UBS Real Estate Securities, Inc. v. Teague

945 N.E.2d 573, 191 Ohio App. 3d 189
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 19, 2010
DocketNo. 2010 CA 5
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 945 N.E.2d 573 (UBS Real Estate Securities, Inc. v. Teague) 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
UBS Real Estate Securities, Inc. v. Teague, 945 N.E.2d 573, 191 Ohio App. 3d 189 (Ohio Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Froelich, Judge.

{¶ 1} Raymond and Lacosta Teague appeal from a judgment of the Darke County Court of Common Pleas, which denied their Civ.R. 60(B) motion for relief from a judgment of foreclosure. For the following reasons, the trial court’s judgment is reversed, and the matter is remanded for further proceedings.

I

{¶ 2} In May 2005, the Teagues borrowed $131,000 from Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and secured payment of the note with a mortgage on the real property located at 3453 Brock Cosmos Road in Rossburg, Ohio. In 2007, the Teagues filed a petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code; the parties agree that as of result of the bankruptcy case, the Teagues are [193]*193immune from personal liability on the note. See In re Teague (Bankr.S.D.Ohio), No. 3:07-bk-32226.

{¶ 3} On October 7, 2009, UBS Real Estate Securities, Inc., filed a complaint in foreclosure against the Teagues. UBS alleged that it was the holder of the note and mortgage, that the Teagues had defaulted on their mortgage loan as of May 1, 2009, and that $125,769.21 remained due and owing with interest at the rate of 7.375 percent. On October 16, 2009, Wells Fargo executed an assignment of mortgage, assigning the Teagues’ note and mortgage to UBS. The Teagues filed an answer to UBS’s complaint, which consisted of a general denial and nine affirmative defenses.

{¶ 4} On January 5, 2010, UBS moved for summary judgment on its claim. It supported its motion with an affidavit from Herman John Kennerty, Vice President of Loan Documentation for Wells Fargo, acting as servicing agent for UBS. Kennerty authenticated copies of the note and the mortgage, the assignment of mortgage, and a printout of the payment history for the Teagues’ loan. (The loan history appears to reflect the payment history from May 17, 2005, to December 31, 2007.) Kennerty stated that the account is due for the June 1, 2009 payment and all subsequent payments, that UBS has elected to accelerate the entire balance due, and that there was a principal balance of $125,769.21, with interest from May 1, 2009, at 7.375 percent plus advances for taxes, insurance, and other necessary expenses. Xee Moua, another Vice President of Loan Documentation for Wells Fargo, also submitted an affidavit attesting to the balance due and indicating that neither of the Teagues is in the military service, as defined by the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act of 2003.

{¶ 5} The Teagues did not respond to UBS’s motion for summary judgment.

{¶ 6} On February 3, 2010, the trial court granted UBS’s summary-judgment motion. The court found that the Teagues were in default of the loan in the amount of $125,769.21 plus interest, but were immune from personal liability on the note. The court found that the note was secured by a mortgage and that UBS was entitled to have the equity of redemption foreclosed. The court ordered that the property be sold at a sheriffs sale and the proceeds distributed.

{¶ 7} On February 22, 2010, the Teagues filed a “Motion for Relief from and Motion to Vacate Summary Judgment,” seeking relief from the summary judgment pursuant to Civ.R. 60(B) and asking the court to “determine the merits of the Motion for Summary Judgment on all briefs and oppositions.” The Teagues stated that they had been in regular contact with the lender regarding a “workout agreement,” but their counsel had not received a copy of the motion for summary judgment and no hearing date or deadline (presumably, for responsive pleadings) was set by the court. The Teagues stated that they became aware of the summary-judgment motion when their counsel received a copy of the court’s [194]*194entry granting the motion. They claimed that the facts satisfy Civ.R. 60(B)(1) and (5) and that their answer established that they have meritorious defenses to all or part of UBS’s claims.

{¶ 8} The Teagues further argued that UBS should not have been granted summary judgment. They claimed that UBS’s evidence in support of its motion did not establish “the status of mortgage payments, cost, fees and other charges from, at the very least, alleged default to the present.” They also asserted that UBS failed to establish that it had sent a notice of default/acceleration, as required by section 22 of the mortgage, prior to commencing the foreclosure action. The Teagues attached a printout of the page of the mortgage containing section 22.

{¶ 9} UBS opposed the Civ.R. 60(B) motion, asserting that the Teagues had failed to establish a meritorious defense to the action, that the Teagues’ counsel had been served with the motion for summary judgment and was provided with a copy of the proposed entry granting summary judgment, and that the Teagues’ loss-mitigation attempts did not preclude UBS from enforcing its contractual rights. UBS argued that the affidavits attached to its motion for summary judgment were sufficient to establish that the Teagues had defaulted on their note and mortgage. UBS also attached two notices of default — dated July 5, 2009, and August 9, 2009 — demonstrating that it had sent the Teagues the notices required under section 22 of the mortgage.

{¶ 10} The trial court denied the Teagues’ Civ.R. 60(B) motion without a hearing. Initially, the court noted that it “perceive[d] the underlying problem” to be defense counsel’s “lack of familiarity” with the local rule requiring a written response to a motion to be filed within ten days. The court commented that defense counsel should not have assumed that a specific hearing date would be set. The court further ruled:

{¶ 11} “At this time, to reverse the Plaintiffs judgment, the Court must be convinced that there is a meritorious defense or [a] failure of notice of the pending motion. Neither a defense nor procedural defect occurred — as Plaintiffs counsel has noted. While the Defendants’ past attempts at loss mitigation are admirable, and should be continued, such attempts are always at the pleasure of the lender. The Court finds that the Plaintiff is entitled to continue with its foreclosure.”

{¶ 12} The Teagues appeal from the trial court’s denial of their motion for relief from judgment, raising two assignments of error. We will address them in reverse order.

[195]*195II

{¶ 13} The Teagues’ second assignment of error states:

{¶ 14} “The trial court erred to the prejudice of the appellants by granting summary judgment in favor of appellee bank.”

{¶ 15} In this assignment of error, the Teagues claim that the trial court erred in granting UBS’s motion for summary judgment. They argue (as they did in their motion for relief from and to vacate summary judgment) that UBS’s affidavits and evidence of their payment history were inadequate to establish that the Teagues’ mortgage was in default. The Teagues also claim that summary judgment was improper because UBS failed to demonstrate that it had satisfied the mortgage’s notice-of-default/acceleration requirement.

{¶ 16} The Teagues did not appeal the trial court’s judgment and decree of foreclosure. Instead, they sought relief from that judgment pursuant to Civ.R. 60(B). The two remedies are not the same, and a party cannot use Civ.R. 60(B) relief as a substitute for a timely appeal. State ex rel. Martin v. Ohio Adult Parole Auth., 124 Ohio St.3d 63, 2009-Ohio-6164, 918 N.E.2d 1005, ¶ 1; Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Schaub, Montgomery App. No. 22419, 2008-Ohio-4729, 2008 WL 4278239, ¶ 16.

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Bluebook (online)
945 N.E.2d 573, 191 Ohio App. 3d 189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ubs-real-estate-securities-inc-v-teague-ohioctapp-2010.