Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Beneficial New Mexico Inc.

2014 NMCA 090, 6 N.M. 630
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 29, 2014
DocketNo. 34,726; Docket No. 31,503
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 2014 NMCA 090 (Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Beneficial New Mexico Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Beneficial New Mexico Inc., 2014 NMCA 090, 6 N.M. 630 (N.M. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

ZAMORA, Judge.

{1} Johnny Lance Johnston (Homeowner) appeals a judgment of foreclosure entered against him and in favor of Deutsche Bank National Trust Company (the Bank) after a bench trial in the district court. On appeal, Homeowner challenges the Bank’s standing to foreclose. He also argues against the validity of the loan and challenges evidentiary rulings by the district court. Because the Bank failed to establish that it had standing to foreclose when it filed its complaint for foreclosure, we reverse.

BACKGROUND

{2} In 2006, Homeowner refinanced the mortgage on his home through New Century Mortgage Corporation (New Century). He executed a promissory note made payable to New Century. The note was secured by a mortgage on Homeowner’s home. In 2008, Homeowner defaulted on the loan, and in February 2009, the Bank filed a complaint for foreclosure. Attached to the complaint was an unindorsed copy of Homeowner’s note made payable to New Century. The complaint asserted that Homeowner, in 2006, executed a note and mortgage, which were later assigned to the Bank; that Homeowner had not made any payments since July of 2008; and that the Bank was therefore entitled to foreclose upon the property for the remaining balance of the loan.

{3} On August 9, 2010, Homeowner filed a motion to dismiss, arguing in pertinent part that, because the note attached to the complaint showed New Century to be the current owner of the mortgage, the Bank failed to show ownership of the note at the time the Bank’s complaint was filed and that the complaint should be dismissed. The Bank filed its response on August 31, 2010, two weeks before the scheduled trial. The Bank attached a copy of an assignment of Homeowner’s mortgage (assignment) to its response. The assignment reflects that New Century assigned the mortgage to the Bank on February 7, 2006, a week after the note and mortgage were executed by Homeowner. However, the assignment was not recorded in the land records office until December 9, 2009, or nine months after the complaint was filed.

{4} The trial commenced on September 16, 2010. At trial the Bank introduced the original note, indorsed in blank. The Bank did not introduce any evidence to show when the note was indorsed or when the B ank came to possess the indorsed note. After one day of trial, due to Homeowner’s medical condition, the trial was continued to October 5, 2010. On September 21, 2010, during the interim between the first and second days of the continued trial, Homeowner filed a motion requesting that the judge permit Lynn E. Szymoniak to testify as an expert regarding his challenge to the assignment as a false and fabricated document. Homeowner further requested that the matter of whether his expert would be allowed to testify be addressed in a hearing at the beginning of the resumption of trial. On October 5, 2010, before resuming the bench trial, the district court heard arguments regarding Homeowner’s motion to allow expert testimony regarding the alleged fraudulent nature of the assignment. The district court found that Homeowner’s request was untimely and that the proposed expert testimony was not relevant. Homeowner’s motion was denied. The trial proceeded and was concluded the same day.

{5} After the trial, the district court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law, which provided that New Century Bank validly assigned its interest to the Bank, that Homeowner defaulted on the note, and that the Bank was entitled to a foreclosure judgment. The district court entered a judgment of foreclosure from which Homeowner now appeals.

DISCUSSION

{6} On appeal, Homeowner argues: (1) the documentary evidence submitted by the Bank to establish its standing to enforce the note and to foreclose on the mortgage is insufficient as a matter of law; (2) the district court abused its discretion in refusing to allow Homeowner’s expert witness to testify as to the authenticity of the Bank’s assignment; (3) the Bank violated NMSA 1978, § 58-21A-4(B) (2003, amended 2009) of the New Mexico Home Loan Protection Act (HLPA), NMSA 1978, §§ 58-21A-1 to -14 (2003, as amended through 2009); and (4) the Bank perpetrated a fraud on the court by seeking to summarily foreclose without establishing standing and by relying on a fraudulent assignment to establish standing. Because we conclude that the Bank did not have standing to foreclose, we do not address Homeowner’s arguments related to his proposed expert witness and alleged HLPA violation. We further conclude that Homeowner did not properly preserve his argument that the Bank perpetrated a fraud on the court and we decline his request to impose sanctions.

