The Bank of New York Mellon v. Manchester at Huntington Homeowners Association

District Court, D. Nevada·Decided September 20, 2019·No. 2:16-cv-02175·Unknown

Opinion

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 3 4 The Bank of New York Mellon, fka the Bank Case No. 2:16-cv-02175-JAD-NJK of New York, as Trustee for the 5 Certificateholders of CWABS, Inc., Asset- backed Certificates Series 2005-AB2, 6 Plaintiff 7 v. Order Granting in Part and Denying in 8 Manchester at Huntington Homeowners Part Cross-Motions for Summary Association; SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC; Judgment 9 and RMI Management LLC dba Red Rock Financial Services, 10 [ECF Nos. 59, 60, 61] Defendants 11 _____________________________________

12 ALL OTHER CLAIMS

14 The Bank of New York Mellon brings this action to challenge the effect of the 2014 non- 15 judicial foreclosure sale of a home on which it claims a deed of trust.1 The bank sues the 16 Manchester Huntington Homeowners Association (HOA), which conducted the foreclosure sale, 17 the HOA’s agent Red Rock Financial Services, and foreclosure-sale purchaser SFR Investments 18 Pool 1, LLC, seeking a declaration either that the sale was invalid or that SFR purchased the 19 property subject to the bank’s security interest. The bank, SFR, and the HOA crossmove for 20 summary judgment. I find on this record that the HOA is entitled to summary judgment on the 21 bank’s NRS 116.1113 breach claim and its theory that the HOA foreclosure-sale notice scheme 22 was facially unconstitutional, but genuine issues of fact regarding the amount of the superpriority 23

1 ECF No. 1. 1 lien and Red Rock’s representations about the nature of the HOA lien it was foreclosing on 2 preclude summary judgment in favor of any party on the quiet-title or wrongful-foreclosure 3 claims. So I grant the HOA’s motion in part, deny the others, and order the parties to a 4 mandatory settlement conference with the magistrate judge. 5 Factual and Procedural Background

6 Levon Adjarian purchased the home at 648 Belsay Castle Court in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 7 2005 with a $378,800 loan from KB Home Mortgage Company, secured by a deed of trust that 8 designated Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) as the beneficiary.2 MERS 9 assigned that deed of trust “together with the note” to the Bank of New York in July 2011.3 The 10 home is located in the Huntington Village common-interest community and subject to the 11 declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) for the Manchester at Huntington 12 Homeowners’ Association.4 13 The Nevada Legislature gave homeowners’ associations a superpriorty lien against 14 residential property for certain delinquent assessments and established in Chapter 116 of the

15 Nevada Revised Statutes a non-judicial foreclosure procedure to enforce such a lien.5 After the 16 assessments on this home became delinquent, the HOA commenced non-judicial foreclosure 17 proceedings on it under Chapter 116 on October 25, 2012.6 18 19 20 2 ECF No. 61-1 at 2–3 (deed of trust). 21 3 ECF No. 61-2 (assignment). 22 4 ECF No. 61-3 (recorded HOA governing documents). 5 Nev. Rev. Stat. § 116.3116; SFR Investments Pool 1 v. U.S. Bank (“SFR I”), 334 P.3d 408, 409 23 (Nev. 2014). 6 ECF No. 61-4 (notice of lien for delinquent assessments). 1 A. The HOA rejected the bank’s tender and foreclosed on the property. 2 When the bank’s loan servicer, Bank of America, learned of the impending foreclosure, 3 its counsel, the law firm of Miles, Bauer, Bergstrom & Winters, LLP, sent a letter to the HOA 4 asking for “the HOA payoff ledger detailing the super-priority amount” of the HOA’s lien “by 5 providing a breakdown of nine (9) months of common HOA assessments in order for [Miles

6 Bauer] to calculate the super priority amount.”7 That letter further took the position that the 7 superpriority amount of the lien could consist of only nine months of assessments predating the 8 notice of default; it did not acknowledge that the superpriorty portion of the lien also would 9 include maintenance and nuisance-abatement charges.8 Red Rock responded with a demand for 10 $3,255.52 and a detailed “Accounting Ledger.”9 That ledger reflects that the account for this 11 property became delinquent in September 2011, that the last payment made to the account before 12 foreclosure was in January 2012, that the assessments were $35 per month until they increased to 13 $40.65 in 2013, and that a $250 charge for “Abandoned Property Clean up” was assessed on 14 June 18, 2012, and remained unpaid.10 Though Miles Bauer tendered nine months of $40.65, for

15 a total of $365.85 on April 5, 2013, in an effort to preserve the deed of trust,11 the record does 16 not reflect that Miles Bauer acknowledged—let alone tendered—the $250 “Abandoned Property 17 Clean up” charge. 18 19 20

21 7 ECF No. 61-6 at 9–10. 8 Id. 22 9 Id. at 13–23. 23 10 Id. at 21. 11 Id. at 26–30. 1 The tender was rejected,12 and Red Rock eventually went forward with the foreclosure 2 sale on the HOA’s behalf. Red Rock sold the property to SFR on August 8, 2014, for $33,000.13 3 The foreclosure deed recites that the HOA conveyed to SFR “all its right, title, and interest in 4 and to” the property.14 But the September 25, 2013, notice that Red Rock sent to the bank—and 5 even to the HOA—stated that the lien it was foreclosing upon “is Junior only to the Senior

6 Lender/Mortgage Holder.”15 Red Rock supervisor Julia Thompson states in her declaration 7 attached to the bank’s motion for summary judgment that those letters were “consistent” with 8 Red Rock’s belief at the time “that any HOA assessment lien enforcement to be conducted 9 would [not] result in the termination of any first deed of trust holder’s interest in the Property” 10 and any such sale “was not a superpriority sale.”16 11 B. The parties’ claims 12 As the Nevada Supreme Court held in SFR Investments Pool 1 v. U.S. Bank in 2014, 13 because NRS 116.3116(2) gives an HOA “a true superpriority lien, proper foreclosure of” that 14 lien under the non-judicial foreclosure process created by NRS Chapters 107 and 116 “will

15 extinguish a first deed of trust.”17 The bank brings this action to save its deed of trust from 16 extinguishment, pleading claims for quiet title, wrongful foreclosure, and breach of NRS 17 116.1113.18 The breach and wrongful-foreclosure claims are conditional claims that seek 18 19 12 Id. at 7. 20 13 ECF No. 61-10 at 2 (foreclosure deed). 21 14 Id. 15 ECF No. 61-8. 22 16 ECF No. 61-7 at 2–3. 23 17 SFR I, 334 P.3d at 419. 18 ECF No. 1. 1 damages only “[i]f it is determined” that the foreclosure wiped out the deed of trust.19 SFR 2 counterclaims and cross-claims for quiet title.20 Red Rock and the HOA assert cross-claims 3 against each other for indemnity, contribution, and breach of contract.21 I find that the 4 competing quiet-title claims are the type of claim recognized by the Nevada Supreme Court in 5 Shadow Wood Homeowners Association, Inc. v. New York Community Bancorp—actions

6 “seek[ing] to quiet title by invoking the court’s inherent equitable jurisdiction to settle title 7 disputes.”22 The resolution of such a claim is part of “[t]he long-standing and broad inherent 8 power of a court to sit in equity and quiet title, including setting aside a foreclosure sale if the 9 circumstances support” it.23 10 C. The competing summary-judgment motions 11 Discovery has closed,24 and the bank, SFR, and the HOA move for summary judgment.

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The Bank of New York Mellon v. Manchester at Huntington Homeowners Association, (D. Nev. 2019).

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