Wright v. Santos

Superior Court of Guam·Decided June 19, 2023·No. CV0674-21·Unknown

Opinion

r 2023 JUII l 9 ~o:y3: ~ 3. CLEhl\ c(~URT ,

8\': _ _ _ _ _ _ __

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF GUAM

ROSITA S. WRIGHT and CRYSTAL CIVIL CASE NO. CV0674-21 K.M. WRIGHT,

Plaintiffs,

vs. DECISION AND ORDER RE: PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT RICKY F. SANTOS,

Defendant.

This matter came before the Honorable Dana A. Gutierrez on Plaintiffs Rosita S. Wright

("Rosita") and Crystal K.M. Wright ("Crystal") (collectively the "Wrights") Motion for

Summary Judgment. On March 14, 2023, the Court took this Motion under advisement without

oral argument. Upon review of the record and applicable law, the Court hereby GRANTS the

Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment in part with regard to the quiet title claim and

DENIES in part with regard to the slander of title claim.

BACKGROUND

On September 16, 2021, the Wrights filed a Complaint for quiet title and slander of title

with regard to a lien on the property, Lot 185, Tract 270, Unit 5, Santa Rita, Guam (the "Santa

Rita Property"). 1 On October 6, 2021, Defendant Ricky F. Santos ("Santos") filed an Answer to

1 This address is an abbreviation of the property name, which is more fully described in the Complaint as: r DECISION AND ORDER RE: PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT r CV0674-21; Rosita S. Wright and Crystal K.M Wright v. Ricky F. Santos

the Complaint and Counterclaim ("Answer"). 2 On March 15, 2022, based on the parties' request

for mediation, the Court ordered mediation at Inafa' Maolek Conciliation. On April 4, 2022, a

Mediator's Statement was filed by Inafa' Maolek stating that the parties were unable to reach an

agreement at the April I, 2022 mediation. Mediator's Statement, at I (April 4, 2023).

On April 13, 2022, Santos filed a Substitution of Counsel in Pro Per, removing Attorney

Phillip Torres as counsel and stating that Santos will represent himself. 3 Sub. of Counsel in Pro

Per, at l (April 13, 2023). On April 22, 2022, the Wrights filed a Motion for Summary Judgment

and Memorandum in Support of Motion, a Declaration of Rosita and a Declaration of Crystal in

support.

On May 24, 2022, a Status Hearing was held and Santos stated that he was trying to sell

real property so he could hire a new attorney with the proceeds of the sale, and requested

additional time. Min. Entry, at 9:26:58-9:28:32 AM (May 24, 2022). Based upon these

representations, the Court granted Santos an additional thirty (30) days to find a new attorney.

Min. Entry, at 9:26:58-9:30:22 AM (May 24, 2022). On July 12, 2022, a Status Hearing was

held, and Santos stated that he was in contact with a realtor but still claimed that he could not

hire an attorney until the sale was completed and requested additional time. Min. Entry, at

9:10:46-9:13:28 AM (May 24, 2022). The Court granted an extension of thirty (30) days for

Lot 185, Tract 270, Unit 5, Santa Rita, Guam, Estate Number 21976, Suburban, as said Lot is described in that Tract 270 Unit - 5 Lot No. 238-2A-l, as shown on Drawing Number 3229-7, as L.M. Check Number 333 FY 73, dated 12 December 72 and recorded on 29 December 72 under Instrument No. 119336 at Land Management. For informational purposes only, the above referenced map indicates the property contains an area of7,701± square feet. Comp!., at I. 2 Although the caption states that it also contains a "Counterclaim," no counterclaim is alleged in the filing. On December 7, 2021, at a Scheduling Conference, Attorney Terry Brooks stated that he spoke with Santos' counsel at the time Attorney Phillip Torres, who confirmed that the caption was an error and that Santos was not filing a counterclaim. Min. Entry, at 9:37:35-9:38:00 AM (Dec. 7, 2021). 3 The term "pro per" is synonymous with the more commonly used term "prose." See PRO PERSONA, Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019); see also PRO SE, Black's Law Dictionaty (11th ed. 2019).