A. Standard of Review

{7} The determinative issues in this case involve evidentiary challenges to the district court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. Specifically, the district court determined the Bank’s standing as a factual matter, therefore “we apply a substantial evidence standard of review.” Miller v. Bank of Am., N.A., 2013-NMCA-_, ¶ 11,_P.3d_ (No. 31, 463, Dec. 10, 2013). “ ‘Substantial evidence’ means relevant evidence that a reasonable mind could accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Sims v. Sims, 1996-NMSC-078, ¶ 65, 122 N.M. 618, 930 P.2d 153. In reviewing a substantial evidence claim, “[t]he question is not whether substantial evidence exists to support the opposite result, but rather whether such evidence supports the result reached.” Las Cruces Prof'l Fire Fighters v. City of Las Cruces, 1997-NMCA-044, ¶ 12, 123 N.M. 329, 940 P.2d 177. “[W]e will not reweigh the evidence nor substitute our judgment for that of the fact finder.” Id. We consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party and disregard any inferences and evidence to the contrary. Williams v. Williams, 1989-NMCA-072, ¶ 7, 109 N.M. 92, 781 P.2d 1170.

B. Deutsche Bank Lacks Standing to Foreclose

{8} While this case was pending, our Supreme Court decided Bank of N.Y. v. Romero, 2014-NMSC-007, 320 P.3d. 1, which sets forth how our courts are to decide mortgage foreclosure cases. Romero clarified that standing is a jurisdictional prerequisite for a cause of action and must be established at the time the complaint is filed. Id. ¶ 17. In order to establish standing to foreclose, a lender must show that, at the time it filed its complaint for foreclosure, it had: (1) a right to enforce the note, which represents the debt, and (2) ownership of the mortgage lien upon the debtor’s property. See id. (stating that “[tjhe Bank of New York . . . was required to demonstrate under New Mexico’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) that it had standing to bring a foreclosure action at the time it filed suit. . . . [It] had the burden of establishing timely ownership of the note and the mortgage to support its entitlement to pursue a foreclosure action.”).

1. The Bank’s Right to Enforce the Note

{9} Though the Bank maintains that it was the holder of Homeowner’s note at the time it filed for foreclosure, it attached a copy of the note to its complaint that was unindorsed and made payable to New Century. In Romero, our Supreme Court expressly held that an unindorsed note made payable to a third party does not establish standing to foreclose.

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

Related

Lopez v. Presbyterian Healthcare Services
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2024
Lopez v. Presbyterian Healthcare
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2024
Lakeview Loan Servicing, LLC v. Viesel
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2022
Deutsche Bank v. Ruiz
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2021
Bank of New York Mellon v. Richesin
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2018
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Sherman
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2018
Deutsche Bank v. Lucero
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2018
Deutsche Bank v. Todd
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2016
PNC Mortgage v. Romero
2016 NMCA 064 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2016)
Citibank, NA v. Martinez
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2016
Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Johnston
2016 NMSC 013 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2016)
Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co. v. Johnson
2016 NMSC 13 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2016)
Pennymac Mortgage v. Salazar
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2016
Bank of America v. Benavidez
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2016
BAC Home Loans Servicing LP v. Smith
2016 NMCA 025 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2015)
Phoenix Funding, LLC v. Aurora Loan Services, LLC
2016 NMCA 010 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2015)
Gateway Mortgage v. Bagley
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2015
Wells Fargo Bank v. Dibble
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2015
Khalsa v. Puri
2015 NMCA 027 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2015)
Khalsa v.Purl
New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2014

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2014 NMCA 090, 6 N.M. 630, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deutsche-bank-national-trust-co-v-beneficial-new-mexico-inc-nmctapp-2014.