San Miguel Basin State Bank v. Oliver

748 P.2d 1342, 1987 Colo. App. LEXIS 872, 1987 WL 765
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 20, 1987
Docket85CA1482
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 748 P.2d 1342 (San Miguel Basin State Bank v. Oliver) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
San Miguel Basin State Bank v. Oliver, 748 P.2d 1342, 1987 Colo. App. LEXIS 872, 1987 WL 765 (Colo. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

METZGER, Judge.

In this foreclosure action, George E. Oliver (defendant) appeals the trial court’s order denying his motion for an accounting and for an order directing San Miguel Basin State Bank (the Bank) to pay into the court registry that portion of its foreclosure sale bid which constituted unrecoverable fees, interest, and costs. Defendant contends that the trial court erred in allowing the Bank to include the following expenses in arriving at the sum for which the property was foreclosed: interest on insurance premiums and taxes at the rate specified in the note and deed of trust, appraisal fees and costs, and attorney fees and costs incurred in contesting bankruptcy proceedings commenced by the grantors and their successors in interest. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

In 1978, Douglas and Cherri Oliver (grantors) executed a promissory note secured by a deed of trust to real property in favor of the Bank. The note provided that, in the event of default and sale of the collateral, the holder may deduct “all expenses incidental to or arising from such sale_” The grantors further covenanted to:

“pay all expenses of any nature, whether incurred in or out of court, ... including but not limited to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, ... in connection with the satisfaction of the indebtedness or the administration, supervision, preservation, protection of (including, but not limited to, the maintenance of adequate insurance) or the realization upon the collateral.”

The deed of trust provided that, upon the sale of the collateral, the Public Trustee was to pay to the holder of the note:

“the principal and interest due on said note ... and all moneys advanced by *1344 such beneficiary or legal holder of said note for insurance, taxes and assessments, with interest thereon at ten per cent per annum....”

After the grantors defaulted on their payments, the Bank commenced this proceeding to foreclose its deed of trust. On November 29, 1982, a decree of foreclosure was entered in which the trial court awarded the Bank a first priority lien in the amount of $221,852.93 and a third priority lien in the amount of $187,467.66. Defendant, father of grantor Douglas G. Oliver, was awarded a second priority lien in the amount of $48,602.56.

The trial court further ordered that the deed of trust be foreclosed and the real property be sold by the sheriff. The proceeds of the sale were to be applied: (1) to pay all fees, costs, and expenses incurred in connection with the sale; (2) to re-pay advances for taxes, insurance, and other costs after judgment; (3) to pay the Bank $221,852.93 plus interest from the date of judgment; and (4) to pay the balance remaining into the registry of the court.

Pursuant to the decree of foreclosure, the property was sold on April 16, 1985, to the Bank upon its bid of $336,887.24. The Bank paid no funds into the registry of the court because it alleged that its bid contained only its first lien amount plus interest and other allowable expenses.

On June 14, 1985, defendant filed a motion for an accounting of the proceeds from the sheriff's sale. He asserted that a portion of the Bank’s costs and expenses should not have been included in determining the amount for which the property was foreclosed. He requested that the court first determine which costs and expenses were not reimbursable to the Bank, and that it then order the Bank to pay the unapproved costs into the registry of the court, to be applied by further court order toward the discharge of his second priority lien.

In a minute order entered on July 26, 1986, the trial court found that, pursuant to the foreclosure decree and the provisions of the deed of trust, the Bank could recover its costs and expenses incurred in the foreclosure. It further found that, while the Bank may have included in its bid some costs and expenses not legally allowable incident to a foreclosure, defendant had failed to produce any authority in support of the relief he requested. Consequently, the trial court denied the motion, and this appeal followed.

Initially, we note that in reviewing a bid for property at a foreclosure sale, the court has the power to order that any surplus be paid into the registry of the court for a determination of the priorities to that surplus. See International Trust Co. v. Stearns Investment Co., 87 Colo. 31, 285 P. 169 (1930). Junior lienors may challenge the propriety of the sums claimed by the purchasing creditor to be included in the amount for which the property was foreclosed. See Rowe v. Tucker, 38 Colo.App. 532, 560 P.2d 843 (1977). By reviewing such claims, the court can ensure that purchasing creditor shall receive credit for only the expenses of sale and the amounts properly due to him. Rowe v. Tucker, supra.

I.

Relying on Green v. Hoefler, 115 Colo. 287, 173 P.2d 208 (1946), defendant first contends that the trial court erred in allowing the Bank to apply the interest rate specified in the deed of trust instead of the statutory interest rate to the insurance premiums and taxes advanced by it. We agree in part.

In Green v. Hoefler, supra, the court held that the issuance of a certificate of purchase operates to extinguish the mortgage lien. Thus, the deed of trust and note cease to govern the interest rate or the debt after the foreclosure sale has occurred and a certificate of purchase is issued.

Here, the return of the sheriffs sale provided that the Bank received a certifi *1345 cate of purchase following sale. Thus, as of the date of issuance of the certificate of purchase, the note and deed of trust were extinguished and the interest rates contained therein no longer applied.

On remand, the trial court should conduct such further proceedings as are necessary to permit it to make the proper computations. The interest rate to be applied before the date of issuance of the certificate of purchase is that contained in the deed of trust. No interest should be allowed after the date of issuance of the certificate of purchase in determining the amount for which the property was foreclosed.

II.

Defendant next argues that the trial court erred by allowing the Bank’s claim for attorney fees of $15,395, in connection with the grantors’ bankruptcy which occurred during the pendency of the foreclosure proceedings. He also argues that § 38-38-106, C.R.S. (1982 Repl. Vol. 16A), which limits the recovery of attorney fees in foreclosure proceedings to 10 percent of the sum for which the property is foreclosed, applies. We agree in part.

The Bank maintains that such expenses are allowable pursuant to the redemption and cure statutes, specifically § 38-39-101 and § 38-39-118, C.R.S. (1986 Cum.Supp.). In our view, these statutes are inapplicable.

The redemption and cure statutes have nothing to do with determining the amount for which the property is foreclosed. Rather, § 38-37-113(6), C.R.S. (1982 Repl. Vol. 16A) controls.

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Bluebook (online)
748 P.2d 1342, 1987 Colo. App. LEXIS 872, 1987 WL 765, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/san-miguel-basin-state-bank-v-oliver-coloctapp-1987.