Justia Real Estate & Property Law Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court denied a petition for rehearing of an order affirming the judgment of the district court in the underlying quiet title action, holding that this Court did not overlook or misapprehend any material fact in the record.Nev. Rev. Stat. 106.240 provides that ten years after a debt secured by a lien on real property has become "wholly due" and has remained unpaid, "it shall be conclusively presumed that the debt has been regularly satisfied and the lien discharged." At issue was what effect a notice of rescission has on the statute's ten-year time frame when it is recorded after a notice of default. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment in this case consistent with its unpublished decision in Glass v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., No. 78325, 2020 WL 3604042 at *1 (Nev. July 1, 2020). Appellant sought rehearing. The Supreme Court denied rehearing, holding that the Court did not overlook or misapprehend any material facts. View "SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank N.A." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment with respect to Appellant's claim for declaratory relief and as to Appellant's accompanying violation of property rights claim, holding that public policy favors the adoption of sections 6.7 and 6.9 of the Restatement (Third) of Property: Servitudes.At issue was the scope of a common-interest-community homeowners association's power to adopt rules restricting the design and use of individually-owned properties. In the instant case, Appellant argued that Respondent did not have any express power to adopt the architectural guidelines in question and argued that the district court should interpret an association's implied to adopt rules under Nev. Rev. Stat. Chapter 116 as being limited, consistent with sections 6.7 and 6.9. The district court ruled in favor of Respondent. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that this Court expressly adopts sections 6.7 and 6.9 of the Restatement (Third) of Property: Servitudes, the subject association possess the authority to adopt design-control restrictions for individually-owned property, but it must exercise that power reasonably. The Court remanded the case for the parties to address this issue. View "Moretto v. Elk Point Country Club Homeowners Ass'n" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that declaratory relief actions are not categorically exempt from statutes of limitations, that the four-year statute of limitations applies to an action like this one to determine the validity of a lien under Nev. Rev. Stat. 40.010, and that the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the titleholder affirmatively repudiates the lien.In this declaratory relief and quiet title matter arising out of a homeowners association (HOA) foreclosure sale, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit as the questions leading to this opinion. The Supreme Court held (1) City of Fernley does not hold that declaratory relief actions are categorically exempt from statutes of limitations; (2) this is a quiet title action under Nev. Rev. Stat. 40.010; (3) the four-year catch-all statute of limitations applies; and (4) the four-year limitations period is not triggered until the titleholder repudiates the lien. View "U.S. Bank, N.A. v. Thunder Properties, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court quieting title in favor of Respondent, the first deed-of-trust beneficiary in this case, holding that the district court properly quieted title in Respondent's favor.A homeowners' association foreclosed its lien on the subject property. The property was eventually transferred to Appellant by deed expressly providing that Appellant's interest was subject to any claims, encumbrances, or liens. U.S. Bank Trust, the assignee of the first deed of trust, sought to quiet title. The district court concluded that Appellant took title to the property subject to U.S. Bank Trust's first deed of trust and that the foreclosure sale did not extinguish the first deed of trust under the circumstances. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court properly concluded that U.S. Bank Trust may enforce its deed-of-trust lien in accordance with Nev. Rev. Stat. 106.210. View "Lakes v. U.S. Bank Trust" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment and dismissing Appellant's complaint for declaratory relief challenging attorney fees imposed under a deed of trust, holding that the district court did not err.Appellant purchased certain real property at a homeowners association foreclosure sale, taking the property subject to Respondent's deed of trust, which allowed Respondent to add any reasonable expenses incurred protecting its interest in the property, including attorney fees, to the secured debt. The deed of trust entitled Respondent to add the attorney fees accrued in protecting its interest in the property to the secured debt without filing a motion seeking those fees in court. The district court concluded that Respondent may add those attorney fees to the amount of indebtedness owed under the note secured by the deed of trust because Appellant's property was subject to the deed of trust and because Appellant sought to pay off the note secured by the deed of trust. