Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Jeffrey White

2015 ME 145, 127 A.3d 538, 2015 Me. LEXIS 155
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedNovember 12, 2015
DocketDocket And-14-547
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2015 ME 145 (Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Jeffrey White) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Jeffrey White, 2015 ME 145, 127 A.3d 538, 2015 Me. LEXIS 155 (Me. 2015).

Opinion

JABAR, J.

[¶ 1] After consenting in January 2014 to the entry of a foreclosure judgment in favor of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Jeffrey White moved in September 2014 for relief from that judgment. Jeffrey now appeals from an order of the District Court (Lewiston, Oram, J.) denying his motion for relief. Jeffrey argues that the court abused its discretion by denying relief pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1) because, at the time that he consented to the judgment, he mistakenly believed that Wells Fargo possessed standing to foreclose. Jeffrey also contends that the court erred by denying relief pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 60(b)(4) because the judgment is void due to Wells Fargo’s failure to prove the elements of standing. We reject these contentions and affirm.

.1. BACKGROUND

[¶2] On July 13, 2011, Wells Fargo filed a foreclosure complaint against Jeffrey that alleged the following facts: On April 11, 2007, Jeffrey executed and delivered to Cornerstone Home Loans, LLC, (Cornerstone) a promissory note for $262,500. To secure the note, Jeffrey executed and delivered to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc; (MERS), as nominee for Cornerstone, a mortgage on real property located in Mechanic Falls. MERS thereafter assigned its interest in the mortgage to Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo’s complaint did not allege, and its foreclosure mediation information did not include, evidence that Wells Fargo acquired any interest in Jeffrey’s mortgage other than the interest that it obtained from MERS.

[¶3] Jeffrey filed a pro se answer to the complaint, asserting, inter alia, that Wells Fargo was not a holder of the note and therefore lacked standing to foreclose. In June 2013, an attorney entered an appearance for Jeffrey and represented Jeffrey throughout the remainder of the case. On January 29, 2014, based on an agreed-to.judgment that was signed by the parties, the court entered a final judgment of foreclosure and sale that provided Jeffrey with an extended 180-day period of redemption. 1 Jeffrey did not appeal, and his redemption period expired in July 2014.

*540 [¶ 4] On September 9, 2014, Jeffrey moved for relief from judgment pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1) and (4). As grounds for relief, Jeffrey alleged that Cornerstone had not assigned the mortgage to Wells Fargo and that Wells Fargo had not acquired ownership of the mortgage through its assignment from MERS. He argued that relief was warranted pursuant to Rule 60(b)(1) because the parties had mistakenly believed that MERS’s'as--signment gave Wells Fargo standing to foreclose, and asserted that the parties could not have realized their mistake until July 2014, when we issued our decision in Bank of America, N.A. v. Greenleaf (Greenleaf I), 2014 ME 89, 96 A.3d 700. Jeffrey also argued that Wells Fargo’s failure to establish standing deprived the court of jurisdiction, rendering the judgment void and justifying relief pursuant to Rule 60(b)(4).

[¶ 5] In its objection to Jeffrey’s motion, Wells Fargo asserted that neither party had been mistaken, 'and that Jeffrey had simply failed to anticipate the future, course of the law. Wells Fargo further contended that Greenleaf I had “imposed a new principle of law” and that retroactive application of that law would jeopardize the finality of an untold number of foreclosure judgments. In reply, Jeffrey argued that the parties could not have 'litigated Wells Fargo’s standing before we issued Greenleaf I, and that res judicata was therefore inapplicable. He also argued that Greenleaf I should retroactively apply and render the judgment void because such application would ensure that Maine citizens were vülnerable to a foreclosure action brought only by a party with standing.

[¶ 6] After a hearing, the court entered an order denying Jeffrey’s motion. The court determined that Jeffrey was not entitled to relief pursuant to Rule 60(b)(1) because the parties had not been mistaken about the facts or the law regarding standing when they agreed to the entry of judgment. The court found that Jeffrey had deliberately, and with the advice of counsel, decided not to contest Wells Fargo’s standing, and concluded that Jeffrey was not entitled to relief from this deliberate decision. The court also determined that Jeffrey was not entitled to relief pursuant to Rule 60(b)(4), finding that Jeffrey had' both a fair opportunity and a significant incentive to challenge Wells Fargo’s standing, but failed to do so, and concluding that the need for finality outweighed the interest in recognizing a post-judgment attack oh Wells Fargo’s standing.

[¶ 7] Jeffrey timely appealed to us.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Rule 60(b)(1) — Mistake

[¶ 8] “On motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party ... from a final judgment ... for the following reasons: ... mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” M.R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1). When supported by competent evidence, the court’s decision on a Rule 60(b)(1) motion is reviewable only for an abuse of discretion. Warren v. Waterville Urban Renewal Auth., 290 A.2d-362, 365 (Me.1972).

[It 9] Wells Fargo commenced foreclosure in July 2011, nearly a year after we determined that a mortgage’s reference to MERS as a “nominee” for the lender provided no interest in the mortgage other than the right to record it, see Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc. v. Saunders, 2010 ME 79, ¶¶ 9-10, 2 A.3d 289, and more than six months after we advised that a foreclosure defendant could challenge the plaintiffs standing if the plaintiff lacked ownership of the mortgage, see JPMorgan Chase Bank v. Harp, 2011 *541 ME 5, ¶ 9, 10 A.3d 718. When Wells Fargo filed its complaint, it claimed an interest in Jeffrey’s mortgage solely through its assignment from MERS. Jeffrey was not mistaken as to this fact and was represented by counsel who presumably was aware of Saunders and Harp. Nevertheless, he did not challenge the adequacy of' Wells Fargo’s interest in his mortgage, but consented to the entry of judgment, and did not thereafter appeal. On these facts, we discern no abuse of discretion in the court’s decision to deny Jeffrey’s Rule 60(b)(1) request.

B. Rule 60(b)(4) — Void

[¶ 10] On motion brought pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 60(b)(4), “a court at any time may relieve a party from a judgment when that judgment is void.” Hamill v. Bay Bridge Assocs., 1998 ME 181, ¶ 4, 714 A.2d 829. A motion brought pursuant to Rule 60(b)(4) is not .subject to the discretion of the trial court. Id. “The challenged judgment is either valid or void. If valid, the judgment stands; if void, it must be set aside.” Id. (quotation marks omitted).

[¶ 11] , “There is a strong policy in favor of ending litigation and giving finality. to court judgments.” Standish Tel. Co. v. Saco River Tel. & Tel. Co., 655 A.2d 478, 481 (Me.1989). “Balanced against that policy favoring finality is a requirement that a judgment, in order to become final, must be valid,” 2

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Bluebook (online)
2015 ME 145, 127 A.3d 538, 2015 Me. LEXIS 155, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wells-fargo-bank-na-v-jeffrey-white-me-2015.