RICHARD F. BOULWARE, II, District Judge.
Before the Court is Bank of New York Mellon's (BNY) Counter Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (ECF No. 40). For the reasons stated below, the Court grants the motion.
BNY filed its Complaint on August 14, 2017, seeking quiet title and declaratory relief that a nonjudicial foreclosure sale did not extinguish its deed of trust on a Las Vegas property. ECF No. 1. On November 9, 2017, Defendant Mission Del Rey Homeowners Association ("Mission Del Rey" or "the HOA") filed a Motion for Partial Dismissal or Alternatively, Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. ECF No. 14. The Court entered a scheduling order on January 31, 2018. ECF No. 22. Defendant SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC filed a Motion to Dismiss on May 7, 2018. ECF No. 31. Discovery closed on June 29, 2018. ECF No. 28.
On July 13, 2018, the Court denied Mission Del Rey's pending motion without prejudice and issued a stay in the case pending the Nevada Supreme Court's decision on a certified question of law regarding the notice requirements of Chapter 116 of the Nevada Revised Statutes ("NRS") in
On August 23, 2018, SFR filed a Renewed Motion to Dismiss. ECF No. 35. On August 24, 2018, Mission Del Rey filed a Renewed Motion for Partial Dismissal or Alternatively, Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and joined SFR's Renewed Motion to Dismiss. ECF Nos. 36, 37. On September 13, 2018, BNY filed the instant Counter-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. ECF No. 40. On October 4, 2018, SFR filed a Motion to Strike BNY's Counter-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment as untimely filed. ECF No. 49. Mission Del Rey responded to BNY's motion on that same day. ECF No. 48. On March 31, 2019, the Court issued a written order lifting the stay. ECF No. 57. The order also granted SFR's Renewed Motion to Dismiss and Mission Del Rey's Renewed Motion for Partial Dismissal/Motion for Partial Summary Judgment in part, finding that any of BNY's claims based on liability created by a statute were time-barred.
The Court makes the following findings of undisputed and disputed facts.
Linda R. Kabiling and Gil David Kabiling ("borrowers") obtained a $244,395.00 loan from New Freedom Mortgage Corporation to purchase the property at 805 El Cabo Rey Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada 89081. The loan was evidenced by a note and secured by a deed of trust that was recorded on May 26, 2005. Borrowers further encumbered the property with a second $80,000.00 mortgage from Navy Federal Credit Union on December 12, 2006. The deed of trust was assigned to Plaintiff, which was recorded on October 21, 2011. The property is governed by the Mission Del Rey Homeowners Association and is subject to the HOA's covenants, conditions, and restrictions ("CC&Rs"). The borrowers failed to timely pay the HOA assessments.
The HOA then began the nonjudicial foreclosure sale process under NRS Chapter 116 by recording, through its agent NAS, a notice of delinquent assessment lien on September 20, 2011. Per the notice, the amount due to HOA was $1,524.10. The notice states that it is "in accordance with" the CC&Rs. On November 9, 2011, the HOA, through its agent NAS, recorded a notice of default and election to sell to satisfy the delinquent assessment lien. The notice states the amount due to HOA was $2,507.20, but does not specify whether it includes dues, interest, fees and collection costs in addition to assessments. On December 28, 2011, Bank of America, the loan servicer at the time and BNY's predecessor-in-interest, requested a ledger from the HOA through its agent Nevada Association Services ("NAS").
The HOA, through its agent NAS, did not provide a ledger and did not respond to Bank of America's request.
Miles Bauer used a statement of account for another property within the HOA to determine the superpriority amount. The amount of the periodic assessments for the nine months preceding the notice of lien was $162.00 per quarter. Nine months of common assessments of $162.00 quarterly is $486.00. On January 19, 2012, Bank of America, through its counsel Miles Bauer, tendered $486.00 to NAS. Miles Bauer' business records indicate that NAS refused Bank of America's payment. The HOA, through its agent NAS, recorded a notice of trustee's sale on March 27, 2012.The trustee's sale was scheduled for April 20, 2012. The notice states the amount due to HOA was $3,666.12, which includes reasonable estimated costs, expenses, and advances. Borrowers tendered to the HOA a total of $1,750.00. The borrowers were paying pursuant to a payment plan with NAS, that they later breached.
NAS did not record a new notice of lien after the payments. The HOA, through its agent NAS, recorded a second notice of trustee's sale on September 6, 2013. The trustee's sale was scheduled for September 30, 2013. The notice states that the amount due to the HOA was $4,023.44, which includes reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances. NAS, on behalf of the HOA, foreclosed on the property on or about September 30, 2013. A foreclosure deed in favor of SFR was recorded October 7, 2013. According to the deed, SFR paid $9,000 at the sale. NAS distributed excess proceeds of $2,652.76 to Navy Federal Credit Union, an expressly junior lienholder to BNY.
