Bank of America, N.A. v. Peppertree Homeowners Association et al

Filing 33

ORDER granting 32 Motion to Lift Stay of Case; Stipulations, motions to modify the discovery plan and scheduling order, or in the absence of such stipulation or motions, dispositive motions are due within forty-five days of the entry of this order. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 10/29/2019.; Case stay lifted. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - JM)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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***

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BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

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Case No. 2:17-cv-1857-KJD-EJY
Plaintiff,

ORDER

v.

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PEPPERTREE HOMEOWNERS
ASSOCIATION and TOW PROPERTIES, LLC
IV,

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Defendants.

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Before the Court is Plaintiff Bank of America, N.A.’s Motion to Lift Stay of Case (ECF

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No. 32). Neither Peppertree Homeowners Association nor TOW Properties, LLC have

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responded.

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I.

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This case arises from the nonjudicial foreclosure sale by Peppertree Homeowners

Background and Analysis

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Association on or about October 22, 2013, of a property located at 729 Nectarine Court, in

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Henderson, Nevada. This case shares a similar fact pattern with many cases currently pending

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before this Court, all having to do with HOA foreclosure sales. One of the issues before the

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Court centers in whole or in part around the question of what notice of default the foreclosing

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party was required to provide Plaintiff before foreclosure on a property. After the Nevada

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Supreme Court’s decision in SFR Invs. Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank, the Ninth Circuit decided

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Bourne Valley Court Tr. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 832 F.3d 1154, 1160 (9th Cir. 2016)

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(holding NRS § 116.3116(2)’s statutory notice scheme was facially unconstitutional).

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On April 21, 2017, in Bank of New York Mellon v. Star Hills Homeowners Ass’n, this

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Court certified the following question to the Nevada Supreme Court: “Whether NRS

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§ 116.31168(1)’s incorporation of NRS § 107.090 requires homeowners associations to provide

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notices of default to banks even when a bank does not request notice?” No. 2:16-cv-2561-RFB-

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PAL, 2017 WL 1439671, at *5 (D. Nev. Apr. 21, 2017).
In granting certification, the Court reasoned the following: In Bourne Valley, the Ninth

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Circuit definitively answered the question that the statute’s “opt-in” framework was

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unconstitutional. 832 F.3d at 1160. However, that left the Court with the unresolved question of

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what notice must be provided. “It is solely within the province of the state courts to

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authoritatively construe state legislation.” Cal. Teachers Ass’n v. State Bd. of Educ., 271 F.3d

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1141, 1145 (9th Cir. 2001). As such, state law questions of first impression like this one should

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be resolved by the state’s highest court. See Huddleston v. Dwyer, 322 U.S. 232, 237 (1944).
On August 2, 2018, the Supreme Court of Nevada answered the certified question. See

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SFR Invs. Pool 1, LLC v. Bank of New York Mellon, 422 P.3d 1248 (Nev. 2018). Further, it has

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since issued several opinions that may bear on the issues in this action. See, e.g., Wells Fargo

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Bank, N.A. v. Tim Radecki, 426 P.3d 593 (Nev. 2018); Bank of America, N.A. v. SFR Invs.

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Pool 1, LLC, 427 P.3d 113 (Nev. Sep. 13, 2018).
A. Stay of the Case

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A district court has the inherent power to stay cases to control its docket and promote the

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efficient use of judicial resources. Landis v. North Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254–55 (1936);

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Dependable Highway Exp., Inc. v. Navigators Ins. Co., 498 F.3d 1059, 1066 (9th Cir. 2007). A

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stay is no longer necessary in this action where the certified question has already been decided.
B. Briefing Schedule

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The parties may either file a stipulation or move the Court for a modified discovery plan

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and scheduling order as necessary. If the parties fail to do so, dispositive motions are due no later

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than forty-five days after the entry of this order. Any future dispositive motions must address the

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most recent case law applicable to the issues in this case.

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II.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff Bank of America, N.A.’s Motion

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Conclusion

to Lift Stay (ECF No. 32) is GRANTED:
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that stipulations, motions to modify the discovery plan and

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scheduling order, or in the absence of such stipulation or motions, dispositive motions are due

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within forty-five days of the entry of this order.

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Dated this 29th day of October, 2019.

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_____________________________
Kent J. Dawson
United States District Judge

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