Miller v. Wells

CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Kentucky
DecidedJune 30, 2020
Docket20-05008
StatusUnknown

This text of Miller v. Wells (Miller v. Wells) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Wells, (Ky. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY LEXINGTON DIVISION

IN RE:

DWAYNE S. WELLS ANNA M. WELLS CASE NO. 20-50116

DEBTORS

MARK T. MILLER, TRUSTEE PLAINTIFF

V. ADV. NO. 20-5008

DWAYNE S. WELLS ANNA M. WELLS UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION DEFENDANTS

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN PART

The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment and responses. [ECF Nos. 14, 16, 17, 26, 27.] The Plaintiff is Mark Miller, the Chapter 7 Trustee. The Defendant University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union (“UKFCU”) is the maker of two secured loans involving the other Defendants, the husband and wife Debtors. Arguments were heard on June 18, 2020, and the motions were taken under submission. The Plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment on his argument that the first mortgage lien is not enforceable against the Debtor Dwayne S. Wells, so summary judgment on UKFCU’s first counterclaim is denied. The Trustee concedes the second mortgage is effective, so UKFCU is entitled to summary judgment on its second counterclaim. Other matters require more consideration. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY. The facts in this case are undisputed. The Debtors purchased a single-family home located at 591 Merrimac Drive (a/k/a 3433 Birkenhead Drive), Lexington, Kentucky (the “Property”), on July 21, 2005. [ECF No. 1 at 5.] On February 14, 2014, the Debtor Anna M. Wells obtained a $134,500.00 loan evidenced by a note payable to UKFCU. [ECF No. 9-1,

Ex. A (the “Note”).] The Note is secured by a first mortgage of the same date that pledges an interest in the Property. [ECF No. 9-2, Ex. B (the “Mortgage”).] The Mortgage is of record in the Office of the Fayette County Clerk. The Mortgage document is a national form that was created, at least in part, to facilitate the packaging and sale of mortgage loans as securities. The Mortgage provides immediately before Paragraph 1: “THIS SECURITY INSTRUMENT combines uniform covenants for national use and non-uniform covenants with limited variations by jurisdiction to constitute a uniform security instrument covering real property.” [Id. at 4.] The Mortgage is governed by Kentucky law. [Id. at 13, ¶ 16.]

The Mortgage defines Anna as the “Borrower,” which is the term for the mortgagor under the agreement. The term “Borrower” is used throughout the Mortgage to impose the typical obligations in a mortgage instrument, including the pledge of the lien on the Property. Dwayne is not named or identified as a “Borrower” or mortgagor anywhere in the Mortgage. Dwayne signed the Mortgage by initialing each page and signing his name on the last page. A copy of the signature page for the Mortgage is Attachment 1 to this Opinion. The Trustee acknowledges Anna’s liability under the Mortgage. The Trustee’s complaint and summary judgment motion allege the omission of Dwayne from the covenants means the Mortgage is not enforceable as to Dwayne. [ECF Nos. 1, 14.] Therefore, the Trustee claims he may avoid the Mortgage lien for the benefit of the estate. See 11 U.S.C. §§ 544(a), 551. The Trustee also asks for authority to sell the Property to monetize this interest. 11 U.S.C. § 363(b), (f), and (h). UKFCU maintains there are sufficient indicia of Dwayne’s role as a “Borrower” to uphold the validity of the Mortgage and counterclaims for judgment against both Debtors. [ECF

Nos. 9, 16, 17, 26, 27.] UKFCU also wants the Trustee to abandon the property to allow the Debtors to reaffirm their obligations under the Note and Mortgage. [Id.] UKFCU filed another counterclaim to determine the validity of a second mortgage lien that secures a line of credit obtained by the Borrowers from UKFCU on June 16, 2017 (the “Second Mortgage”). [See ECF Nos. 9-3, Ex. C, 9-4, Ex. D.] The Trustee concedes the Second Mortgage is properly perfected against both Debtors, so summary judgment is granted on this counterclaim. The Debtors filed a response that discloses their desire to remain in their home. [ECF No. 25.] The Debtors also challenge any request for legal fees because UKFCU caused the

problems that resulted in this adversary proceeding. [Id.] II. JURISDICTION AND SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD. This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b). It is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(K). Civil Rule 56 allows entry of summary judgment if the moving party shows there are no genuine issues of material fact and the movant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a) (made applicable by FED. R. BANK. P. 7056). A fact is material if it would affect the outcome of the dispute under applicable law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-252 (1986) (After assessing the proof, the determinative issue is “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to [the trier of fact] of whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.”). A court must assume all inferences from the facts in favor of the non-moving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., LTD v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986). III. DISCUSSION.

This case requires an interpretation of the Mortgage, a national form. Use of a form document has the benefit of uniformity, but also contains deviations from the norm. The party that pledges real property in Kentucky is generally referred to as a mortgagor. The national form calls the mortgagor a “Borrower,” a term generally used for the maker of a loan. [See ECF No. 9-1, Ex. A (Anna is defined as the “Borrower” under the Note).] Also, the national form refers to multiple mortgagors by the singular term “Borrower.” The use of the national form also means this is not the first-time lenders have tried to fix a drafting error through the courts. See, e.g., Rogan v. Fifth Third Mortg. Co. (In re Rowe), 452 B.R. 591 (B.A.P. 6th Cir. 2011); Gilchrist v. United Bank & Trust Co. (In re Gilchrist), 467 B.R.

114 (E.D. Ky. 2012); Johnson v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P. (In re Crouch), Bankr. No. 09-52931, Adv. No. 10-5006, 2010 WL 2667393 (Bankr. E.D. Ky. June 30, 2010), aff’d sub nom., BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P. v. Johnson (In re Crouch), Civil Action No. 5:10-332- JMH, Bankr. No. 09-52931, 2011 WL 3608095 (E.D. Ky. Aug. 16, 2011). The cases start with the same general set of facts: the lender made a mistake filling out the national form mortgage and needs to rely on nuances in the contract to support its validity and prevent lien avoidance by a bankruptcy trustee. Sometimes that is possible, but in other cases, like this one, the court must follow the law of the forum to deny the validity of the mortgage. A. The Mortgage Is Not Enforceable Against Dwayne. 1. The Mortgage Is Not Ambiguous. The Mortgage is interpreted according to Kentucky law. See Rogan v. Bank One, N.A. (In re Cook), 457 F.3d 561, 566 (6th Cir. 2006). Kentucky courts first attempt to determine the agreement of the parties based on the terms of the contract. See Veech v. Deposit Bank of

Shelbyville, 128 S.W.2d 907, 911 (Ky.

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Miller v. Wells, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-wells-kyeb-2020.