Eardley v. Greenberg

774 P.2d 822, 160 Ariz. 518, 29 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 18, 1989 Ariz. App. LEXIS 54
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedMarch 2, 1989
DocketNo. 1 CA-CV 88-011
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 774 P.2d 822 (Eardley v. Greenberg) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eardley v. Greenberg, 774 P.2d 822, 160 Ariz. 518, 29 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 18, 1989 Ariz. App. LEXIS 54 (Ark. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

OPINION

GREER, Judge.

This is an appeal from the trial court’s refusal to set aside a trustee’s sale. For the reasons set forth below, we reverse and remand.

Since this is an appeal from a summary judgment, we view the facts and all inferences therefrom most favorably to the appellant. State ex rel. Corbin v. Challenge, Inc., 151 Ariz. 20, 725 P.2d 727 (App.1986). Appellant Dennis R. Eardley was the trustor under a deed of trust on property located in Phoenix, Arizona. In September 1984 the original beneficiary assigned its interest to four parties in the following proportions:

Seymour and Sarah Greenberg 10/40th interest
Robert S. Leiserowitz 5/40th interest
Albert L. and Barbara Flaig 19/40th interest
Michael and Claudia Goodman 6/40th interest

In June 1986, Robert S. Leiserowitz, Michael and Claudia Goodman, and Sarah and Seymour Greenberg granted special powers of attorney to appellee Seymour Green-berg. The powers of attorney authorized Seymour Greenberg to perform various functions, including the authority to “sign for a substitute of Trustee.” The powers of attorney were not recorded. That same month, the remaining beneficiaries, Albert and Barbara Flaig, transferred their 19/40th interest to Seymour and Sarah Greenberg, as joint tenants.

Eardley subsequently defaulted on the note secured by the deed of trust. On October 9, 1986, Seymour Greenberg executed and recorded a Notice of Substitution of Trustee (Notice of Substitution), appointing appellee Investors Security Management, Inc. (Investors), as trustee to replace the original trustee. He then instructed Investors to initiate trustee’s sale proceedings pursuant to A.R.S. § 33-807, et seq. A trustee’s sale was subsequently held January 9, 1987, at which Seymour and Sarah Greenberg were the successful bidders.

In the meantime, on October 3, 1986, Eardley applied for a loan at First Interstate Bank to refinance the obligation secured by the deed of trust. First Interstate approved the loan. The title company, Security Title, informed the beneficiaries that the identity of the trustee was uncertain because of certain deficiencies in the notice of substitution. It made several suggestions on how the deficiencies could be cured. The beneficiaries, however, claimed the notice of substitution was not defective and refused to follow any of Security Title’s suggestions to clear up the record. Security Title subsequently refused to issue title insurance and First Interstate would not fund the loan. The trustee sale then took place, resulting in Eardley’s forfeiture of the trust property.

Shortly after the trustee’s sale, Eardley filed suit against Seymour and Sarah Greenberg (Greenberg) and Investors seeking to set aside the trustee’s sale, asserting the notice of substitution was defective and Investors did not qualify as a trustee. Upon the parties’ cross motions for summary judgment, the trial court entered summary judgment in favor of Greenberg and Investors. It specifically held the issuance of the trustee’s deed at the trustee’s sale [520]*520created a presumption of compliance with A.R.S. § 33-811, and that any technical statutory violations were harmless, were not prejudicial, and did not contravene the legislative intent behind the enactment of the statutes. The trial court also held that Eardley’s failure to obtain new financing was not a sufficient legal reason to void the trustee’s sale.

Eardley raises the following issues on appeal:

(1) Whether A.R.S. § 33-804(C) requires all of the beneficiaries of a deed of trust to personally acknowledge a notice of substitution of trustee;
(2) Whether Seymour Greenberg possessed the authority to deal with one hundred percent of the beneficial interests in the deed of trust when he executed the notice of substitution of trustee;
(3) Whether the special powers of attorney granted to Seymour Greenberg by the beneficiaries were required to be recorded;
(4) Whether A.R.S. § 33-401(D) applies to notices of substitution of trustees, and if it does, whether the failure to comply with that statute renders the notice of substitution of trustee voidable;
(5) Whether appellee Investors Security Management, Inc. was qualified to serve as a trustee; and
(6) Whether the cumulative effect of the alleged defects is sufficient to render the trustee’s sale void.

Greenberg argues as a cross-issue that Eardley did not comply with a prerequisite to litigation that he tender all amounts due under the deed of trust, and that he, therefore, cannot set aside the trustee’s sale.

The major premise of Eardley’s position is that Investors did not have the authority to conduct the trustee’s sale because the notice of substitution did not adhere to statutory requirements. Because of these deficiencies, he argues, the trial court should have entered summary judgment in Eardley’s favor, or at the very least, allowed the matter to go to trial.

Although our disposition of the first issue renders a discussion of issues 2, 3 and 4 unnecessary, we nevertheless address them, in light of Eardley’s final argument that the cumulative effect of the alleged defects is sufficient to set aside the trustee’s sale.

I. A.R.S. § 33-804

Eardley first argues that A.R.S. § 33-804, which sets forth the method by which a beneficiary can appoint a successor trustee, requires notices of substitution to be personally acknowledged by all beneficiaries. Greenberg counters that under the general principles of agency law, a power of attorney may be used for virtually all purposes, except where personal performance is obviously required, and that this is not an exception.

Section 33-804(C) states:

Substitutions shall be made by recording notice of the substitution in the office of the county recorder of each county in which the trust property or some part of the trust property is situated at the time of the substitution. The beneficiary shall give written notice through registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, to the trustor, the trustee and the successor trustee. A notice of substitution of trustee shall be sufficient if acknowledged by all beneficiaries under the trust deed____

A.R.S. § 33-804(C) (1984) (emphasis added).

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Related

Gomez v. Maricopa County
857 P.2d 1323 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1993)
Eardley v. Greenberg
792 P.2d 724 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
774 P.2d 822, 160 Ariz. 518, 29 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 18, 1989 Ariz. App. LEXIS 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eardley-v-greenberg-arizctapp-1989.