initio. Therefore, when a foreclosure sale is rescinded, the parties will be put, as nearly as possible, into the positions they held prior to the violation. The Third-Party Purchaser Woolman is entitled only to return of the funds expended at the sale plus interest and fees. To award damages as well would be to allow Woolman an unwarranted double recovery.

I. Rescission

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that, considering the importance of the automatic stay, Congress “intended violations of the automatic stay to be void, rather than voidable.” Schwartz v. U.S., 954 F.2d 569, 571 (1992); Phoenix Bond & Indemnity Co. v. Shamblin, 890 F.2d 123, 125 (9th Cir.1989). As a result, courts in the Ninth Circuit have found that any act that violates the automatic stay is void rather than voidable. See Blatnick v. Sanders, 198 B.R. 326, 328-29 (Bankr.S.D.Cal.1996). This is the best approach for protecting debtors because, to hold otherwise would require that debtors spend a significant amount of time litigating creditors’ claims and could en[160]*160courage violations of the automatic stay. See Schwartz, 954 F.2d at 572. Additionally, when an order is judged void as a violation of the automatic stay, the stay will be regarded to have been continuously in effect from the date the petition was filed. A foreclosure sale held pursuant thereto will be deemed void and without effect. See Great Pacific Money Markets v. Krueger, 88 B.R. 238, 241 (9th Cir. BAP 1988).

Further, this Court determined that the foreclosure sale of Cross’ property was improperly conducted. Pursuant to that determination, the sale was rescinded. The Nevada Supreme Court has held that a contract is either valid or void in toto. See Bergstrom v. Estate of DeVoe, 109 Nev. 575, 578, 854 P.2d 860, 862 (1993). “Because a rescinded contract is void ab initio, following a lawful rescission the ‘injured’ party is precluded from recovering damages for breach just as though the contract had never been entered into by the parties.” Id. Additionally, “rescission of a contract demands as a general rule the restoration of the status quo of the parties.” Mackintosh v. Cal. Fed. Sav. and Loan Ass’n., 113 Nev. 393, 407, 935 P.2d 1154, 1163 (1997). Although complete restoration is not required, a court should attempt to put the parties as close to their original positions as is “reasonably possible and demanded by the equities of the case.” Id.

A. Arguments of the Parties

In its Brief in Support of Claim for Lost Profits, Woolman attempts to factually distinguish Bergstrom from the instant action. Woolman also argues that this case should be treated as a breached land sale contract and as such, the proper measure of damages is lost profits. Fleet counters that factual distinctions of Bergstrom made by Woolman are meaningless and that the cases cited by Woolman are not applicable because the case at bar does not involve an arm’s length land sale contract conducted by the parties to the sale.

A brief overview of Bergstrom is helpful in determining its applicability to the present circumstances. Bergstrom was based on an action for rescission of a contract for the purchase of a party’s interest in an equipment rental business. 109 Nev. at 576-77, 854 P.2d at 861. The agreement between seller DeVoe and buyer Berg-strom provided that Bergstrom would buy DeVoe’s interest for $80,000.00, payable in monthly instalments of $2,000.00. Also, Bergstrom’s collateral was to have been substituted for DeVoe’s. The Nevada district court rescinded the contract and awarded DeVoe the principal amount plus interest and the stock in the rental business. Bergstrom appealed the district court’s decision, arguing that the rescission award precluded damages for breach. The Nevada Supreme Court agreed with Bergstrom and held that “it would have been proper to rescind the contract or to award damages for breach of that contract. It was, however, improper to both rescind the contract and to award damages for breach.” Bergstrom, 109 Nev. at 578, 854 P.2d at 862.

The main factual distinction pointed out by Woolman is that two parties were involved in Bergstrom

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Bluebook (online)
290 B.R. 157, 2001 Bankr. LEXIS 2107, 2001 WL 34080739, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cross-v-fleet-mortgage-corp-in-re-cross-nvb-2001.