Roost v. Douglas County (In re Southern Oregon Mortgage, Inc.)

143 B.R. 569, 1992 Bankr. LEXIS 1150
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Oregon
DecidedJuly 28, 1992
DocketBankruptcy Nos. 689-60581-R7, 689-60580-R7, 689-60579-R7 and 689-60578-R7; Adv. No. 91-6344-R
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 143 B.R. 569 (Roost v. Douglas County (In re Southern Oregon Mortgage, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roost v. Douglas County (In re Southern Oregon Mortgage, Inc.), 143 B.R. 569, 1992 Bankr. LEXIS 1150 (Or. 1992).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ALBERT E. RADCLIFFE, Bankruptcy Judge.

The plaintiff in this adversary proceeding is the trustee for Southern Oregon Mortgage, Inc. (SOMI) and Gold Key Properties, Inc. Defendants are Douglas County, Oregon and Anne. E. Schroeder, tax collector for Douglas County (tax collector). The complaint seeks an injunction to prevent the tax collector from executing a deed to Douglas County which would complete the tax foreclosure and transfer of certain real properties to Douglas County in satisfaction of delinquent real property taxes. The defendants have filed an answer containing counter-claims seeking a declaration of this court that the plaintiff and this bankruptcy estate have no interest in the real property in question and that, therefore, defendants should be granted, if necessary, relief from the automatic stay provided by 11 U.S.C. § 362.

The parties have submitted the case for trial on stipulated facts. The defendants had previously filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings and the plaintiff had filed a motion for summary judgment. The parties have agreed that their memoranda in support of and in opposition to those motions will be their trial briefs. The matter is now ripe for decision.

STIPULATED FACTS

On February 27, 1992, the parties filed their stipulated facts herein. The facts, as stipulated to by the parties, are as follows:

1. Plaintiff is the duly qualified and acting trustee in the above-entitled bankruptcy cases.

2. At all material times, defendant, Douglas County, was a political subdivision of the State of Oregon.

3. This adversary proceeding is one arising in the debtor’s Case No. 689-60581-R7 and Case No. 689-60578-R7, under Chapter 7, Title 11, now pending in this court. The court has jurisdiction of this adversary proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and 11 U.S.C. §§ 105 and 362.

4. This adversary proceeding is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A).

5. At all material times, defendant, Anne E. Schroeder, was the tax collector for Douglas County.

6. Southern Oregon Mortgage, Inc., of which plaintiff is the bankruptcy trustee, is the beneficiary of a deed of trust from David Winter, dated August 22, 1986, and recorded on August 26, 1986, Douglas County Records, as Recorder’s No. 86-11039, securing a promissory note payable to Southern Oregon Mortgage, Inc., in the amount of $15,000.

7. Said deed of trust is on real property that is subject to real property taxes payable to Douglas County, as Tax Account No. 75350.00, and is described by taxing authorities as Tax Lot 3900, Township 30, Range 6, Section 24; the legal description is attached as Exhibit A to the Complaint. The real property taxes are delinquent since 1986.

8. Gold Key Properties is the legal owner of Lots 5 and 6, Block 3, Starburst Division, Douglas County, Oregon.

9. Said real properties are subject to Douglas County real property taxes, and have Tax Account Nos. 67825.00, and 67826.00 respectively; and are described as Parcel 800 and 900 respectively, of Township 28, Range 6, Section 21. Taxes are delinquent on both parcels since 1986.

10. Douglas County has instituted proceedings in Douglas County Circuit Court to foreclose the tax liens on the aforementioned real properties, in the Circuit Court Case No. L88-2866, Douglas County, et al v. Abbett, et al.

11. On December 21, 1988, a judgment and a decree was entered in said case foreclosing the subject properties, subject to rights of redemption. A copy of said de[571]*571cree is attached as Exhibit B to the Complaint.

12. The two year right of redemption from the entry of the foreclosure decree has lapsed, and defendants intend to record a deed from defendant, Anne E. Schroeder, to defendant, Douglas County, pursuant to O.R.S. 312.200.

13. The bankruptcy estates will suffer great and irreparable injury and damage if the recording of the tax collector’s deed to Douglas County is not enjoined.

14. There is no adequate remedy at law for protecting the interests of the estates.

In addition, this court notes, by taking judicial notice of the records and files herein, that this case was commenced, as an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, by the filing of a petition on February 27, 1989, an Order for Relief having been entered herein on July 14, 1989.

ISSUE

The issue presented in this case is whether or not the automatic stay provided for in 11 U.S.C. § 362(a) prevents the tax collector from giving her deed to Douglas County to complete the real property tax foreclosure of the real property described above.

The plaintiff argues that the automatic stay prevents the tax collector from executing and Douglas County from recording the deeds necessary to complete the tax foreclosure.

The defendants argue that since the two year statutory redemption period has lapsed, the properties are no longer property of the estate and there is nothing for this court or the automatic stay to preserve or protect. In other words, the execution and recordation of the deeds would not affect estate property.

DISCUSSION

11 U.S.C. § 362(a), the statute providing for an automatic stay in bankruptcy, provides in pertinent part as follows:

... a petition filed under ... this Title, ... operates as a stay, applicable to all entities of— ...
(2) the enforcement, against the debtor or against property of the estate, of a judgment obtained before the commencement of the case under this title;
(3) any act to obtain possession of property of the estate or of property from the estate or to exercise control over property of the estate; ...

Our discussion begins with a review of two important decisions in this district which have considered similar issues.

In In re Petersen, 42 B.R. 39 (Bankr.D.Or.1984), Judge Higdon (formerly Wil-hardt), of this court, considered the effect of the automatic stay upon a statutory period of redemption following a foreclosure sale in a mortgage foreclosure context. In Petersen, Home Federal Savings and Loan Association (Home Federal) sought relief from the automatic stay in the debtor’s Chapter 11 proceeding to, in essence, clear title to debtor’s property which it had foreclosed. Debtor had three pre-petition mortgages with Home Federal. On October 7,1982, Home Federal obtained decrees of foreclosure on all three of debt- or’s properties. On November 29, 1982, the sheriff, upon writs of execution, sold all three properties to Home Federal. On December 15, 1982, the Lane County Circuit Court entered an order, in each case, confirming the sales.

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510 B.R. 648 (D. Oregon, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
143 B.R. 569, 1992 Bankr. LEXIS 1150, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roost-v-douglas-county-in-re-southern-oregon-mortgage-inc-orb-1992.