The Court finds that there are no disputed facts, only disputes as to the legal effect of the circumstances and the admissibility of the evidence supporting these facts.
Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show "that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law."
The Court addresses several issues in turn: (1) whether BNY's claims are barred by the applicable statute of limitations; (2) whether BNY has standing to enforce the alleged note and deed of trust; (3) whether BNY may proceed on its theory of tender by both its predecessor-ininterest and the borrowers; and (4) whether the evidence establishes as a matter of law that attempted tender by BNY's predecessor preserved its deed of trust.
For statute of limitations calculations, time is computed from the day the cause of action accrued.
SFR argues that BNY's claims are subject to a three-year statute of limitations because BNY's equitable quiet title claim is really a claim for statutorily defective foreclosure and based on liability created from a statute. The Court disagrees. In this Court's previous order, the Court noted in a footnote that the timeline for tendering the super-priority lien is codified at NRS 116.31162, but that "[t]he phrase `liability created by statute' means a liability which would not exist but for the statute."
SFR argues that BNY cannot have a true quiet title claim because it does not have a title interest in the property. But the Nevada Supreme Court has never held that quiet title actions require a party to show it has a title interest in the property, and the quiet title statute under NRS 40.010 does not either. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 40.010 (stating that an "action may be brought by any person against another who claims an estate or interest in real property adverse to the person bringing the action").
SFR next argues that BNY does not have standing to enforce the note and deed of trust, because the recording of a document does not guarantee the accuracy or authenticity of said document. SFR argues that the possibility of fraud upon the Court, as evidenced in other cases involving motions to substitute parties based upon allegedly defective recorded assignments, mandates that BNY produce the original deed of trust, note, and assignments in order to establish its interest. SFR cites no authority for this position, and the Court is unpersuaded by it. SFR does not produce any evidence suggesting that BNY has attempted to defraud the Court. SFR does not dispute that in addition to disclosing copies of the note, assignment and deed of trust during discovery, BNY also made originals available for inspection. The Court thus does not find that SFR has raised a genuine question as to the authenticity of the original documents. Fed. R. Evid. 1003 (copies are admissible to the same extent as the original "unless a genuine question is raised about the original's authenticity");
SFR next argues that BNY has waived its ability to bring a theory of tender based on payments made by the borrower. Because BNY raised these issues for the first time in its motion for summary judgment, SFR argues, BNY is precluded from raising an argument regarding borrower payment now. BNY argues that it did not raise homeowner payment for the first time on summary judgment. BNY states that it disclosed NAS's records and deposed NAS's 30(b)(6) witness in May 2018. The records contained a copy of the borrowers' payments. BNY also states that it identified the payments in response to SFR's interrogatories.
The Ninth Circuit has held that a plaintiff cannot raise a new theory at summary judgment.
Finally, the Court examines whether BNY has proffered sufficient admissible evidence to support its attempted tender claim as a matter of law. The Court finds that it has.
The super-priority component of an HOA lien consists of "the last nine months of unpaid HOA dues and maintenance and nuisance-abatement charges," while the sub-priority component consists of "all other HOA fees and assessments."
SFR disputes the sufficiency of BNY's evidence supporting the alleged offer and/or rejection of tender. The delivery of tender is supported by an affidavit of Douglas Miles, an employee of Miles, Bauer, Bergstrom and Winters, a copy of the check, and a printout of an internal Miles Bauer database indicating that the check was rejected by NAS. SFR argues that Miles does not claim to have personal knowledge of the alleged delivery of the check to NAS and alleged rejection and that therefore his affidavit is insufficient proof that the check was in fact delivered. But Miles's affidavit details and attaches business records that support the proffer and return of a $486.00 check. Miles further states in his affidavit that he has personal knowledge of Miles Bauer's procedures for creating these records. A person authenticating business records is not required to attest as to the accuracy of every data entry.
The Court also does not find upon the undisputed facts that the tender was insufficient because it was conditional. To the extent the tender was conditional, the Court finds that the conditions were ones on which BNY's predecessor had a right to insist.
ECF No. 40-7, Exhibit 7-3. The Nevada Supreme Court has expressly held that identical language constitutes a condition upon which a tenderer has the right to insist.
ECF No. 40-7, Exhibit 7-3.
The letter does not say that charges related to maintenance and nuisance/abatement are subordinate to the deed of trust—it refers only to collection costs, late fees, attorney's fees, and service charges—all costs the Nevada Supreme Court has already held are not part of the superpriority portion of the HOA lien.