SFJV 2005, L.L.C. v. Ream

933 N.E.2d 819, 187 Ohio App. 3d 715
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 9, 2010
DocketNos. 2009 CA 7, 2009 CA 27
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 933 N.E.2d 819 (SFJV 2005, L.L.C. v. Ream) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
SFJV 2005, L.L.C. v. Ream, 933 N.E.2d 819, 187 Ohio App. 3d 715 (Ohio Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Froelich, Judge.

{¶ 1} Miami Valley Hospital and Mercy Medical Center (collectively, “the hospitals”) appeal from two judgments of the Champaign County Court of Common Pleas in a foreclosure action by SFJV 2005, L.L.C. (“SFJV”) concerning real property owned by Paul and Donna Ream. The hospitals claim that the trial court erred in granting judgment to SFJV entering a decree of foreclosure and confirming the sale of the property. For the following reasons, the trial court’s judgments are affirmed.

I

{¶ 2} The evidence at trial established the following facts.

{¶ 3} In July 2000, Paul and Donna Ream entered into a land contract with Richard and Marilyn Freyhof for the purchase of the property located at 471 Gwynne Street in Urbana, Champaign County, Ohio. In April 2004, the Reams completed the land contract and received a survivorship deed (in both their [719]*719names) for the property. To finance the purchase, Donna Ream obtained a loan from and gave a note to American Mortgage Service Company (“AMSC”) in the amount of $64,705. Due to Paul Ream’s financial and employment situation, he was not included on the note. The accompanying mortgage identified Donna Ream as the mortgagor/borrower. However, at closing, Paul Ream initialed each page and signed the signature page as a “borrower” below his wife’s signature.

{¶ 4} Within 30 days of closing, AMSC indorsed the note to Washington Mutual Bank FA. Washington Mutual subsequently indorsed the note twice — to Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and to SFJV. HUD also indorsed the note to SFJV.

{¶ 5} The mortgage was held by Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems, Inc. (“MERS”), as nominee for AMSC. In December 2005, MERS assigned the mortgage to HUD. A couple of months later, HUD assigned the mortgage to SFJV 2004-1, L.L.C., which, in May 2007, assigned the mortgage to SFJV. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., a successor by merger to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, executed the assignment of mortgage from SFJV 2004-1, L.L.C., to SFJV pursuant to a limited power of attorney from SFJV 2004-1, L.L.C., to Wells Fargo Bank.

{¶ 6} SFJV entered into a servicing agreement with EMC Mortgage SFJV 2005 (“EMC”), whereby EMC was authorized to service mortgages on SFJV’s behalf. In accordance with that servicing agreement, EMC appointed Wells Fargo Bank as the subservicer of the mortgage.

{¶ 7} In 2005, Donna Ream defaulted on her loan, and a foreclosure action was filed. In October 2006, Wells Fargo Bank, doing business as America’s Servicing Company, entered into a loan-modification agreement with Donna Ream. As part of the agreement, the principal balance was modified to $67,695.45. The foreclosure action was dismissed.

{¶ 8} Donna Ream again defaulted on her loan. As a result, in May 2007, SFJV filed a complaint for foreclosure and reformation of mortgage. Miami Valley Hospital was named as a defendant due to a judgment lien obtained by the hospital against the Reams in September 2005. Mercy Memorial Hospital was subsequently added, with leave of court, due to a judgment lien obtained by that hospital against the Reams in August 2005.

{¶ 9} SFJV filed an amended complaint in December 2007. In that complaint, SFJV sought an equitable lien, a constructive trust, and a resulting trust as to Paul Ream’s one-half interest in the property. It also sought reformation of the mortgage to fully secure Paul Ream’s interest in the property. SFJV requested that it be granted judgment on the note against Donna Ream, that it be found to [720]*720have first lien priority (subject to any lien by the county treasurer), and that the property be foreclosed and sold.

{¶ 10} A trial on the matter was held on October 22, 2008, during which evidence was presented as to whether Paul Ream had mortgaged his interest in the property, whether SFJV was the real party in interest, and the balance due on the note.

{¶ 11} On January 21, 2009, the trial court found that Donna Ream had signed a note secured by a mortgage in favor of SFJV’s predecessor in interest and that SFJV was the holder of the note. The balance on the note had been modified pursuant to a loan-modification agreement signed by Donna Ream and America’s Servicing Company. The court further found that the balance due under the note, as modified, was $67,400.32, plus interest at a rate of 6.5 percent per annum from January 1, 2007, plus court costs, advances, and other charges as allowed by law. The court ordered judgment in favor of SFJV and against Donna Ream in that amount.