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Nev. R. Civ. P. 54(d)(2) and its timing requirements were inapplicable in this case; and (2) the district court did not err in finding that Respondent may add those attorney fees to the amount of indebtedness owed under the note. View "Oella Ridge Trust v. Silver State Schools Credit Union" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court determining that a judgment debtor may claim the so-called "wildcard exemption" from execution under Nev. Rev. Stat. 21.090(1)(z) to protect up to $10,000 of the debtor's disposable earnings not already excepted by the earnings exemption under Nev. Rev. Stat. 21.090(1)(g), holding that the district court did not err.The district court permitted Appellant to execute on the attachable portion of the judgment debtor's disposable earnings to the extent that those earnings exceeded $10,000 during the 180-day garnishment period. Appellant appealed, challenging Respondent's use of the wildcard exemption. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) because earnings qualify as personal property, the plain language of the wildcard exemption permits a debtor to shield from execution up to $10,000 of earnings not otherwise exempted; and (2) the use of the wildcard exemption on nonexempt earnings does not produce absurd results. View "Platte River Insurance Co. v. Jackson" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court dismissing Appellant's complaint under Nev. Rev. Stat. 38.310, holding that the district court erred.Appellant purchased property at a homeowners' association (HOA) foreclosure sale following the previous owner's default on HOA assessments imposed by covenants, conditions, or restrictions (CC&Rs). Because the first deed of trust on the property survived the foreclosure sale, Appellant sued the HOA and its agent, alleging breach of the duty of good faith, misrepresentation, conspiracy, and violation of Nev. REv. Stat. Chapter 113. The district court dismissed the complaint on the ground that Appellant had not engaged in alternative dispute resolution before bringing this suit in violation of section 38.310. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) section 38.310 did not apply to Appellant's claims; and (2) therefore, the district court erred in dismissing the complaint. View "Saticoy Bay, LLC v. Peccole Ranch Community Ass'n" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court exercising jurisdiction over the underlying fraudulent conveyance action and avoiding all of Paul Morabito's transfers to Superpumper, Inc., Sam Morabito, Snowshoe Petroleum, Inc., and Edward Bayer, individually and as trustee of the Bayuk Trust (collectively, Superpumper) and awarding Paul Morabito's bankruptcy trustee (Trustee) the subject property or the value thereof, holding that the district court did not err.Paul and Consolidated Nevada Corporation entered into a settlement agreement with JH Inc., Jerry Herbst, and Berry-Hinckley Industries (collectively, the Herbsts) for $85 million and later defaulted on the agreement. After a bankruptcy court adjudicated Paul as a Chapter 7 debtor the Herbsts filed a fraudulent transfer action against Paul and Superpumper, the transferees of Paul's assets. The state district court avoided all of Morabito's transfers to Superpumper and awarded the Trustee the subject property or the value thereof. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court had subject matter jurisdiction over the fraudulent conveyance action; (2) Superpumper waived its in rem jurisdiction argument; and (3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing attorney-client communications to be admitted into evidence at trial. View "Superpumper, Inc. v. Leonard" on Justia Law

In this case concerning the correct interpretation of Nev. Rev. Stat. 116.3116(2), Nevada's "superpriority lien" statute, the Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment for Respondents, holding that the district court's construction of the statute was correct.Section 116.3116(2) gives a homeowners association's lien priority over a first deed of trust with respect to the HOA's assessments for common expenses based on the periodic budget adopted by the HOA "which would have become due in the absence of acceleration during the [nine] months immediately preceding institution of an action to enforce the lien." Respondents' predecessor tendered a check equaling nine months' worth of assessments in an attempt to satisfy the HOA's superpriority lien, but the HOA had imposed a yearly assessment so that the entire assessment became due during the nine months immediately preceding when the HOA brought this action to enforce its liens. The district court granted summary judgment for Respondents. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court correctly reasoned that the HOA's imposition of an annual assessment accelerated the assessments' due date such that Respondents were not required to tender more than nine months of assessments to satisfy the superpriority portion of the HOA's lien. View "Anthony S. Noonan IRA, LLC v. U.S. Bank National Ass'n EE" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court invalidating Order No. 1293A, which prohibited the driving of new domestic wells in the Pahrump Artesian Basin unless the applicant identified and relinquished 2.0 acre-feet annually from an alternate source (the 2.0 afa requirement), as unlawful, holding that Nevada law authorized the order's 2.0 afa requirement under the circumstances.In invalidating the order, the district court concluded (1) the State Engineer violated due process by issuing the order without first providing notice and a public hearing; (2) the State Engineer lacked authority to issue the 2.0 afa requirement; and (3) substantial evidence did not support the order. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the State Engineer was not required to hold a hearing or develop a more robust record; (2) the State Engineer was not required to provide notice and a hearing regarding the 2.0 afa requirement under the circumstances; and (3) the State Engineer's decision was supported by substantial record evidence. View "Wilson, P.E. v. Pahrump Fair Water, LLC" on Justia Law