Egbune v. Always Enterprises

Colorado Court of Appeals·Decided May 29, 2025·No. 23CA1721 & 23CA1722·Unpublished

Opinion

23CA1721 & 23CA1722 Egbune v Always Enterprises 05-29-2025 COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS

Court of Appeals Nos. 23CA1721 & 23CA1722 Douglas County District Court No. 17CV31060 Honorable Andrew C. Baum, Judge

Chuck Odifu Egbune, Plaintiff-Appellant and Cross-Appellee, and Felicia A. Aniniba, Defendant-Appellant, v. Always Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a A-1 Bail Bonds, and Richard Jordan, Defendants-Appellees and Cross-Appellants, and

Monique Robinson Hines; Iyona Walton; Kari Jones; Aaron Evans; Evans Case, LLP; and Benson & Case, LLP,

Third-Party Defendants-Appellees, and Breckenridge Property Fund 2016, LLC, Third-Party Plaintiff-Appellee.

JUDGMENTS AFFIRMED

Division V

Opinion by JUDGE GROVE

Fox and Johnson, JJ., concur

NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e)

Announced May 29, 2025

Chuck Odifu Egbune, Pro Se Felicia A. Aniniba, Pro Se

Law Office of Larry A. Henning, Larry A. Henning, Denver, Colorado, for Defendants-Appellees and Cross-Appellants

McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP, June Baker Laird, Greenwood Village, Colorado, for Third-Party Defendants-Appellees

Coan, Payton & Payne, LLC, Matthew Chudacoff, Fort Collins, Colorado, for Third-Party Plaintiff-Appellee

¶1 Plaintiffs, Chuck Odifu Egbune and Felicia Aniniba, appeal the district court’s judgments following two bench trials that resulted in the unwinding of the foreclosure of Egbune’s home and the entry of money judgments in favor of third-party plaintiff, Breckenridge Property Fund 2016, LLC (Breckenridge); defendants, Always- Enterprises, Inc. (A-1), and Richard Jordan; and several other third- party creditors.1 A-1 cross-appeals the district court’s judgment following the second bench trial that, among other things, awarded damages to Egbune based on the foreclosure’s unwinding and also reordered the priority of the liens on Egbune’s home. We affirm.

I. Lack of Compliance with the Colorado Appellate Rules

¶2 Breckenridge has requested that we dismiss Egbune’s appeal based on his noncompliance with the Colorado Appellate Rules. We decline to do so but note that our review of Egbune’s and Aniniba’s appeals, as well as A-1’s cross-appeal, is encumbered by those parties’ failure to comply with, among other things, C.A.R. 10 and C.A.R. 28.

1 The third-party creditors are Evans Case, LLP; Iyona Walton;

Monique Robinson Hines; Kari Jones; Aaron Evans; and Benson & Case, LLP.

A. Egbune’s and Aniniba’s Appeals

¶3 Despite the fact that the appeals follow two separate bench trials, the record before us does not include transcripts of either proceeding. It is an appellant’s responsibility to “include in the record transcripts of all proceedings necessary for considering and deciding the issues on appeal.” C.A.R. 10(d)(3). The failure to include transcripts is generally fatal because, in the absence of a complete record, we must presume that the missing portions of the record support the district court’s findings and conclusions. In re Marriage of Dean, 2017 COA 51, ¶ 13 (“Where the appellant fails to provide . . . a transcript, the [appellate] court must presume that the record supports the judgment.”); McCall v. Meyers, 94 P.3d 1271, 1272 (Colo. App. 2004) (“A party cannot overcome a deficiency in the record by statements in the briefs.”).

