U.S. Bank National Ass'n v. Dumas

144 So. 3d 29, 83 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 407, 2002 La.App. 1 Cir. 1902, 2014 WL 1327966, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 896
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 3, 2014
DocketNo. 2012 CA 1902
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 144 So. 3d 29 (U.S. Bank National Ass'n v. Dumas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
U.S. Bank National Ass'n v. Dumas, 144 So. 3d 29, 83 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 407, 2002 La.App. 1 Cir. 1902, 2014 WL 1327966, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 896 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinions

CRAIN, J.

lain this foreclosure proceeding, the plaintiff appeals a judgment granting a preliminary injunction enjoining the sale of certain immovable property by the use of executory process. We reverse and remand.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

U.S. Bank National Association as Trustee for RFMSI 2005S7 commenced this foreclosure proceeding by filing a petition for executory process against Walter C. Dumas, alleging that Dumas had defaulted on a promissory note secured by a mortgage on certain immovable property located in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. U.S. Bank alleged that it was entitled to enforce the promissory note and attached the original of the note to the petition along with a certified copy of the mortgage previously recorded in the mortgage records for East Baton Rouge Parish. Pursuant to U.S. Bank’s request, the trial court ordered the issuance of a writ of seizure and sale that commanded the Sheriff to seize and sell the property.

One day before the scheduled sale, Dumas filed a petition for injunction seeking to arrest the seizure and sale of the property and requesting damages and attorney’s fees. Although Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 2752 prohibits the granting of a temporary restraining order to arrest the seizure and sale of immovable property, Dumas requested and obtained an ex parte “Stay Order” that prohibited the Sheriff from proceeding with the sale. In response to the claim for damages, U.S. Bank filed exceptions of improper cumulation of actions, improper use of summary proceedings, and an exception of no cause of action. After a hearing to consider the request for a preliminary injunction and the merits of the exceptions, the trial court granted a preliminary injunction enjoining U.S. Bank from pursuing a sale of the property by or through the use of executo-ry process. The judgment further con[33]*33verted the matter to an ordinary proceeding and described as “moot” U.S. Bank’s exceptions because Dumas “waived the request for the | ^damages.” U.S. Bank appeals and asserts that the trial court erred in granting the preliminary injunction and in converting the executory proceeding to an ordinary proceeding.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

A person seeking to enforce a mortgage in an executory proceeding must file a petition praying for the seizure and sale of the property affected by the mortgage and must submit with the petition authentic evidence of (1) the note, bond, or other instrument evidencing the obligation secured by the mortgage, and (2) the authentic act of mortgage on the immovable property importing a confession of judgment. La.Code Civ. Pro. arts. 2634 and 2635A; Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Settoon, 12-1980 (LaApp. 1 Cir.6/7/13), 120 So.3d 757, 759. The note, bond, or other instrument evidencing the obligation secured by the mortgage and paraphed for identification with the act of mortgage is deemed to be authentic for purposes of executory process. La.Code Civ. Pro. art. 2636(1). Signatures affixed to the instrument secured by the mortgage are presumed genuine, and no further evidence of those signatures is required for the purposes of exec-utory process. See La. R.S. 9:4422(1); Wells Fargo Bank, 120 So.3d at 759.

The defendant in an executory proceeding may arrest the seizure and sale of the property by injunction when the debt secured by the mortgage is extinguished, or is legally unenforceable, or if the procedure required by law for an exec-utory proceeding has not been followed. La.Code Civ. Pro. art. 2751. The applicant for a preliminary injunction need make only a prima facie showing that he will prevail on the merits. Wells Fargo Bank, 120 So.3d at 760; Paddison Builders, Inc. v. Tumclijf 95-1753 (LaApp. 1 Cir.4/4/96), 672 So.2d 1133, 1136, unit denied, 96-1675 (La.10/4/96), 679 So.2d 1386. The decision to grant or deny a preliminary injunction lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. Absent a clear abuse of this discretion, the trial court’s ruling will not be disturbed on |4appeal. Wells Fargo Bank, 120 So.3d at 760; City of Baton Rouge/Parish of East Baton Rouge v. 200 Government Street, LLC, 08-0510 (LaApp. 1 Cir.9/23/08), 995 So.2d 32, 36, writ denied., 08-2554 (La.1/9/09), 998 So.2d 726.

U.S. Bank attached to its petition the original note, which was paraphed for identification with the mortgage, and a certified copy of the mortgage. The note was signed by Dumas as the maker and was made payable to the order of the “Lender,” who is identified as Homecomings Financial Network, Inc. The note further reflects that it was indorsed on behalf of Homecomings Financial with the notation “WITHOUT RECOURSE PAY TO THE ORDER OF RESIDENTIAL FUNDING CORPORATION.” An indorsement on behalf of Residential Funding Corporation then appears below the following language: “PAY TO THE ORDER OF U.S. Bank National Association as Trustee WITHOUT RECOURSE.”

The mortgage identifies Dumas as the “Borrower,” and it was signed by him before a notary and two witnesses. The agreement further names Homecomings Financial as the “Lender” and sets forth the date and basic terms of the promissory note, sometimes referenced as the “Loan.” The mortgagee is identified as Mortgage Electronic Registration System, Inc. (“MERS”), described in the agreement as “a separate corporation that is acting solely as a nominee for Lender and Lender’s successors and assigns.” According to the [34]*34mortgage, the instrument “secures to Lender ... the repayment of the Loan” and provides that Dumas “does hereby mortgage, grant and convey to MERS (solely as nominee for Lender and Lender’s successors and assigns) and to the successors and assigns of MERS, with power of sale, the following described property,” which is followed by a reference to the legal description of the subject property.

On appeal U.S. Bank assigns as error the trial court’s granting of the preliminary injunction because Dumas did not articulate a legal basis for arresting the seizure and sale. This general assignment of error is then supplemented with ^assignments that are specific to the arguments advanced by Dumas in support of his petition for injunction. The contentions that Dumas pursued before the trial court and continues to assert on appeal, or asserts for the first time on appeal, are the following:

(1) U.S. Bank did not produce authentic evidence of the mortgage;
(2) The confession of judgment in the mortgage is defective;
(3) The petition is fatally defective because U.S. Bank did not allege that it is the “holder” of the promissory note, or, alternatively, U.S. Bank has no right to enforce the promissory note because the identified trust does not exist;
(4) Dumas was not notified of the transfer of the promissory note in violation of 15 U.S.C. 1641 and 12 U.S.C. 2601, et seq.;
(5) U.S. Bank did not produce corporate resolutions authorizing the indorse-ments on the promissory note;
(6) The indorsements were made by rubber stamps and are not signatures;
(7) The promissory note and mortgage are separately owned and not enforceable by U.S. Bank;
(8) The verification of the petition was deficient;

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144 So. 3d 29, 83 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 407, 2002 La.App. 1 Cir. 1902, 2014 WL 1327966, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 896, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/us-bank-national-assn-v-dumas-lactapp-2014.