Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Leath, Lonzie

425 S.W.3d 525, 2014 WL 31352, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 59
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 6, 2014
Docket05-11-01425-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 425 S.W.3d 525 (Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Leath, Lonzie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas 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. Leath, Lonzie, 425 S.W.3d 525, 2014 WL 31352, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 59 (Tex. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinions

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice BROWN.

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as Trustee for Option One Mortgage Loan Trust 2006-1 Asset-Backed Certificates, Series 2006-1, appeals the judgment voiding the deed of trust lien on Lonzie Leath’s homestead and ordering forfeiture of the principal and interest on the related home equity adjustable rate note. Wells Fargo contests the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s finding of $421,400 as the fair market value of the homestead on the loan date (which established a Texas constitutional violation because the $340,000 loan exceeded eighty percent of the value of the homestead), the trial court’s finding that Wells Fargo failed to cure the violation, the evidentiary ruling allowing Leath’s expert testimony, and the award of attorney’s fees. Alternatively, Wells Fargo seeks equitable subrogation for advances made at Leath’s request. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Background

Leath owns a home in Cedar Hill, Texas that qualifies as his homestead. In 2005, he took out a home equity loan, backed by a lien on the house, for $340,000 from H & R Block Mortgage Corporation. After the loan closed, it was put in a pool and transferred to Wells Fargo, the trustee for the pool of loans. Option One Mortgage Corporation was the servicing agent on Leath’s note.

Leath’s loan was evidenced by a Texas home equity adjustable rate note executed [529]*529by Leath on October 26, 2005. As part of the closing, Leath also signed a series of documents, one of which was a borrower’s and lender’s acknowledgment that the fair market value of the home was $425,000. That value was set by an independent appraisal performed by Clyde Crum in August 2005 and sent to the lender less than two weeks before the loan closed. Leath used the loan to retire a pre-existing 2004 debt on the property. The 2004 refinancing was based on appraisals stating a $350,000 fair market value for the property, which was dependent on completion of construction and repairs.

Just over two years after the 2005 home equity loan was signed, Leath sent the lender a letter dated January 15, 2008, asking to modify or , restructure the loan to avoid foreclosure and allow him and his family to get things “back on track financially.” In a second letter, he asked the lender to consider the fact that his hardship situation also was caused by the adjustable rate increase in his mortgage payments. Leath’s request for a modification was unsuccessful, and Wells Fargo sought an order for foreclosure in March 2008. See Tex.R. Civ. P. 736.1. Leath filed an answer to Wells Fargo’s application for foreclosure and also filed the underlying declaratory-judgment action to abate the foreclosure. See Tex.R. Civ. P. 736.11(a). Leath alleged in both pleadings that the loan violated section 50(a)(6)(B) of the Texas Constitution because the outstanding debt exceeded eighty percent of the fair market value of the homestead on the date the loan was made. Leath further alleged Wells Fargo had been “notified of this failure to comply more than sixty (60) days ago and ha[d] not corrected the failure to comply in any way.” Leath sought a declaration that Wells Fargo was not entitled to foreclose on the property because the loan violated the Texas Constitution and asked the trial court to order that all principal and interest under the extension of credit to be forfeited. Wells Fargo generally denied the allegations and further denied that the conditions precedent necessary for Leath’s recovery had occurred or been satisfied.

The case was submitted to the jury on a single question, asking for the fair market value of the property on the date of the loan, October 26, 2005. The jury returned a verdict of $421,400. The trial court rendered judgment on July 8, 2011 over Wells Fargo’s objection. And after finding the home equity loan violated the Texas Constitution and that Wells Fargo did not cure its violation within sixty days of being notified of the violation, the court declared the deed of trust lien void and the principal and interest on the note forfeited. Wells Fargo’s motions to modify or reform the judgment and its motion for new trial, in which it challenged the sufficiency of the evidence on valuation, were overruled by operation of law.

Home Equity Liens Under the Texas Constitution

By a 1997 amendment to the Texas Constitution, homeowners who have paid their home loans or accumulated equity in their homestead can voluntarily encumber their homestead with a lien in return for an extension of credit, i.e., a home equity loan. See Doody v. Ameriquest Mortg. Co., 49 S.W.3d 342, 343 (Tex.2001); Rivera v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 262 S.W.3d 834, 837 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2008, no pet.). To be valid, a home equity loan must comply with numerous requirements set forth in the constitution. See Tex. Const, art. XVI, § 50(a)(6)(A)-(Q); see also Rooms With A View, Inc. v. Private Nat’l Mortg. Ass'n, 7 S.W.3d 840, 847-48 (Tex.App.-Austin 1999, pet. denied) (noting requirements were designed to protect homeowners from predatory lenders). Of [530]*530particular relevance here is the requirement that the amount of the home equity loan may not exceed eighty percent of the fair market value of the homestead on the date the extension of credit is made. Tex. Const, art. XVI, § 50(a)(6)(B). When the requirements are not met, the lien is invalid, and all principal and interest are forfeited. Id. § 50(a)(6)(Q)(x); Doody, 49 S.W.3d at 345-46.

The failure to comply with the requirements, however, is not necessarily fatal to a home equity lender because the section gives a lender an opportunity to cure any failure on its part to comply with its constitutional obligations after receiving notification from the borrower of a violation. See Tex. Const, art. XVI, § 50(a)(6)(Q)(x). Specifically, the “cure provision” provides that the lender must correct mistakes within sixty days of being notified by the borrower of the lender’s failure to comply to validate a lien securing a home equity loan to avoid forfeiture of the principal and interest of the loan. Id.; Doody, 49 S.W.3d at 346. The cure provision of section 50(a)(6)(Q)(x) is triggered upon notice of the non-compliance to the lender by the borrower. Curry v. Bank of Am., N.A., 232 S.W.3d 345, 353 n. 6 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2007, pet. denied).

Discussion

Wells Fargo raises four issues on appeal. It first contends the trial court erred when it signed a judgment that “went beyond finding and declaring the value of the property.” Wells Fargo also challenges the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury’s determination of fair market value (Issue Two), argues the trial court erred in allowing Leath’s expert, Ann Piper, to testify and by admitting her report (Issue Three), and complains the trial court’s award of attorney’s fees only to Leath was not equitable and just (Issue Four). In a fifth alternative issue, Wells Fargo contends it was entitled to equitable subrogation for the credit extended to Leath to pay his prior lien.

Notice and Cure of the Alleged Constitutional Violation

Wells Fargo argues in its first issue the trial court erred by signing a judgment declaring that the lien was invalid and the loan forfeited without submitting the question of Leath’s notification and Wells Fargo’s failure to cure within the sixty-day cure period.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
425 S.W.3d 525, 2014 WL 31352, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 59, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wells-fargo-bank-na-v-leath-lonzie-texapp-2014.