Hafer v. Skinner

542 S.E.2d 852, 208 W. Va. 689, 2000 W. Va. LEXIS 138
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 5, 2000
DocketNo. 27767
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 542 S.E.2d 852 (Hafer v. Skinner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hafer v. Skinner, 542 S.E.2d 852, 208 W. Va. 689, 2000 W. Va. LEXIS 138 (W. Va. 2000).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal by Timothy Hafer from an order of the Circuit Court of Berkeley County rejecting his petition to set aside a trustee’s sale. In rejecting the petition, the circuit court granted the respondents summary judgment. Mr. Hafer, in the present proceeding, contends, among other things, that as a matter of law, the trustee’s sale which he sought to have set aside was improperly conducted and that the price received by the trustee was grossly inadequate and that the trial court, under the circumstances, erred in refusing to grant him the relief which he sought.

I.

FACTS

In 1987, a group of individuals, including the appellant Timothy Hafer, acting as “K.T.L. Partnership” purchased a parcel of real estate located in Martinsburg, West Virginia, for $22,000. The sellers, Howard W. Collins and Margaret L. Collins, loaned “K.T.L. Partnership” $20,900 of the $22,000 purchase price. As a consequence, the partners executed a note payable to the sellers, and also executed a deed of trust to secure the loan. Martinsburg attorneys John L. Van Metre, Jr. and Lucien G. Lewin were named as trustees under that deed of trust. The deed of trust contained language which specified how substitute trustees might be appointed. The substitution language stated:

20. Substitute Trustee. Lender at its option may from time to time, without notice, remove any person or persons herein or hereafter designated as Trustee and appoint a successor Trustee to any Trustee appointed herein or hereafter by an instrument recorded in any County in which this Deed of Trust is recorded. Without conveyance of the Property, the successor trustee shall succeed to all the title, power and duties conferred upon Trustee herein and by applicable law. Trustee is hereby authorized to act by agent or attorney in the execution of this trust.

“K.T.L. Partnership,” in time, failed to make certain payments due under the note, and on July 30, 1998, Robert Skinner, an attorney, sent letters demanding payment of the loan. While it appears that Howard and Margaret Collins, the secured parties, may have authorized Mr. Skinner to take this action, no instrument was, at that time, recorded in Berkeley County substituting Mr. Skinner for Mr. Van Metre and Mr. Lewin as trustee under the deed of trust.

[691]*691On October 2 and October 9, 1998, Mr. Skinner, asserting that he was a substitute trustee, advertised the sale of the real estate secured by the deed of trust in a Matinsburg newspaper, The Journal The advertisement announced a “Notice of Substitute Trustee’s Sale of Valuable Real Estate.”

On October 16, 1998, seven days after the last advertisement, Mr. Skinner sold the property at the advertised sale for $5,000.

At 9:57 a.m. on October 16, 1998, approximately one hour after conducting the sale, Mr. Skinner recorded a “Deed of Substitution of Trustee” in the Office of the Clerk of the County Commission of Berkeley County. By that document, Howard and Margaret Collins authorized Robert Skinner to act as trustee in place of John L. Van Metre and Lucian Lewin.

Following the foreclosure sale, Mr. Skinner instituted a deficiency proceeding in the Circuit Court of Berkeley County. In that proceeding, Mr. Skinner sought judgment on behalf of Howard and Margaret Collins for over $8,000, the amount of the deficiency in the sale price, together with the costs of the sale.

Subsequently, in February 1999, Timothy Hafer, the appellant in the present proceeding, instituted an action in the Circuit Court of Berkeley County to set aside the trustee’s sale. In the complaint instituting the action, Mr. Hafer alleged that the sale had not been conducted in accordance with the provisions of the West Virginia Code relating to trustee’s sales, and that the sale had violated the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act. He also claimed that the price received was grossly inadequate.

Following the institution of Mr. Hafer’s action, various documents were filed, and on June 10, 1999, counsel for Mr. Skinner moved for summary judgment. His motion was accompanied by a memorandum of law and eight exhibits. Mr. Hafer filed a counter-motion for summary judgment and a memorandum in opposition.

The Circuit Court of Berkeley County took the motions for summary judgment under consideration, and by order dated July 22, 1999, granted Mr. Skinner’s motion. The court ruled solely on the basis of the pleadings and the documents filed without conducting a hearing. In granting summary judgment, the circuit court found, among other things, that: “The undisputed evidence shows that Respondent Successor Trustee Robert R. Skinner, Esq. complied with all applicable provisions of West Virginia law in conducting the trustee sale of the subject property .

It is from the grant of summary judgment that Timothy Hafer now appeals. He argues, among other things, that Robert Skinner was not authorized to act as trustee at the time of the sale. Mr. Skinner, on the other hand, argues that there is no genuine issue of material fact that he, as substitute trustee, complied with the applicable provisions of West Virginia’s law governing foreclosures and that Mr. Hafer’s challenge to the foreclosure sale is without merit.

II.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

This Court has indicated that a summary judgment should be reviewed de novo. Painter v. Peavy, 192 W.Va. 189, 451 S.E.2d 755 (1994). The Court has also indicated that: “A motion for summary judgment should be granted only when it is clear that there is no genuine issue of fact to be tried and inquiry concerning the facts is not desirable to clarify the application of the law.” Syllabus Point 3, Aetna Casualty and Surety Company v. Federal Insurance Company of New York, 148 W.Va. 160, 133 S.E.2d 770 (1963). Lastly, the Court has stated that in determining whether there is a genuine issue of material fact in a case, the Court will construe the facts in the light most favorable to the losing party. Alpine Property Owners Association, Inc. v. Mountaintop Development Company, 179 W.Va. 12, 365 S.E.2d 57 (1987).

III.

DISCUSSION

As has been previously stated, Mr. Hafer claims, on appeal, that Mr. Skinner was not authorized to act as trustee at the time he conducted the sale involved in the present case, and he argues that, under the [692]*692circumstances, the trial court should have set aside the sale as an invalid sale.

The undisputed facts of this case show that in the deed of trust which the K.T.L. partners signed, John L. Van Metre, Jr., and Lucian Lewin were appointed trustees. As such, Mr. Van Metre and Mr. Lewin had authority to conduct an appropriate sale under the deed of trust. The undisputed facts also show that the deed of trust contained a substitution-of-trustee clause authorizing a substitution to be made by filing an instrument in the office of the County Clerk of Berkeley County and that such an instrument was filed substituting Mr. Skinner for Mr. Van Metre and Mr. Lewin, but that it was filed only after the sale had been completed.

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Bluebook (online)
542 S.E.2d 852, 208 W. Va. 689, 2000 W. Va. LEXIS 138, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hafer-v-skinner-wva-2000.