“To Protect Lien” Under Deed Of Trust Fees Clause Was Viewed As Broad In Ambit.
In Arefi v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, Case No. B263947 (2d Dist., Div. 7 July 2, 2018) (unpublished), a borrower brought various causes of action to set aside/cancel a trustee’s sale, to quiet title, and to obtain recovery under various statutory claims arising from an assigned lienholder’s nonjudicial foreclosure of a second loan. All of the claims were resolved against borrower, with the trial court subsequently granting attorney’s fees to lienholder under a broadly worded deed of trust fees clause allowing lender to recover fees “to protect its lien” under the second loan deed of trust.
Borrower’s appeal on the merits and on the fees award did not succeed.
Because the borrower’s causes of action were ones challenging the lien, the lienholder did vindicate a win to “protect its lien” under the deed of trust fees clause. Also, the broad fees clause covered both contract and tort claims such that it did not matter if some were other than “on the contract” under Civil Code section 1717.