Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB v. Johnson III

• Court: Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
• Decided: June 25, 2025
• Docket: CAAP-23-0000646
• Status: Published

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 25-JUN-2025 08:23 AM Dkt. 61 OGMD

NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI

WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, AS OWNER TRUSTEE OF THE RESIDENTIAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES TRUST V-E, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. THOMAS MOSES JOHNSON III, Defendant/Cross-claimant-Appellant, and ASSOCIATION OF APARTMENT OWNERS OF KOʻOLANI, INC. Defendant/Cross-claim Defendant-Appellee and THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, A NEW YORK CORPORATION, AS SUCCESSOR TO JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR THE CERTIFICATEHOLDERS OF CWHEQ REVOVLVING HOME EQUITY LOAN TRUST, SERIES 2006-F; MICHAEL HIROSHI NEKOBA; DARYLE SACHIYE HIRANO NEKOBA; FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK; OLD REPUBLIC NATIONAL TITLE COMPANY, Defendants-Appellees, and JOHN AND MARY DOES 1-20; DOE PARTNERSHIPS, CORPORATIONS, OR OTHER ENTITIES 1-20, Defendants.

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT (CIVIL NO. 1CCV-XX-XXXXXXX)

ORDER GRANTING MOTION DISMISSING APPEAL (By: Wadsworth, Presiding Judge, McCullen and Guidry, JJ.)

Upon consideration of Plaintiff-Appellee Wilmington

Savings Fund Society, FSB, as Owner Trustee of the Residential

Credit Opportunities Trust V-E's Motion for Order Dismissing NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Appeal (Wilmington) filed on June 6, 2025, and having received

no timely response in opposition from Defendant/Cross-claimant-

Appellant Thomas Moses Johnson III (Johnson), and having

reviewed the papers in support and the record, it appears that:

1. After Johnson filed an appeal of the October 2,

2023 order granting Wilmington's motion for summary judgment and

interlocutory decree of foreclosure [1CCV-XX-XXXXXXX Dkt. 340],

and the October 18, 2023 judgment [id. Dkt 348], he did not post

a supersedeas bond or obtain a stay of proceedings before the

Circuit Court.

2. On February 10, 2025, the Circuit Court entered

an Order Approving Commissioner's Report and Granting Amended

Second Renewed Motion for Confirmation of Foreclosure Sale,

Allowance of Costs and Fees, Distribution of Proceeds, Directing

Conveyance and for Writ of Possession/Ejectments, Filed Herein

on November 5, 2024 (Order Confirming Foreclosure Sale). In the

Order Confirming Foreclosure Sale, the Circuit Court determined

that Zhuping Ye (Ye) or his nominee is a good faith purchaser of

the subject property.

3. On April 16, 2025, Ye recorded in Land Court a

Commissioner's Deed conveying the subject property to Ye and his

wife.

2 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

4. This court takes judicial notice of the Order

Confirming Foreclosure Sale and the Commissioner's Deed. Hawaiʻi

Rules of Evidence Rule 201; State v. Abdon, 137 Hawaiʻi 19, 26,

364 P.3d 917, 924 (2016); Wilmington Sav. Fund Soc'y v. Mosier,

No. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, 2024 WL 3648929 at *2 (Haw. App. Aug. 5,

2024).

5. Because no effective relief can be granted,

Johnson's appeal is dismissed as moot. Wilmington Sav. Fund

Soc'y, FSB v. Domingo, 155 Hawaiʻi 1, 9-10, 556 P.3d 347, 355-56

(2024).

Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that the Motion for Order

Dismissing Appeal is granted and the appeal is dismissed as

moot.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, June 25, 2025.

/s/ Clyde J. Wadsworth Presiding Judge

/s/ Sonja M.P. McCullen Associate Judge

/s/ Kimberly T. Guidry Associate Judge