State Bank of Lehi v. Woolsey

565 P.2d 413, 22 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1, 1977 Utah LEXIS 1166
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedJune 7, 1977
Docket14719
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 565 P.2d 413 (State Bank of Lehi v. Woolsey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Bank of Lehi v. Woolsey, 565 P.2d 413, 22 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1, 1977 Utah LEXIS 1166 (Utah 1977).

Opinions

MAUGHAN, Justice:

Before us is a judgment allowing foreclosure. Plaintiff held, and the action was grounded on, a security interest in realty, and personalty pledged by defendants. We affirm. Costs to plaintiffs.

Defendants operated a mink ranch and became indebted to plaintiff in the sum of $161,000. The debt was evidenced by three promissory notes, and certain security agreements.

On January 2, 1976, plaintiff filed this action, in keeping with an appropriate acceleration clause. It alleged the three notes were delinquent and sought foreclosure of its security interest, in both the real and personal property. Plaintiff further sought the appointment of a receiver to protect and care for the mink. The petition was granted.

On appeal defendants contend the trial court erred in striking their timely demand for a jury trial. The court ruled the issues to be decided were largely equitable and arose from an interpretation of written contracts. Therefore, defendants were not entitled to a jury trial.

Defendants cite three factual issues, in particular, which they claim should have been submitted to the jury. First, whether the parties had made a binding oral agreement to extend the time of payment of the [415]*415$115,000 note to March 1, 1976. Second, whether there was any basis, in fact, for the grounds asserted by the bank to support its claim of insecurity under the acceleration clause in the security agreement. Third, whether the bank acted in good faith in exercising its option to accelerate.

Since the security agreement covered both real and personal property, and plaintiff elected to proceed as to both the real and personal property, plaintiff’s rights and remedies are determined according to the law of foreclosure of interests in real estate and the provisions of Chapter 9, Title 70A do not apply.1

Defendants cite Petty v. Clark2 and contend any issue concerning the underlying indebtedness, viz., the obligation in the note, is a legal issue which should be submitted to a jury. Petty v. Clark creates a certain degree of confusion, particularly, Justice Wolfe’s concurring opinion, wherein he expressed the view that the majority’s opinion had, in effect, although not expressly, overruled prior case law. He conceded that the prior cases in Utah had been definite and explicitly held that in a foreclosure suit on a note and mortgage the issue of indebtedness was not triable by a jury as a matter of right.3

In the recent case of United States v. Loosley4 we said:

. The main purpose of a mortgage is to insure the payment of the debt for which it stands as security; and foreclosure is allowed when necessary to carry out that objective. . . . The proceeding is one in equity in which principles of equity should be applied consistent with the above stated purpose; and neither the mortgage nor the foreclosure should be used as an instrument of oppression. .

In Sweeny v. Happy Valley, Inc.5 this court observed that whether a cause should be regarded as one in equity or one in law, wherein the party can demand a jury as a matter of right, the ostensible form of the action or the particular wording of the pleadings is not determinative. The trial court in making its determination as to whether the legal or equitable issues predominate should examine the nature of the rights asserted and the remedies sought in light of the facts of the case.

What is the nature of the mortgagee’s right in a foreclosure proceeding? In Utah, a mortgage conveys no legal estate to the mortgagee but gives the mortgagee a lien on the premises to secure payment of the indebtedness. A mortgage is not a conveyance of title; the mortgagor has the legal title. This concept is a complete reversal of the theory administered in England, wherein the estate of the mortgagor was equitable, and the jurisdiction of equity dealt chiefly with protecting his equitable rights. The mortgagee was vested with the legal estate, by means of the mortgage, and was able to obtain possession of the land by legal action and thus seldom resorted to a court of equity.

Today, the mortgagee calls on equity for his remedy. His interest is no longer an estate, but a mere lien, an appendage of the debt, incapable of being separated from the debt, and transferred by itself. The mortgagee has no legal remedy on the mortgage, no power to recover possession of the land, and can enforce the lien against the land in no legal action. The remedy granted by a court of equity is based upon the theory that his interest is a mere equitable lien and not an estate. The relief granted is the enforcement of the lien, by sale of the premises, and an application of the proceeds upon the debt.

The mortgagor’s estate is, in effect transferred to the purchaser at the [416]*416judicial sale. A legal estate is taken from the mortgagor and transferred to the purchaser. The mortgagee may buy the land at the sale and thus acquire the title, but he acquires it as a purchaser, and not as mortgagee. The mortgagor retains the full legal estate, subject only to the encumbrance, and is entitled to the possession, use, rents, and profits up to the time when his title is finally divested by a judicial sale in a proceeding to enforce the lien. The mortgagor is able to secure his estate and possession by legal action, and has no need or occasion to invoke the aid of equity.6 His rights are all legal, in contrast to those of the mortgagee which are all equitable. This does not, of course, deny to the mortgagor access to appropriate equitable defenses.

Thus, the right asserted by the mortgagee, in a foreclosure proceeding, is equitable. This equitable right does not exist separate or independent of the underlying obligation.

In a suit to foreclose a mortgage the court will ordinarily treat the case as a unity, and as one of exclusive equitable jurisdiction. It is settled, therefore, that the chancellor may determine the issue of indebtedness as one lying across the very threshold of his jurisdiction to decree a foreclosure. And suits to enforce or foreclose liens are frequently retained for money judgments.7

The foregoing point is illustrated in Moore v. Capital Gas Corporation,8 wherein the mortgagor asserted on appeal it should have been accorded a jury trial on the debt issue. The court said that in order to determine if a mortgagee is entitled to the relief sought, it is absolutely necessary to determine there is a debt secured by a mortgage. For if there be no debt, there is nothing upon which the power of the court could be exercised. It is impossible to make a step of progress towards a decree, without settling the question of the mortgagor’s indebtedness.

The court observed there were cases which appeared to hold as the mortgagor contended, but they seemed to be based partially upon a confusion between an exclusive equity jurisdiction and concurrent equity jurisdiction. It cited as an example, a case where the plaintiff sought two unrelated remedies, viz., damages, a legal remedy; and an injunction, an equitable remedy. In such a case, the equity court had concurrent jurisdiction over the demand for an award of damages, which, however, was not a prerequisite to the granting of an injunction.

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Bluebook (online)
565 P.2d 413, 22 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1, 1977 Utah LEXIS 1166, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-bank-of-lehi-v-woolsey-utah-1977.