The Bank of New York Mellon v. SFR Investments Pool, 1, LLC

District Court, D. Nevada·Decided April 20, 2021·No. 2:18-cv-01375·Unknown

Opinion

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 3 4 Bank of New York Mellon, fka Bank of New Case No. 2:18-cv-01375-JAD-VCF York, as Trustee for the Certificateholders of 5 CWALT, Inc. Alternative Loan Trust 2005- 82, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates 6 Series 2005-82,

7 Plaintiff Summary Judgment Order v. 8 SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC, et al., [ECF Nos. 92, 93, 95] 9 Defendants 10 11 This is one of the hundreds of lawsuits in this district in which the holder of a deed of 12 trust seeks a declaration that a homeowner’s association’s non-judicial foreclosure sale did not 13 extinguish its security interest. Here, Bank of New York, as Trustee for the owners of a 14 mortgage trust from 2005, sues the Liberty at Paradise Community Association (the HOA), 15 which conducted the 2014 foreclosure sale of a home on which it holds the first deed of trust, 16 along with the foreclosure-sale purchaser SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC.1 The bank, the HOA, 17 and SFR cross-move for summary judgment.2 18 I find that the tender by the bank’s predecessor-in-interest of more than the full 19 superpriority portion of the HOA’s lien before the foreclosure sale saved the deed of trust from 20 extinguishment. So I grant summary judgment in favor of the bank on its quiet-title claim based 21

22 1 The bank also sued the foreclosed-upon property owner, Timothy Hanson, who has not appeared or otherwise participated in this case. See ECF No. 61 (denying request to enter default 23 without prejudice). 2 I find these motions suitable for disposition without oral argument. L.R. 78-1. 1 on a tender-rejected theory. The bank concedes that its UFTA claim fails as a matter of law, so I 2 grant summary judgment in favor of the defendants on it. And because the resolution of the 3 quiet-title claim in the bank’s favor moots its other quiet-title theories and the bank’s contingent 4 implied-covenant claim against the HOA, I dismiss them, leaving only the bank’s judicial- 5 foreclosure claim against SFR and Hanson. Finally, I order all remaining parties to a settlement

6 conference with the magistrate judge. 7 Background 8 Timothy Hanson purchased the home at 1091 Paradise Coach Drive in Henderson, 9 Nevada, with a $224,000.00 mortgage secured by a deed of trust.3 After an assignment, the 10 Bank of New York Mellon now holds that deed of trust.4 The home is located within the 11 Paradise Coach Resorts planned-unit development community and subject to the governing 12 documents for the Liberty at Paradise homeowners’ association.5 The Nevada Legislature gave 13 homeowners’ associations a superpriority lien against residential property for certain delinquent 14 assessments and established in Chapter 116 of the Nevada Revised Statutes a non-judicial

15 foreclosure procedure for them to enforce that lien.6 The monthly assessment for the Hanson 16 home was $147.00,7 and after months of nonpayment, the HOA—through its agent Nevada 17 18 19 3 ECF No. 93-1 at 2 (deed of trust). 20 4 ECF No. 93-2 (assignment recorded 10/6/2011). 21 5 ECF No. 92-7 (governing documents). 6 Nev. Rev. Stat. § 116.3116; SFR Inv. Pool 1 v. U.S. Bank (“SFR I”), 334 P.3d 408, 409 (Nev. 22 2014). 7 See ECF No. 93-18 (ledger for months preceding March 2009 notice of delinquent assessment 23 lien). The assessments were increased to $152.00 per month beginning in 2011. See ECF No. 93-10 at 12 (ledger through June 2011). 1 Association Services, Inc.—commenced foreclosure proceedings by sending a notice of 2 delinquent assessment dated March 27, 2009.8 3 When the then-holder of the deed of trust, MERS, learned of the impending foreclosure, 4 its counsel, the law firm of Miles, Bauer, Bergstrom & Winters, LLP, sent a letter to the HOA, 5 advising that its client “hereby offers to pay” the nine months of assessments for common

6 expenses incurred before the date of the HOA’s notice of delinquent assessment and asking the 7 HOA to “refrain from taking further action to enforce this HOA lien until” the parties could 8 “speak to attempt to fully resolve all issues.”9 The HOA responded with an account statement 9 reflecting “Dates of Delinquency: 07/07–06/11,” that assessments were charged on a monthly 10 basis, and that the last six months of assessments (which appear to have been for the first six 11 months of 2011) were charged at a rate of $152.00, while the 42 delinquent months before that 12 were charged at a rate of $147.00.10 That statement also reflected no nuisance-abatement or 13 maintenance charges.11 Miles Bauer responded by tendering to the HOA a check for 14 $1,368.00.12 The check was returned,13 and the HOA foreclosed on the property three years later

15 on July 25, 2014.14 The property was purchased by SFR for $18,152.00.15 16 As the Nevada Supreme Court held in SFR Investments Pool 1 v. U.S. Bank in 2014, 17 because NRS 116.3116(2) gives an HOA “a true superpriority lien, proper foreclosure of” that 18

8 ECF No. 93-3 (notice of delinquent assessment lien). 19 9 ECF No. 93-10 at 9–10. 20 10 Id. at 12. 21 11 Id. 12 Id. at 17. 22 13 Id. at 5, ¶ 11 and at 7. 23 14 ECF No. 93-11 at 2 (foreclosure deed recorded on 7/29/14). 15 Id. 1 lien under the non-judicial foreclosure process created by NRS Chapters 107 and 116 “will 2 extinguish a first deed of trust.”16 The bank brings this action to save its deed of trust from 3 extinguishment. It pleads claims against all defendants for quiet title and “judicial foreclosure,” 4 and adds a claim against SFR and the HOA for violation of Nevada’s Uniform Fraudulent 5 Transfer Act (“UFTA,” NRS 112.190) and a claim against the HOA for breach of the covenant

6 of good faith and fair dealing that is implied in the HOA’s governing documents.17 The bank’s 7 quiet-title claim is the type recognized by the Nevada Supreme Court in Shadow Wood 8 Homeowners Association, Inc. v. New York Community Bancorp—an action “seek[ing] to quiet 9 title by invoking the court’s inherent equitable jurisdiction to settle title disputes.”18 The 10 resolution of such a claim is part of “[t]he long-standing and broad inherent power of a court to 11 sit in equity and quiet title, including setting aside a foreclosure sale if the circumstances 12 support” it.19 13 Discovery has closed,20 and the parties cross-move for summary judgment: the bank 14 seeking summary judgment only on its quiet-title claim, and the HOA and SFR asking for

15 summary judgment on all claims against them.21 The bank primarily argues that its 16 predecessor’s tender of the full superpriority lien amount makes this case procedurally identical 17

18 16 SFR I, 334 P.3d at 419. 19 17 ECF No. 58. The bank also asserts a “cause of action” against SFR for injunctive relief. See id. at 9. But injunctive relief is a remedy and not an independent claim, so I instead construe the 20 bank’s second claim for relief as a prayer for injunctive relief in conjunction with the quiet-title claim. 21 18 Shadow Wood Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. New York Cmty. Bancorp, 366 P.3d 1105, 1110– 1111 (Nev. 2016). 22 19 Id. at 1112. 23 20 ECF No. 89 (scheduling order with a discovery cutoff of 7/31/2020). 21 ECF Nos. 92 (HOA); 93 (the bank); 95 (SFR). 1 to Bank of America v.

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The Bank of New York Mellon v. SFR Investments Pool, 1, LLC, (D. Nev. 2021).

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