The Bank of New York Mellon v. Stone Canyon West Homeowners Association et al
Filing
57
ORDER that this case is administratively STAYED pending exhaustion of all appeals of Bourne Valley Court Trust v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA, 832 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir. 2016). All pending motions are DENIED without prejudice with leave to refile within 21 days after the stay is lifted. Beginning on 9/18/2017 the parties must file a joint status report updating the Court on the status of this case every 180 days. Signed by Chief Judge Gloria M. Navarro on 4/19/2017. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - SLD)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
1
DISTRICT OF NEVADA
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON,
)
)
Plaintiff
)
vs.
)
)
STONE CANYON WEST HOMEOWNERS )
ASSOCIATION, et al.,
)
)
Defendants.
)
)
Case No.: 2:16-cv-01904-GMN-CWH
ORDER
9
10
Lenders and investors have been at odds over the legal effect of a homeowners’
11
association’s (“HOA”) nonjudicial foreclosure of a superpriority lien on a lender’s first trust
12
deed pursuant to Nevada Revised Statutes § 116.3116. See Freedom Mortg. Corp. v. Las Vegas
13
Dev. Grp., LLC, 106 F. Supp. 3d 1174, 1180 (D. Nev. 2015). The Nevada Supreme Court
14
seemed to have settled the debate in SFR Invs. Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank, 334 P.3d 408, 419
15
(Nev. 2014), holding that “NRS 116.3116(2) gives an HOA a true superpriority lien, proper
16
foreclosure of which will extinguish a first deed of trust.” SFR, 334 P.3d at 419.
17
However, on August 12, 2016, two members of a Ninth Circuit panel held in Bourne
18
Valley Court Trust v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA, 832 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir. 2016), that Chapter 116’s
19
nonjudicial foreclosure scheme “facially violated mortgage lenders’ constitutional due process
20
rights” before it was amended in 2015. Bourne Valley Ct. Trust, 832 F.3d at 1160. As a result,
21
Bourne Valley is likely dispositive of this and the hundreds of other foreclosure cases pending
22
in both state and federal court. To save the parties from the need to invest resources briefing
23
the effect of the Bourne Valley opinion before the finality of that opinion has been determined,
24
the Court STAYS all proceedings in this case pending exhaustion of all appeals of Bourne
25
Valley.
Page 1 of 4
1
I.
LEGAL STANDARD
“[T]he power to stay proceedings is incidental to the power inherent in every court to
2
3
control the disposition of the causes of action on its docket with economy of time and effort for
4
itself, for counsel, and for litigants.” Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936). “A trial
5
court may, with propriety, find it is efficient for its own docket and the fairest course for the
6
parties to enter a stay of an action before it, pending resolution of independent proceedings
7
which bear upon the case.” Leyva v. Certified Grocers of Cal., Ltd., 593 F.2d 857, 863 (9th Cir.
8
1979). In deciding whether to grant a stay, a court may weigh the following: (1) the possible
9
damage which may result from the granting of a stay; (2) the hardship or inequity which a party
10
may suffer in being required to go forward; (3) the orderly course of justice measured in terms
11
of the simplifying or complicating of issues, proof, and questions of law which could be
12
expected to result from a stay. CMAX, Inc. v. Hall, 300 F.2d 265, 268 (9th Cir. 1962).
13
However, “[o]nly in rare circumstances will a litigant in one case be compelled to stand aside
14
while a litigant in another settles the rule of law that will define the rights of both.” Landis, 299
15
U.S. at 255. A district court’s decision to grant or deny a Landis stay is a matter of discretion.
16
See Dependable Highway Exp., Inc. v. Navigators Ins. Co., 498 F.3d 1059, 1066 (9th Cir.
17
2007).
18
19
II.
DISCUSSION
At the center of this case are the HOA-foreclosure sale conducted pursuant to Nevada
20
Revised Statutes § 116.3116 and the competing arguments that the foreclosure sale either
21
extinguished the bank’s security interest under the SFR holding or had no legal effect because
22
the statutory scheme violates due process. Because the Ninth Circuit in Bourne Valley held that
23
the scheme was facially unconstitutional, see Bourne Valley Court Trust, 832 F.3d at 1160, the
24
Bourne Valley opinion and any modification of that opinion have the potential to be dispositive
25
of this case. Under this circumstance, the Landis factors weigh strongly in favor of staying this
Page 2 of 4
1
action pending final resolution of the Bourne Valley decision. Indeed, the possible prejudice to
2
the parties is minimal as the only potential harm is that the parties may wait longer for
3
resolution of this case if it is stayed. However, if this case is not stayed, a delay would also
4
result from any motions for reconsideration that may be necessitated if the current decision in
5
the Bourne Valley case does not stand. Accordingly, a stay is not likely to appreciably lengthen
6
the life of this case. Further, in the absence of a stay, judicial resources may be unnecessarily
7
expended to resolve issues which may ultimately be decided by higher courts to which this
8
Court is bound to adhere. Because the Bourne Valley decision is squarely on point, the orderly
9
course of justice likewise weighs in favor of a stay. Accordingly, the Court finds that staying
10
this action pending final resolution of Bourne Valley would be efficient for the Court’s own
11
docket and the fairest course for the parties. See Leyva, 593 F.2d at 863.
12
III.
13
CONCLUSION
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that this case is administratively STAYED pending
14
exhaustion of all appeals of Bourne Valley Court Trust v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA, 832 F.3d
15
1154 (9th Cir. 2016). Once exhaustion occurs, any party may move to lift the stay. Until that
16
time, all proceedings in this action are stayed.
17
18
19
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that all pending motions are DENIED without prejudice
with leave to refile within twenty-one days after the stay is lifted.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC, shall care
20
for, preserve, and maintain the property located at 7972 Laurena Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada
21
89147 (the “Property”).
22
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, beginning on September 18, 2017, the parties must
23
file a joint status report updating the Court on the status of this case every one-hundred and
24
eighty days. Along with the joint status report, Defendant SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC, shall
25
submit a statement affirming that all expenses necessary to maintain the Property, including but
Page 3 of 4
1
not limited to, timely and full payment of all homeowners’ association assessments, property
2
taxes, and property insurance premiums due and owing or past due at any time during the
3
effective period of this Stay, are current and up to date.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Order does not prevent the parties from
4
5
continuing to engage in settlement conference negotiations with the assistance of the Magistrate
6
Judge.
7
19
DATED this _____ day of April, 2017.
8
9
10
___________________________________
Gloria M. Navarro, Chief Judge
United States District Judge
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Page 4 of 4
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?