Korogluyan v. Chicago Title and Trust Co.

572 N.E.2d 1154, 213 Ill. App. 3d 622, 157 Ill. Dec. 690
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 10, 1991
Docket1-89-3149
StatusPublished
Cited by46 cases

This text of 572 N.E.2d 1154 (Korogluyan v. Chicago Title and Trust Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Korogluyan v. Chicago Title and Trust Co., 572 N.E.2d 1154, 213 Ill. App. 3d 622, 157 Ill. Dec. 690 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinions

JUSTICE EGAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiff, Ohannes Korogluyan, filed an action to confirm a sale of property held as security for a loan in default. The judge granted summary judgment to the plaintiff. The defendants, John, Dimitra, Peter and Patricia Saltouros, contend that factual questions existed that could not be properly decided in a summary judgment.

The defendants were the owners of the beneficial interest in a land trust. The corpus of the trust was a single-family residence located at 7216 East Prairie, Lincolnwood, Illinois.

On January 24, 1983, Peter Saltouros executed a note in favor of Washington National Bank (the Bank) in the amount of $40,000. As security for the note, all four of the defendants executed and delivered to the Bank an assignment of the beneficial interest under the trust.

The note was renewed periodically, and as of March 6, 1984, Peter Saltouros was indebted to the Bank in the sum of $37,000. The entire principal and accrued interest on the note became due and payable on September 4, 1984. Peter Saltouros failed to pay any part of this indebtedness.

The Bank was subsequently liquidated, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) acquired the note, which was then in default. On July 14,1988, the FDIC assigned the note to the plaintiff.

On July 26, 1988, the plaintiff notified Peter Saltouros that he was in default on the note and demanded full and immediate payment of the outstanding balance of principal and interest, which the plaintiff calculated at $67,631.44, plus $26.30 per diem interest thereafter.

The plaintiff subsequently gave notice, in accordance with section 9 — 504 of the Illinois Commercial Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 26, par. 9—504), that the beneficial interest would be sold on August 30, 1988. The notice was sent by registered mail to the defendants at their last known address, and by regular mail to the trustee. Notice of the sale was also published on three different dates in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

The sale was held on August 30, 1988, at the offices of the plaintiff’s attorney. The plaintiff was the sole bidder at the sale, and he purchased the property for $69,993.18. The plaintiff sent a letter to Peter Saltouros, demanding payment of the entire purchase price plus $2,000 for an alleged deficiency. The entire claimed amount was broken down as follows:

Reasonable expenses of preparing for sale $ 941.24
Reasonable attorney fees $ 2,500.00
Satisfaction of indebtedness secured by the security interest $ 68,551.94

The plaintiff’s attorney prepared a report of the sale and gave it to the trustee. The trustee informed the plaintiff that, in order for the trustee to recognize a successful bidder at a sale held pursuant to section 9 — 504, the trustee required a judicial confirmation of the sale. The plaintiff filed this action in the circuit court of Cook County on October 13,1988, seeking confirmation of the sale.

All the defendants appeared; an answer and two affirmative defenses were filed on behalf of all defendants except Peter Saltouros. On February 9, 1989, the attorney for the defendants was granted leave to withdraw. On April 6, 1989, the plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment supported by two affidavits, asserting that the answer and affirmative defenses filed on behalf of the defendants failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact. The plaintiff also filed a motion for default judgment against Peter Saltouros for his failure to file an answer or other responsive pleading. A default judgment was entered on April 14, 1989, against Peter Saltouros. Shortly later, Howard C. Goode was granted leave to file his appearance on behalf of the defendants, and the default judgment against Peter Saltouros was vacated. On June 16, 1989, Peter Saltouros filed his answer to the complaint, admitting that the defendants executed an assignment of the beneficial interest under the trust to secure payment of the loans made to him by the Bank, and denying all other allegations of the complaint.

The defendants filed their response to the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, alleging that the plaintiff’s demand letter sought an amount in excess of the amount due under the note, and that, therefore, the collateral sale was unfair and not in compliance with the Uniform Commercial Code.

The plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment was granted, and the sale was confirmed. On October 25, 1989, the defendants filed a motion to reconsider, claiming that the plaintiff’s demand for payment in excess of the amount due prevented the defendants from exercising their right of redemption. The motion to reconsider was denied.

The plaintiff has not seen fit to answer the defendants’ argument that a question of fact existed over whether the amount demanded was in excess of the amount of the indebtedness and, therefore, that summary judgment should not have been granted. Instead, he contends that the defendants have not properly appealed from the order granting summary judgment, that the absence of a report of proceedings requires affirmance of the judge’s order and that the defendants’ response to the motion for summary judgment did not contain counter-affidavits that rebutted the allegations of the affidavits he filed.

The defendants have filed a reply brief in which they point out that the plaintiff has not responded to their arguments on the merits of the case. The defendants, however, have not responded to the arguments made by the plaintiff.

The procedural posture of the case is this: Although the plaintiff has not answered the defendants’ argument on the merits, his position should be no less favorable than if he had not filed a brief at all. Under First Capitol Mortgage Corp. v. Talandis Construction Corp. (1976), 63 Ill. 2d 128, 345 N.E.2d 493, we would be entitled to pass on the defendants’ claim even if the plaintiff had not answered. Therefore, we will decide the defendants’ arguments on the merits. (See Cohn v. Receivables Finance Co. (1972), 7 Ill. App. 3d 869, 288 N.E.2d 894; People ex rel. City of Chicago v. Commercial Union Fire Insurance Co. (1926), 322 Ill. 326, 153 N.E. 488.) On the other hand, the defendants have not responded in their reply brief to the points raised by the plaintiff. But, what is fair for one should be fair for both. Therefore, we will address the arguments raised by the plaintiff, even though the defendants have not answered them, and we will address them first.

The defendants filed a notice of appeal from the order denying their motion to reconsider; they did not specify in the notice that they were appealing from the order granting summary judgment. The plaintiff’s argument is twofold: he maintains that we are restricted to reviewing the propriety of the judge’s ruling on the motion to reconsider and that the ruling on the motion to reconsider is judged on review under an abuse-of-discretion standard. He argues further that no abuse of discretion has been shown.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
572 N.E.2d 1154, 213 Ill. App. 3d 622, 157 Ill. Dec. 690, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/korogluyan-v-chicago-title-and-trust-co-illappct-1991.