¶4 Nor is the lack of transcripts our only obstacle to substantive review of the appeals. Among other things, the briefs filed by Egbune and Aniniba fail in large part to comply with C.A.R. 28. Egbune’s opening brief, for example, lists twenty-three separate issues, and, although the argument section for each issue ostensibly addresses the standard of review and preservation as

required by C.A.R. 28(a)(7), many of the citations are inaccurate or incomplete, and several of the arguments are so poorly developed that we can do little more than guess at their substance. See Antolovich v. Brown Grp. Retail, Inc., 183 P.3d 582, 604 (Colo. App. 2007) (appellate courts do not address undeveloped arguments). And while Aniniba’s opening brief raises far fewer issues, it also repeatedly fails to identify whether particular issues were preserved and, if so, “the precise location in the record where the issue was raised and where the court ruled.” C.A.R. 28(a)(7)(A). Simply listing page numbers corresponding to the beginning of motions and orders, which often span dozens of pages and address multiple overlapping issues, is insufficient to comply with this rule. See Castillo v. Koppes-Conway, 148 P.3d 289, 291 (Colo. App. 2006) (“Our Court will not search through briefs to discover what errors are relied on, and then search through the record for supporting evidence. It is the task of counsel to inform us, as required by our rules, both as to the specific errors relied on and the grounds and supporting facts and authorities therefor.” (quoting Mauldin v. Lowery, 255 P.2d 976, 977 (Colo. 1953))).

B. A-1’s Cross-Appeal

¶5 Our primary obstacle to substantive review of A-1’s cross- appeal is the lack of transcripts. A-1 seeks review of the trial court’s judgment that followed the second of two bench trials, as well as the court’s denial of A-1’s C.R.C.P. 59 motion, filed after the court issued its judgment awarding damages against A-1 in favor of Egbune and against Egbune and Aniniba in favor of Breckenridge and exercised its equitable powers to grant Breckenridge priority position on its judgment lien against Egbune’s property. Without a transcript of the bench trial, we cannot assess preservation and, in any event, must assume that the record supports the court’s ruling. See Dean, ¶ 13.

II. Factual and Procedural History

¶6 The relevant facts in this case stretch back to October 2009, when Egbune guaranteed an estimated $350,000 appearance bond for Velma Gilbert in a criminal case. Egbune and others signed a promissory note with A-1, a bail bonding company, to guarantee the $35,000 bail bond premium. The promissory note was secured by a deed of trust on Egbune’s home in Highlands Ranch.

¶7 By January 2010, payments on the bail bond premium were in default. A-1 sent multiple letters seeking payment from Egbune and the other guarantors. Meanwhile, in 2011, Egbune filed for bankruptcy in Colorado. Procedural complications multiplied from there, but, as relevant to this appeal, the following events occurred over the next several years.

• An automatic stay, which is a usual occurrence in bankruptcy proceedings, was issued on the commencement or continuation of any judicial action involving claims against Egbune that arose before 2011.

The stay terminated in October 2015.

• In November 2015, A-1 commenced foreclosure on Egbune’s property. However, Egbune claimed the automatic stay from his bankruptcy proceedings remained in effect. This delayed the foreclosure process.

• In 2016, Egbune sued A-1 in bankruptcy court alleging claims that, if true, would prevent foreclosure on his home. The court dismissed these claims.

• In 2017, Egbune filed suit in Douglas County, alleging, among other claims, that fraud prevented A-1 from

foreclosing on his home. He also argued that A-1 did not provide him with proper notice and an opportunity to cure his debt, as required by Colorado statute. This appeal stems from Egbune’s 2017 lawsuit.

• In 2018, the sale of Egbune’s property as security for his debt to A-1 was authorized after a C.R.C.P. 120 hearing.

• In April 2018, a public trustee sold Egbune’s home to Breckenridge for $195,000. A-1 received $165,216.46 from the sale, which reflected Egbune’s outstanding debt, interest, and attorney fees.2 • Egbune refused to forfeit possession of the property, so Breckenridge filed a forcible entry and detainer action against him. The county court granted Breckenridge possession, finding that there did not appear to be any legal dispute about who owned the property. However, it agreed to stay its judgment for possession pending Euguene’s appeal as long as Egbune posted a monthly bond equal to the property’s fair market rental value.

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