HSBC Bank USA, National Association v. Fidelity National Title Insurance Company

District Court, D. Nevada·Decided March 29, 2023·No. 2:20-cv-00419·Unknown

Opinion

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HSBC BANK USA, N.A., Case No. 2:20-cv-00419-KJD-VCF for the ACE Securities Corp. Home Equity Loan Trust Series 2006-NC3, Asset Backed Pass- ORDER through Certificates, Plaintiff, v. FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE INSURANCE

Defendant.

Presently before the Court is Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (#14). Plaintiff responded in opposition (#15) to which Defendants replied (#16). I. Summary This action arises out of the foreclosure of a homeowner’s association (“HOA”) lien on a residential property in Las Vegas, Nevada. Plaintiff (“HSBC”) brings this action against the Defendant (“Fidelity”) for failure to provide coverage for a claim under the insurance contract. Specifically, HSBC brings claims for declaratory relief, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, deceptive trade practices, and unfair claims practices. The Court finds that one of the endorsements contained in the Policy covers the loss, but the other two endorsements do not provide coverage. Therefore, the Court will grant in part, and deny in part, the Defendant’s motion. /// /// /// /// II. Factual and Procedural Background A. The Property, HOA, and CC&Rs The Court takes the allegations of the complaint as true, as it must, on a motion to dismiss.1 Non-party borrower, Tracy Hurst borrowed $232,500.00 (the “Loan”) from New Century Mortgage Corporation in July 2005 to purchase a home. The home (the “Property”) is located at 2637 Seahorse Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89128 and is part of the Desert Shores Community Association (“HOA”). The Property is subject to the HOA’s conditions, covenants, and restrictions (CC&Rs) which were recorded June 1, 1988. The CC&Rs obligates each unit owner to pay annual assessments, special assessment, and maintenance charges and they also create a lien on the unit if those obligations go unmet. The HOA may foreclose on the lien in accordance with Nevada law. A. Deed of Trust and the Policy The $232,500.00 loan from New Century Mortgage Corporation was secured by a deed of trust and recorded against the Borrower’s Property on July 13, 2006. This deed of trust was subsequently assigned to HSBC. As part of the loan, Fidelity and New Century Mortgage Corporation signed a lender’s title insurance policy (the “Policy”), numbered A92-210029575. Where there is coverage, the Policy requires Fidelity to indemnify HSBC as a successor assignee of New Century, and to provide defense to any adverse claims of title. The Policy includes three parts: (1) Schedule A, which describes the title insured; (2) Schedule B, which describes the exceptions and exclusions to insurance; and (3) four endorsements, which provide coverage not otherwise available under the body of the Policy. C. Endorsements The Policy also is alleged to contain several endorsements. The endorsements relevant to this action are: (1) CLTA 115.2/ALTA 5; and (2) CLTA 100. The CLTA 115.2/ALTA 5 typically provides coverage against loss or damage sustained by reason of: [t]he priority of any lien for

1 The Court also takes judicial notice of the documents attached to the first amended complaint but is displeased that Plaintiff could attach eight different explanations of endorsements, but not the actual policy and endorsements at issue in this case. charges and assessments at Date of Policy in favor of any association of homeowners which are provided for in any document referred to in Schedule B over the lien of any insured mortgage identified in Schedule A. CLTA 100 provides coverage for two particular types of loss relevant to this matter. The form for CLTA 100(1)(a) shows that it typically covers a loss sustained “by reason of . . . [t]he existence of … [c]ovenants, conditions or restrictions under which the lien of the mortgage referred to in Schedule A can be cut off, subordinated, or otherwise impaired[.]” CLTA 100(2)(a) covers a loss sustained by reason of any future violations on the land of any covenants, conditions, or restrictions occurring prior to acquisition of title to the estate or interest referred to in Schedule A by the insured, provided such violations result in impairment or loss of the lien of the mortgage referred to in Schedule A. D. Trade Usage and Understanding HSBC also submitted the following guides (as exhibits to the FAC) to illustrate how the endorsements at issue in this case are understood by policy underwriters: (1) Fidelity’s Endorsement Guide; (2) Chicago Title’s 2013 Endorsement Manual; (3) Fidelity’s Endorsement Manual; (4) James L. Gosdin’s writing “The 2006 ALTA Forms”; (5) Stewart Title’s 1991 Bulletin; (6) Stewart Title’s 1993 Bulletin; (7) Land America’s Underwriting Manual; and (8) Stewart Title’s Bulletin NV2014002. These exhibits are mostly guidelines for underwriters to understand the scope and effect of the endorsements. James L. Gosdin, the author of “The 2006 ALTA Forms” is the former ALTA chair, and he explains the scope and intent of the ALTA endorsements. Fidelity’s Endorsement Guide states the CLTA 100 “[p]rovides comprehensive coverage for insured ALTA lender against loss by reason of present or future CC&Rs violations[.]” It clarifies that “[t]here are no CC&Rs under which the lien of the insured mortgage can be cut off, subordinated or impaired.” The Underwriting Manual from Land America tells underwriters to “review all covenants, conditions and restrictions . . . to determine if there is language which result in forfeiture, reversion or other impairment.” It also explains that “other impairment” “includes a provision permitting a homeowners or civic association to levy an assessment, secured by a lien with priority over the insured deed of trust.” Chicago Title’s Endorsement Manual explains that ALTA 5-06 “insures against loss from lack of priority of the mortgage lien over the lien for homeowners’ association assessments. This endorsement “differs” from the ALTA 5.1-06 which does not cover “prior over future assessments” and instead “only covers unpaid assessments at date of policy.” Fidelity’s Endorsement Manual is similar. It says “[t]he ALTA 5-06 insures against loss from lack of priority of the mortgage lien over the lien for homeowners’ association assessments. “The ALTA 5.1-06 differs in that there is no insurance of priority over future assessments… instead it only covers unpaid assessments at date of policy.” Id. Further, it explains that the ALTA 5-06 “coverage may be given only if state law or the covenants and restrictions, which provide the lien for assessments, also provide that the lien of the mortgage you are insuring is prior to the assessment lien.” E. NRS Chapter 116 The Uniform Law Commission promulgated the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (“UCIOA”) in 1982. This included a provision that afforded HOAs’ CC&Rs a “super-priority” lien for unpaid assessments that permitted an HOA’s assessment lien to take priority over a first deed of trust. In 1992, the Nevada legislature adopted the 1982 version of UCIOA, codifying it in NRS Chapter 116. NRS 116.3116 is the statute that governs liens against units for assessments. NRS § 116.3116(1) established that an HOA has a lien on any unit for any assessment levied against that unit from the time the assessment becomes due. The HOA lien is “prior to all other liens and encumbrances on a unit” except for certain carveouts, including “[a] first security interest on the unit recorded before the date on which the assessment sought to be enforced became delinquent.” § 116.3116(2)(b). However, the HOA lien is prior even to first deed of trust to the extent of the assessments for common expenses based on the periodic budget adopted by the association. Id.2 2 NRS §

HSBC Bank USA, National Association v. Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, (D. Nev. 2023).

HSBC Bank USA, National Association v. Fidelity National Title Insurance Company (HSBC Bank USA, National Association v. Fidelity National Title Insurance Company) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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