Cases: Deeds of Trust

Deeds Of Trust, Section 1717: $31,617 Attorney’s Fees Award Under Deed Of Trust Fees Clause Affirmed Against A Nonsignatory Who Was An Alter Ego In A Fraudulent Conveyance DOT Case

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Section 1717

DOT Fees Clause Was Broad, Encompassing The Tort Claim For Fraudulent Conveyance.              In the deed of trust area, whether a lender can obtain recovery of contractual attorney’s fees after prevailing in a case depends on its breadth:  if it is broad, lender likely prevails; if it is narrow (such as only saying the fees […]

Deeds Of Trust, Equity: Lender Electing Judicial Foreclosure Which Did Not Fix Amount Of Additional Attorney’s Fees And Costs, But Forcing A Borrower Pay Off To Lender Due To Nonjudicial Foreclosure Activities, Had To Return Fees And Costs To Borrower

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Equity

Lender Elected Its Judicial Foreclosure Remedy, With Borrower Not Being Assessed With Fees And Costs.             Lender must not be pleased with the result in Transition Financial Services, LLC v. Wintrust Bank, Case Nos. A162930 et al. (1st Dist., Div. 5 Sept. 29, 2023) (unpublished).  Lender obtained a judicial foreclosure judgment for the amount of

Deeds Of Trust, Fee Clause Interpretation, Indemnity: After Paying Off Loan Demand, Non-Prevailing Borrower On Economic Duress/Implied Covenant Claims Correctly Assessed With Contractual Fees Of $2,856,956.82 And Costs Of $38,184.54

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation, Cases: Indemnity

Contractual Clauses, Including One In A Deed Of Trust, Were Fee Provisions.             Modern litigation can be expensive.  It can even be more expensive where there is a fee-shifting basis in contractual documents.  Borrower learned that hard lesson in The Palace at Washington Square, LLC v. Mechanics Bank, Case Nos. A164195/A164799 (1st Dist., Div. 3

Deeds Of Trust: $112,390 In Contractual Fees And $4,812.46 In Costs Affirmed Against Borrower Losing Challenges To Validity Of Note And Deed Of Trust

Cases: Deeds of Trust

Once Forgery Challenges Were Lost, The Fees And Costs Orders Were Just Fine.             In Ameris Bank v. Jean-Baptiste, Case Nos. D079378/D079944 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Dec. 15, 2022) (unpublished), borrower lost forgery challenges to a note and deed of trust.  Once the validity of the loan documents was sustained in favor of bank by

Deeds Of Trust: 2/5 DCA Affirms Denial Of Attorney Fees To Prevailing Plaintiff Seeking Fees Under Deed Of Trust Fees Provision

Cases: Deeds of Trust

The Fees Provision Was Not A True Attorney Fees Provision As It Allowed Lender To Add Attorney Fees To The Indebtedness, But Did Not Allow For Fee Recovery As A Separate Award.             In Cho v. Patel, Case No. B312306 (2d Dist., Div. 5 September 12, 2022) (unpublished), prevailing plaintiff in a quiet title action

Deeds Of Trust, Fee Clause Interpretation: Borrower Losing Wrongful Foreclosure Action Was Properly Assessed With Contractual Attorney’s Fees Under the Note To The Tune Of $878,067.11

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

“Security First”/Antideficiency Arguments Did Not Prevail Because Contractual Fee Exposure For Wrongful Foreclosure Claims Were Independent Contractual Obligations.             This next appeal is a somewhat related appeal to our independent July 26, 2022 post regarding sanctions awarded against plaintiff borrower’s attorney for violation of trial preparation rules.  In Shiheiber v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Case

Deeds of Trust, Fee Clause Interpretation: Borrower Prevailing On Quiet Title And Equitable Lien Claims Based On Deeds Of Trust Properly Denied Prevailing Party Fees Based On The Wording Of The So-Called “Fee Clauses”

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Look At the Wording, Folks!             In determining whether there is attorney’s fees entitlement, one must carefully look at the wording of the clauses under which fees are sought as well as the documents which are being sued upon.  Although the borrower technically prevailed on some claims against the lender, the absence of fee entitlement

Deeds of Trust, Section 1717: Trial Court’s Award Of $508,186.49 In Attorney’s Fees To Loan Servicer Acting As Agent For Mortgage Loan Owner In Judicial Foreclosure Action Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Section 1717

Mortgage Loan Owner’s Entitlement To Contractual Fees Under Note And Deed Of Trust Fee Provisions Transferred To Loan Servicer When It Was Authorized To Act As Loan Owner’s Agent In Enforcing The Deed Of Trust.             In Nationstar Mortgage v. Abalkhad, Case No. B303946 (2d Dist., Div. 1 October 22, 2021) (unpublished), homeowner in judicial

Deeds Of Trust, Fee Clause Interpretation: Third District Affirms $133,176.15 Fees And Costs Award To Lender Defeating Plaintiff’s Lawsuit For Wrongful Foreclosure, Concealment And Breach Of Contract

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Fee Clause Interpretation

Fee-Shifting Provisions In The Parties’ Loan Documents Entitled Prevailing Lender To Fees For Defending Foreclosure And Enforcing Plaintiff’s Debt Obligation, And Were Worded Broadly Enough To Encompass Both Contract And Tort Causes Of Action.             In Simon v. Wells Fargo Bank, Case No. C086688 (3d Dist. April 12, 2021) (unpublished), plaintiff sued Wells Fargo

Deeds of Trust, Section 1717: Deed Of Trust Clause Allowing Fees To Be Added To Debt Did Not Create Civil Code Section 1717 Right To Fees In Favor Of Prevailing Borrower

Cases: Deeds of Trust, Cases: Section 1717

2/1 DCA Followed Analysis In Hart and Chacker.             In 8747 Shoreham, LLC v. Bank of New York Mellon, Case Nos. B294377/B296777 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 2, 2021) (unpublished), a decades-old real property dispute, owner obtained a default judgment against a deed of trust holder and then moved to recover attorney’s fees as prevailing

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