Rainbow Land & Cattle Co. Llc Vs. First American Title Ins. Co.

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA

RAINBOW LAND & CATTLE No. 78795 COMPANY, LLC, A NEVADA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, Appellant, vs. FIRST AMERICAN TITLE INSURANCE FILE

COMPANY, A NEBRASKA SEP 1 8 2020 CORPORATION; H.H. LAND & ELIZABETH A. BROWN

CATTLE COMPANY, A NEVADA CLERK OF SUPREME COURT BY

CORPORATION; AND ZIONS FIRST OEPIJTY CLERK NATIONAL BANK, Res • ondents.

ORDER OF AFFIRMANCE

This is an appeal from a district court order granting summary judgment, certified as final under NRCP 54(b), in a real property action. Seventh Judicial District Court, Lincoln County; Steve L. Dobrescu, Judge.'

Having considered the parties arguments and the record, we conclude that the district court correctly granted summary judgment for respondent H.H. Land & Cattle Company, as there is no genuine issue of material fact regarding whether H.H. Land is authorized to foreclose. Wood v. Safeway, Inc., 121 Nev. 724, 729, 121 P.3d 1026, 1029 (2005) (reviewing de novo a district court's decision to grant summary judgment and recognizing that summary judgment is proper when no genuine issue of material fact exists). In particular, H.H. Land produced uncontroverted evidence that it was in possession of the original 2010 Change in Terms Agreement, which appellant acknowledged had superseded all prior

1 Pursuant to NRAP 34(f)(1), we have determined that oral argument is not warranted in this appeal.

02 -3Lic4 q8

promissory notes. Although appellant contends that there is no

endorsement of that Agreement, H.H. Land is still entitled to enforce that Agreement as a transferee. Leyva v. Nat'l Default Servicing Corp., 127 Nev.

470, 255 P.3d 1275, 1281 (2011) ("If a party cann ot attain 'holder status by showing a valid negotiation, the party may esta blish its right to enforce the note by showing that the note has been vali dly transferred."). In this respect, H.H. Land proved its right to enforce the Agreement by virtue of producing the documents reflecting the 2013 loan sale from Zions First National Bank to H.H. Land and by producin g an affidavit from Zions'

senior vice president disclaiming any inte rest in the loan. See id.

([B]ecause the party seeking to enforce the note cannot 'prove' its right to enforce through the use of a valid endorsement, the party must 'prove' by some other means that it was given possession of the note for the purpose of enforcing it."). Accordingly, we affirm the district courVs summary

judgment order insofar as it concluded that H.H . Land had authority to

foreclose on the deed of trust.

Appellant also contends that the district cou rt erroneously

denied appellant's objection to First American Title Insurance Company's declaration of nonmonetary status. We perceive no reversible error in this determination given that NRS 107.029(5) still required First American to participate in discovery and be bound by any cour t order relating to the deed of trust. Finally, appellant contends that this cou rt should impose a duty

on First American to sell the secured property parc el by parcel instead of as a unified sale. We decline to impose such a duty in this case given that

appellant, in the deed of trust, granted First Arn erican the right to choose how the property would be sold. See 2 Baxter Dunaway, The Law of Distressed Real Estate, § 17:10 (2020) ([I]f the deed of trust or mortgage

SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA

2

(0) I997A .74609.

being foreclosed has instructions regarding the man ner of sale, this

contractual agreement should be followed."); cf. Davis v. Beling, 128 Nev.

301, 321, 278 P.3d 501, 515 (2012) (recognizing that this cour t enforces valid

contracts "as written"). In light of the foregoing, we ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED.

Parraguirre

CLej\S"'4r112.477"

Hardesty

,J

Cadish

610/A, J.

cc: Hon. Steve L. Dobrescu, District Judge Eleissa C. Lavelle, Settlement Judge Allison MacKenzie, Ltd. Maurice Wood Smith Larsen & Wixom Lincoln County Clerk

SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA

3

(0) I947A dat.