2 r DECISION AND ORDER RE: PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT r CV0674-21; Rosita S. Wi-ight and Crystal K.M Wright v. Ricky F. Santos

Santos to find an attorney. 4 Min. Entry, at 9:10:46-9:15:55 AM (July 12, 2022). On August 16,

2022, a Status Hearing was held, and Santos once again requested an extension to find an

attorney because the prospective buyer was no longer returning his calls, and the Court granted

Santos "one more" extension for thirty (30) days. 5 Min. Entry, at 9:11:37-9:32:43 AM (Aug. 16,

2022).

On October 4, 2022, a Status Hearing was held and Santos again requested an extension

ohime to find an attorney, but the Court denied this new request and ordered that any Opposition

to the Motion be filed with the Court by November 1, 2022, and that any reply be filed by

November 15, 2022. Min. Entry, at 9:32:37-9:40:16 AM (Oct. 4, 2022). On October 5, 2022, the

Court issued an Order Setting Briefing Schedule, reflecting the due dates stated at the October 4,

2022 hearing. Order Setting Br. Schedule (Mot. for Summ. J.), at 1 (Oct. 5, 2022). Santos did not

file an opposition to the Motion.

On March 14, 2023, the Court detennined that oral argument was unnecessary and took

the matter under advisement. 6 The notice with respect to the above was served upon Santos on

the same day. On March 23, 2023, Santos submitted a filing titled Submission ("Submission").

The Court notes that Santos filed the Submission after the Motion for Summary

Judgment was taken under advisement and without leave from the Court. Despite this late filing,

upon review, the Submission does not address the arguments raised by the Wrights in their

Motion for Summary Judgment. Instead, the Submission includes a handwritten note to the Court

4 At the hearing, the Court also noted that there was a shortage in private practicing attorneys in Guam at the time.

Min. Entry, at 9: I 0:46-9: 15:55 AM (July 12, 2022).

5The Court also recommended other resources including Micronesian Legal Center, Elder Justice Center, and Territorial Law Library. See Min. Entry, at 9:29:54-9:30:51 AM (August 16, 2022).

6 On December 19, 2022, the Court issued a notice setting the Motion for hearing on March 21, 2023. On March 14, 2023, the Court determined that oral arguments were unnecessaiy and issued a new notice taking the matter under advisement.

3 r DECISION AND ORDER RE: PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT r CV0674-21; Rosita S. Wright and Crystal K.M. Wright v. Ricky F. Santos

that did not address the pending Motion, two attached Deeds of Gift for an unrelated property in

Dededo, Guam, and an advertisement for unrelated real property in the Guam Daily Post from

Friday, May 6, 2022, which alleged that various family members owed him sums of money,

including Rosita. Submission at 1-12. The Court notes that pro se litigants should be given

leeway with their pleadings, but the Court is unable to construe this late filing as addressing the

arguments raised in the Wrights' Motion for Summary Judgment. See James v. Toves, 2020

Guam 2 ,r 13 (finding courts should "afford considerable leeway toward prose litigants" but that

such leeway "is not without limits"); Local Rule CVR 7. I ("Papers not timely filed by a party

including any memoranda or other papers required to be filed under this Rule shall not be

considered without leave of court.").

DISCUSSION

The issue before the Court is whether to grant Wrights' Motion for Summary Judgment

concerning their action for quiet title and for slander of title. Mot. for Summ. J., at 4 (April 22,

2022).

A. Standard for Summary Judgment

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Wright v. Santos, (superctguam 2023).

Wright v. Santos (Wright v. Santos) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Albertson v. Raboff
295 P.2d 405 (California Supreme Court, 1956)
Gudger v. Manton
134 P.2d 217 (California Supreme Court, 1943)
Contra Costa County Title Co. v. Waloff
184 Cal. App. 2d 59 (California Court of Appeal, 1960)
Caira v. Offner
24 Cal. Rptr. 3d 233 (California Court of Appeal, 2005)
Sumner Hill Homeowners' Ass'n v. Rio Mesa Holdings, LLC
205 Cal. App. 4th 999 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
Cyr v. McGovran
206 Cal. App. 4th 645 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
Ghuman v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
989 F. Supp. 2d 994 (E.D. California, 2013)