FBS Mortgage v. Dacey (In Re Dacey)

80 B.R. 206, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12629, 1987 WL 20800
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedSeptember 30, 1987
DocketCV-S-87-229-PMP, Bankruptcy No. S-85-01491
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 80 B.R. 206 (FBS Mortgage v. Dacey (In Re Dacey)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
FBS Mortgage v. Dacey (In Re Dacey), 80 B.R. 206, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12629, 1987 WL 20800 (D. Nev. 1987).

Opinion

OPINION and ORDER

PRO, District Judge.

On February 19, 1987, FBS MORTGAGE (Appellant) filed a Notice of Appeal (# 12) from the following decisions of the United States Bankruptcy Court (D.Nev.): (1) Order denying Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay entered on November 19, 1986, and (2) Order denying Motion to Alter or Amend and for Determination of Priority Claim entered on February 11, 1987. Appellant filed its Opening Brief (# 21) on June 11,1987, concurrently with Appellees’ Reply Brief (# 20), and Appellant filed its Final Reply Brief (# 24) on June 25, 1987. On September 11,1987, the parties presented oral argument to the Court.

For the reasons discussed below, the Court must rule in favor of Appellant and reverse the Orders of the Bankruptcy Court.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Appellees filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 on October 1, 1985. On September 8, 1986, Appellant filed a Notice of Perfection of Rights to Rent pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 546(b), based on Appellant’s interest in-the rents generated from the property of Appellees which is encumbered by a deed of trust in favor of Appellant (the “Deed of Trust”). On September 18, 1986, Appellant moved that (1) the Bankruptcy Court lift the automatic stay so as to allow Appellant, as beneficiary under the Deed of Trust, to foreclose on the property, and (2) to require Appellees to sequester any rents received from tenants on the property and to turn over to Appellant (a) any rents which had been collected since Appellees’ default under the purchase money note held by Appellant, and (b) any future rents received from tenants on the property.

On October 14, 1986, the Bankruptcy Court granted Appellant’s motion that Ap-pellees sequester any rents received, but denied Appellant’s motions for relief from the automatic stay and for Appellees’ tendering to Appellant of past and future rent received from tenants of the subject property. On October 24, 1986, Appellant filed a Motion to Alter or Amend the Bankruptcy Court’s decision and for a determination that previously collected rents be deemed “administrative expenses” under 11 U.S.C. § 503(b)(1)(A). On January 6, 1987, the Bankruptcy Court denied Appellant’s motions, prompting the appeal now before the Court.

LAW GOVERNING

Disputes arising from conflicting interpretations of the legal effect of deeds of trust encumbering real property are governed by the law of the state in which the encumbered property is located. See Butner v. United States, 440 U.S. 48, 99 S.Ct. 914, 59 L.Ed.2d 136 (1979). Unfortunately, there is a dearth of Nevada authority on the issues presented by this case. Consequently, in Matter of Charles D. Stapp of Nevada, Inc., 641 F.2d 737 (9th Cir.1981), the Ninth Circuit sought guidance from *208 neighboring California to facilitate its review of the Nevada District Court’s decision. In Stapp, the Ninth Circuit relied on its earlier decision, In re Ventura-Louise Properties, 490 F.2d 1141 (9th Cir.1974), in which the court determined the rights of the parties under an assignment of rents provision to be “absolute.”

Absolute Assignment: Parties’ Intent Determinative

In Stapp, the Ninth Circuit characterized two classes of assignment of rent provisions:

We explained in Ventura-Louise that a court confronted with an assignment-of-rents provision must determine whether the parties intended the clause to be an absolute assignment of rents or merely an assignment for security purposes. The distinction was crucial in Ventura-Louise because under California law, if an assignment is absolute, the beneficiary of the deed of trust is entitled without further action to all rents accruing from the date of notice of the default. If the assignment-of-rents provision is construed as a pledge of the rents as additional security, the rents inure to the bankruptcy trustee until the trust deed beneficiary perfects his claim to them. 641 F.2d 737, 739 (citations omitted).

Both Appellant and Appellees agree that the assignment of rent provision under judicial consideration is an “absolute” assignment. See Appellant’s Opening Brief (#21), p. 4, and Appellees' Reply Brief (# 20), p. 3. The dispute arises in connection with the interpretation of the terms of the assignment provision. Therefore, the only issue before the Court is whether the assignment of rents accrues to the benefit of the beneficiary, as asserted by Appellant, or in favor of trustee, as asserted by Appellees.

Provision in Stapp Distinguishable, but Rule Applicable

In Stapp, the assignment of rent provision named the beneficiary as the assignee, while in Ventura-Louise, both the beneficiary and the trustee were named as assignee. Accordingly, the Ninth Circuit’s application of the absolute assignment rule in Stapp necessarily benefited the mortgagee-creditor, as the party designated as assignee by the terms of the assignment of rents provision:

Pending foreclosure the mortgagee-creditor was entitled to collect and hold the rents as against the trustee without any action other than notice of the default and demand for the rents. “Absolute” does not mean, however, that the assignee is relieved of all obligation to account or that the right to the rents is independent of the underlying debt. Upon foreclosure, the creditor, of course, must account for any excess derived from the sale and rents collected between the date of default and the date of foreclosure sale over and above the amount of the obligation owed. 641 F.2d 737, 740 (emphasis added).

However, Appellant’s Opening Brief fails to note an important distinction between the assignment of rents provision which is the subject of this appeal, and those provisions considered in Stapp and Ventura-Louise. The assignment of rents provision contained in the deed of trust to which Appellant is beneficiary and Appellees are trustors provides in toto:

The grantor [trustor] hereby assigns to the trustee any and all rents of the above-described premises and hereby authorizes trustee, without waiving or affecting its rights to foreclose or any other right hereunder, to take possession of the premises at any time after there is a default in the payment of the debt or in the performance of any of the obligations herein contained, and to rent the premises for the account of the grantor. Appellant’s Appendix, Exhibit 5 (#22).

Accordingly, while the analysis of Stapp

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

Related

In Re 5877 Poplar, L.P.
268 B.R. 140 (W.D. Tennessee, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
80 B.R. 206, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12629, 1987 WL 20800, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fbs-mortgage-v-dacey-in-re-dacey-nvd-1987.