Markham v. Anderton

801 P.2d 565, 118 Idaho 856, 1990 Ida. App. LEXIS 38
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 26, 1990
DocketNo. 17153
StatusPublished

This text of 801 P.2d 565 (Markham v. Anderton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Markham v. Anderton, 801 P.2d 565, 118 Idaho 856, 1990 Ida. App. LEXIS 38 (Idaho Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

SWANSTROM, Judge.

This is an appeal from summary judgment granted in- favor of Ruth Markham, individually, and as the personal representative of the estate of Harley Markham, deceased, in a deed of trust foreclosure action against B.J. and Mae Anderton. We [858]*858discuss the following issues raised by the Andertons in this appeal: (1) whether there were genuine issues of material fact precluding summary judgment; (2) whether the district court denied the Andertons due process or equal protection of the law; (3) whether the district court violated I.A.R. 13(a) by shortening the seven-day automatic stay which is afforded by the rule when an appeal is filed; (4) whether the notice requirements of I.R.C.P. 6(d) were violated; and (5) whether the district court’s decree of foreclosure is void because it was issued when the automatic stay provisions of 11 U.S.C. § 362 were in effect as a result of Anderton’s Chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

On December 31, 1976, B.J. and Mae Anderton purchased six lots adjacent to their business in Pocatello, Idaho from Harley and Ruth Markham. The Andertons signed a promissory note for $44,000 and a deed of trust on the lots to secure monthly payments of the purchase price. In August of 1982, the Andertons stopped making payments on the note. This prompted the Markhams to request a trustee’s sale of the property (a nonjudicial foreclosure). The foreclosure process was halted when the Andertons filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. Some three years later, the bankruptcy proceeding was dismissed. During this period of time, Harley Markham died. Ruth Markham then opted to sue for judicial foreclosure of the deed of trust as if it were a mortgage. I.C. § 45-1503. In the course of this action, Markham moved for summary judgment and moved to dismiss a counterclaim filed by the Andertons. These motions were granted by the district court. The court then entered a decree of foreclosure and order of sale. The sheriff’s sale on foreclosure was set for July 31, 1987. However, the Andertons served notice that they had filed a second bankruptcy petition, this one under Chapter 11, invoking the automatic stay provisions of 11 U.S.C. § 362. Accordingly, Markham vacated the scheduled foreclosure sale. On August 28, 1987, the bankruptcy court dismissed the second bankruptcy petition as a result of motions filed by Markham and by another of the Andertons’ creditors.

The foreclosure sale was rescheduled for September 29,1987. On the day before the sale, the Andertons filed a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court from the summary judgment and decree of foreclosure. Although the appeal was filed more than forty-two days after the judgment, it was timely because of motions the Andertons had filed which extended the time for filing the appeal under I.A.R. 14(a). This appeal gained the Andertons an automatic seven-day stay of the proceedings under I.A.R. 13(a). Immediately, Markham filed a motion to shorten the automatic stay and obtained an order from the district court for a hearing on the motion the following morning. Notice of the hearing was served on the Andertons on September 28. At the hearing on the 29th, the district court ordered the stay be lifted and the foreclosure sale proceed as scheduled.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT

We first consider the issue of summary judgment. The rule governing summary judgment is well-known. Summary judgment is appropriate only when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. This determination is to be based “on the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any____” I.R.C.P. 56(e). All disputed facts are viewed in the favor of the non-moving party. Myers v. A.O. Smith Harvestore Prods., Inc., 114 Idaho 432, 757 P.2d 695 (Ct.App.1988) (review denied). Moreover, our Supreme Court has held that even though there are no disputed facts, a motion for summary judgment must be denied when the case is to be tried to a jury, if the evidence is such that conflicting inferences can be drawn therefrom and if reasonable persons might reach different conclusions. Riverside Development Co. v. Ritchie, 103 Idaho 515, 650 P.2d 657 (1982). Here, the Andertons had requested a jury on their counterclaim.

The summary judgment was entered in two parts. The first judgment, dated April [859]*85928, 1987, was quite limited. Essentially, the court made findings of certain facts which the court said “appear without substantial controversy” and which were to be deemed established for purposes of the foreclosure action. Markham’s second motion for summary judgment and motion to dismiss the counterclaim were heard on June 15,1987. The order entered after this hearing incorporated the earlier order, so here we need discuss only the final summary judgment order.

The court found that the $44,000 promissory note and deed of trust given by the Andertons to the Markhams were valid in all respects; that $27,254.16 in principal was due and owing plus $9080 in interest accrued to July 1, 1986. The court also found that Andertons had defaulted on the deed of trust provisions by failing to pay the 1982 real property taxes.

When these determinations were made, the Andertons’ pleadings consisted of an answer with affirmative defenses, an amended counterclaim with a demand for jury trial, and an amended third-party complaint with a demand for jury trial. B.J. Anderton had also filed two affidavits. The first was a seven-page document, dated March 20, 1987, with over fifty pages of appended material in support of Anderton’s motion to dismiss Markham’s complaint. This affidavit did not specifically address or refer to Markham’s first motion for summary judgment but, in our view, the allegations of fact contained in this affidavit — so far as they are competent and relevant to the motion for summary judgment — must be considered in determining whether the summary judgments were properly entered. B.J. Anderton also filed an affidavit in opposition to Markham’s motion to dismiss and second motion for summary judgment on June 12, 1987, three days before the hearing on the motions for summary judgments. On the other hand, affidavits by Ruth Markham, her son, and her attorney were given in support of these motions. Our review of the record has encompassed all of these documents.

We deem it clearly established in the record that the purchase money note and deed of trust are valid “in all respects as held by the district court. Anderton has made only general allegations that the deed of trust is “null and void.” These allegations raise no genuine issue of fact and present no valid legal issue. We need only discuss whether there is a genuine issue of fact as to the amount of principal or interest owing on the note.

The Andertons concede that the Mark-hams’ accounting record of payments made is correct up to August 1982. This record shows that payments were chronically late. On August 23,1982, when the last payment was made, installments were owing and unpaid for May, June, July and August. The Markhams’ records show the Andertons paid a total of $1000 in August which was credited to the two delinquent $500 installments for May and June.

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Schneider v. Curry
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Kalb v. Feuerstein
308 U.S. 433 (Supreme Court, 1940)
Myers v. A.O. Smith Harvestore Products, Inc.
757 P.2d 695 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1988)
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546 A.2d 582 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
801 P.2d 565, 118 Idaho 856, 1990 Ida. App. LEXIS 38, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/markham-v-anderton-idahoctapp-1990.