{¶ 12} With respect to the mortgage, the court found that the mortgage signed by Donna and Paul Ream “secures the entire property, not just the interest held by Defendant Donna Ream.” Thus, the court found “that the mortgage is valid on its face and that, by signing and initialing the mortgage, Defendants Donna and Paul Ream: (a) mortgaged, granted, and conveyed their interest in the respective property; (b) covenanted that they were lawfully seised of the estate; and (c) accepted and agreed to the terms and covenants contained in the body of the mortgage.” The court found that SFJV’s claims for reformation and equitable relief were moot. The court ordered SFJV to submit a proposed decree of foreclosure for review by the court.

{¶ 13} On February 9, 2009, the court entered a judgment and decree in foreclosure, and it ordered the property to be sold. On February 27, 2009, SFJV filed a praecipe for order of sale for 471 Gwynne Street. An order of sale was issued on the same date. The house was appraised to be worth $25,000, and the sheriffs sale was scheduled for April 24, 2009. Kelly Shank of the Urbana Daily Citizen, a daily newspaper published in Urbana, filed an affidavit stating that a notice of the sheriffs sale (which was attached to the affidavit) was published “three consecutive weeks and next after March 24, 2009.”

{¶ 14} On April 24, 2009, the sheriff sold the property to SFJV for $38,000. The sheriffs return of the writ of execution was filed three days later. On June 17, 2009, the trial court confirmed the sale of the property, directed that the property be conveyed to SFJV, and ordered distribution of the proceeds of the sale to the appropriate parties. The order confirming the sale consisted of a proposed entry by SFJV’s counsel with handwritten modifications by the trial judge.

[721]*721{¶ 15} The hospitals appeal from the judgment and decree of foreclosure and the confirmation of sale.

II

{¶ 16} In case No. 09-CA-07, the hospitals appeal from the trial court’s judgment and decree in foreclosure, raising three assignments of error. We will address the assignments in an order that facilitates our analysis.

A. Interpretation of the Mortgage Document

{¶ 17} The hospitals’ first and third assignments of error state:

{¶ 18} “The trial court erred in holding as a matter of law that, on its face, the mortgage encumbered the entire property.”

{¶ 19} “The trial court’s judgment is against the manifest weight of the evidence.”

{¶ 20} In their first assignment of error, the hospitals claim that the trial court erred in finding that the mortgage signed by the Reams was clear and unambiguous. They argue that the mortgage is ambiguous and that Paul Ream could have signed the mortgage in order to release his dower right to the property.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Green v. CDO Technologies, Inc.
2021 Ohio 1603 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
Cardinal Fin. Co., L.P. v. Filgueiras
2019 Ohio 2043 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON v. RHIEL, Trustee.
2018 Ohio 5087 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2018)
MidFirst Bank v. Stump
2017 Ohio 4312 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
Huntington Natl. Bank v. Betteley
2015 Ohio 5067 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2015)
PNC Bank, N.A. v. Springboro Med. Arts, Inc.
2015 Ohio 3386 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2015)
State v. Quarles
2015 Ohio 3050 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2015)
New Falls Corp. v. Pierson
2014 Ohio 567 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
Huntington Natl. Bank v. Priest
2014 Ohio 356 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
Green Tree Servicing, L.L.C. v. Roberts
2013 Ohio 5362 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2013)
JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA v. Carroll
2013 Ohio 5273 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2013)
Newton Falls Safety Forces, Inc. v. Kuivila
2013 Ohio 4757 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2013)
Bank of New York Mellon v. Morgan
2013 Ohio 4393 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2013)
Fifth Third Mtge. Co. v. Bell
2013 Ohio 3678 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2013)
Bowman v. Williams
2013 Ohio 1790 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2013)
U.S. Bank Natl. Assn. v. Higgins
2012 Ohio 4086 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2012)
CitiMortgage Inc. v. Parrish
2012 Ohio 3778 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2012)
State v. Moore
2012 Ohio 3604 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
933 N.E.2d 819, 187 Ohio App. 3d 715, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sfjv-2005-llc-v-ream-ohioctapp-2010.