Property Owners Waive All Claims And Defenses Against Lender After Foreclose
November 29, 2016
Christopher J. Charles, Esq.
Owner, Founder, Provident Law
Pursuant to Arizona’s deed of trust statutes, if a borrower defaults on her mortgage obligations, the lender may foreclosure non-judicially by recording its Notice of Trustee Sale with the County Recorder’s Office. See generally, A.R.S. § 33-801, et seq. Importantly, if the borrower believes that she has any claims or defenses against the lender concerning the loan, those claims must be filed before the non-judicial foreclosure takes place.
There are generally only three ways to stop a trustee sale:
- Reinstate the loan by paying the outstanding balance or otherwise curing the default;
- File for bankruptcy protection; or
- File a lawsuit and seek an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO).
To be clear, reinstating the loan or filing for bankruptcy are the only guaranteed strategies to postpone a trustee sale; the filing of a lawsuit, on the other hand, is only successful if the Court:
- Grants the request for a TRO; and
- Enters the TRO sometime prior to the date and time of the trustee sale.
Based on recent history, it generally takes the Court about five business days to consider and enter a TRO. (Importantly, any lawsuit and request for TRO must have a good faith basis and is subject to sanctions pursuant to Rule 11, ARIZONA RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE.)
Pursuant to Madison v. Groseth, 279 P. 3d 633, 636 Ariz. Add. Rep. 23 (App. 2012), the failure to obtain a TRO prior to the trustee sale waives all claims against the lender (and the new owner), including any allegation that the lender failed to provide the borrower with proper notice of the trustee sale.
At first blush, the above holding appears inequitable and even unconstitutional – after all, how can the borrower object to lack of notice if the borrower doesn’t discover the wrongdoing until after the fact? In Madison v. Groseth, the Court of Appeals observed this potential paradox:
Under other circumstances, [requiring a borrower to obtain a TRO to halt the trustee sale] may apply to deprive borrowers of due process if the borrower does not receive sufficient notice of the trustee sale to obtain an injunction of the sale.
Id. at 635. The Court noted that in the present case, however, the borrower admitted that she received notice of the trustee sale yet failed to apply for a TRO to halt the trustee sale. Indeed, the borrower not only received notice of the trustee sale, but the borrower actually filed a lawsuit against the lender prior to the trustee sale and did not allege that she received inadequate notice of the sale. Consequently, the Court held that this waiver requirement did not deprive her of due process.
In conclusion, if a lender initiates the foreclosure process and the borrower believes that she has claims or defenses against the lender regarding the foreclosure process, the borrower must immediately file a lawsuit against the lender and request a TRO to halt the trustee sale or else the borrower will waive all claims against the lender regarding the alleged wrongful foreclosure.
Mr. Charles regularly represents lenders and borrowers in foreclosure matters. If you or someone you know has questions regarding foreclosures or buyer/lender disputes, please call or email today to speak with Mr. Charles.
Christopher J. Charles is the founder and Managing Partner of Provident Law®. He is a State Bar Certified Real Estate Specialist and a former “Broker Hotline Attorney” for the Arizona Association of REALTORS® (the “AAR”). Mr. Charles holds the AV® Preeminent Rating by the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings system which connotes the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards. He serves as an Arbitrator and Mediator for the AAR regarding real estate disputes; and he served on the State Bar of Arizona’s Civil Jury Instructions Committee where he helped draft the Agency Instructions and the Residential Landlord/Tenant Eviction Jury Instructions.