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About This Blog
Welcome to the Snell & Wilmer real estate litigation blog. Check back here often for useful news and information about current topics involving real estate litigation. We hope that you will find the blog both timely and helpful, and we invite you to join the discussion by posting comments about the articles and contacting the authors with your thoughts about the posts.
Real Estate Litigation Group Members and Blog Contributors
- Bob Henry
- Kevin Parker
- Matt Fischer
- Adam Lang
- Cory Braddock
- Benjamin Reeves
- Erica Stutman
- Patrick Paul
- Rick Erickson
- Ginny Olmstead
- Neal McConomy
- Michael E. Lindsay
- Bob L. Olson
- Nathan G. Kanute
- Sean M. Sherlock
- Lyndsey Torp
- Anthony Carucci
- Luke Mecklenburg
- Jon Frank
- Kevin Walton
- Lauren Munsell
- Lauren Podgorski
- Addy Colton
- John Sarager
- Ian Douglas
- David Rao
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Recent Posts
- Tort Claims Against an Alter Ego May Be Considered an Action “On a Contract” for the Purposes of an Attorneys’ Fees Award under California Civil Code section 1717
- The Show Must Go On: Shuttered Venues Operators Grant Provides Lifeline for Live Music and Theater Venues
- More Help For Arizona’s Restaurant & Hospitality Industry On the Way
- Married Couple’s Acquisition of Title as Joint Tenants Does Not Rebut the Presumption of Community Property
- Woodbridge II and the Nuanced Meaning of “Adverse Use” in Hostile Property Rights Cases in Colorado
Topics
- Anti-deficiency Statute
- Bankruptcy
- Commercial Real Estate Industry
- Construction and Development
- Environmental
- Evictions
- Foreclosures
- Guaranty Contracts
- Judgment Liens
- Medical Marijuana
- Real Estate and Bankruptcy
- Real Estate Appraiser Litigation
- Real Estate Broker Litigation
- Real Estate Purchase/Sale Transaction Litigation
- Real Estate Receivers
- Statutes Affecting Real Estate
- Title Insurance
- Uncategorized
- Zoning
Are Vacant Lots Protected Under Arizona’s Anti-deficiency Statutes?
By: Ben Reeves
No, of course not. Arizona’s anti-deficiency statutes only prohibit deficiency judgments after a trustee’s sale of a “dwelling”.[1] Under no definition can a vacant lot constitute a “dwelling”. This was the Arizona Supreme Court’s holding in BMO v. Wildwood Creek Ranch, LLC.
In BMO, Shawn and Kristina Rudgear (through their company Wildwood Creek Ranch, LLC) borrowed $260,000 to fund construction of a home on a vacant 2.26-acre lot. This loan was secured by a deed of trust against the lot.
Construction of the home never began, the Rudgears defaulted, and BMO Harris Bank foreclosed via trustee’s sale.
… Read More »
Author:
Ben Reeves
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Tagged A.R.S. 33-814, anti-deficiency, BMO v. Wildwood Creek, M&I v. Meuller, MidKansas v. Dynamic
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Update – Prospective Waivers of “Fair Market Value” Hearings are Definitely Void.
By: Ben Reeves
In 2013, we blogged about the Arizona Court of Appeals’ determination that prospective contractual waivers of “fair market value” hearings are unenforceable as a matter of public policy. The link to our prior blog post is here. Although we noted some deficiencies in the Court of Appeals’ reasoning, we recognized that the holding reached a defensible legal result. On review, the Arizona Supreme Court reached the same outcome…but with a more robust legal analysis. See CSA 13-101 Loop, LLC v. Loop 101, LLC, et al., No. CV-14-0029 (Ariz. Dec. 31, 2014).[1]
The Arizona Supreme Court held that although Arizona’s anti-deficiency statutory scheme did not expressly prohibit contractual waivers of “fair market value” hearings, Arizona’s overall public policy behind the trustee’s sale process entitled borrowers and guarantors to the protection afforded by a “fair market value” hearing.… Read More »
Author:
Ben Reeves
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Tagged A.R.S. 33-814, anti-deficiency, CAS 13-101 v. Loop 101, fair market value hearing, waiver
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Amendments to Arizona’s Anti-deficiency Statute Exclude Homebuilders from Anti-Deficiency Protection
By: Ben Reeves
Last Tuesday, April 20, 2014, Arizona’s Governor, Jan Brewer, signed HB 2018 into law. This bill closes a long-standing loophole that allowed commercial homebuilders to take advantage of Arizona’s anti-deficiency statute, even though the statute was originally enacted to protect only homeowners. In sum, for loans secured by residences that are originated after December 31, 2014, commercial homebuilders will no longer be able to avoid liability based on Arizona’s anti-deficiency statute, A.R.S. § 33-814(G).
A.R.S. § 33-814(G) provides that after a trustee’s sale, a lender cannot sue to recover the difference between the value of a “dwelling” and the amount owed on the loan (i.e., the “deficiency”). … Read More »
Author:
Ben Reeves
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Tagged A.R.S. 33-814, anti-deficiency, HB 2018, MidKansas v. Dynamic
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A Person Owning a Fractional Interest in a Vacation Home is Protected by Arizona’s Anti-deficiency Statute
By: Ben Reeves
In Independent Mortgage v. Alaburda, the Arizona Court of Appeals held that Arizona’s anti-deficiency statute, A.R.S. § 33-814(G), precluded a lender from suing its borrowers for a deficiency after foreclosing on the borrowers’ fractional interest in a vacation home. 230 Ariz. 181, 281 P.3d 1049 (Ct. App. 2012).
If a lender conducts a trustee’s sale of “trust property of two and one-half acres or less which is limited to and utilized for either a single one-family or a single two-family dwelling,” then A.R.S. § 33-814(G) bars a lender from suing a borrower to recover any difference between the value of the property and the amount of debt owed (i.e.… Read More »
Author:
Ben Reeves
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Tagged A.R.S. 33-814, anti-deficiency, dwelling, Independent Mortgage v. Alaburda
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