PHH Mortgage Corporation v. Patterson ( 2022 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
Electronically Filed
Intermediate Court of Appeals
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
21-MAR-2022
09:17 AM
Dkt. 79 SO
NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I
PHH MORTGAGE CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
JOHN C. PATTERSON, FENNY J.M. PATTERSON, STATE OF HAWAII-
DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION, Defendants-Appellees,
and
ASSOCIATION OF APARTMENT OWNERS OF ELIMA LANI CONDOMINIUMS,
Defendant-Appellant,
and
JOHN DOES 1-50, JANE DOES 1-50, DOE PARTNERSHIPS 1-50,
DOE CORPORATIONS 1-50, DOE ENTITIES 1-50,
AND DOE GOVERNMENTAL UNITS 1-50, Defendants
APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT
(CIVIL NO. 14-1-121K)
SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Leonard, Presiding Judge, Hiraoka and McCullen, JJ.)
Defendant-Appellant Association of Apartment Owners of
Elima Lani Condominiums (the AOAO) appeals from the April 4, 2018
Judgment (Judgment) entered by the Circuit Court of the Third
Circuit (Circuit Court).1 The AOAO also challenges, in part, the
1
The Honorable Robert D.S. Kim presided.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law; Order Granting
Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and for Interlocutory
Decree of Foreclosure entered by the Circuit Court on April 4,
2018 (Foreclosure Decree).
The AOAO raises two points of error on appeal,
contending that the Circuit Court erred when it: (1) ordered
that the AOAO's right to possess and collect rent from the
subject property (Property) was extinguished upon the entry of
the Foreclosure Decree and Judgment, and order the foreclosure
commissioner (Commissioner) to take possession and control of the
Property owned by the AOAO, including the collection and
retention of rents; and (2) when it vested the Commissioner with
legal and equitable title to the Property in the Foreclosure
Decree.
Upon careful review of the record and the briefs
submitted by the parties, and having given due consideration to
the arguments advanced and the issues raised by the parties, we
resolve the AOAO's points of error as follows:
We conclude that the Circuit Court did not err or abuse
its discretion in ordering the Commissioner to take possession of
and to manage, preserve, and sell the Property, including the
collection of rents, because under Hawai#i law, a judgment
entered on a foreclosure decree is a final determination of a
foreclosed party's ownership interests in the subject property,
notwithstanding that further proceedings are necessary to enforce
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NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
and otherwise effectuate the foreclosure decree and judgment.
See Bank of New York Mellon v. Larrua, No. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, 2022
WL 277671, at *1 (Haw. App. Jan. 31, 2022).
Regarding the vesting of title to the Property in the
Commissioner, the Foreclosure Decree does not state that the
title is vested in the Commissioner; rather, it states that the
Commissioner shall hold legal and equitable title to the
Property. Thus, we cannot conclude that the Circuit Court erred
by stating that the Commissioner was "vested" with legal and
equitable title to the Property. It appears that the
Commissioner was simply ordered to temporarily "hold" the title,
in conjunction with the Commissioner's role as the agent of the
Circuit Court, in order to carry out the court's further orders
set forth in the Foreclosure Decree. However, we further
conclude, even if the Foreclosure Decree could be construed as
(erroneously) vesting title to the Property in the Commissioner,
any such error was harmless. See id.; see also U.S. Bank Trust
v. Chinen, Nos. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX and CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
(consolidated), 2022 WL 574511, *9 (Haw. App. Feb. 28, 2022).
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NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
For these reasons, the Circuit Court's April 4, 2018
Judgment is affirmed.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, March 21, 2022.
On the briefs: /s/ Katherine G. Leonard
Presiding Judge
R. Laree McGuire,
Jason K. Adaniya, /s/ Keith K. Hiraoka
(Porter McGuire Kiakona & Associate Judge
Chow, LLP),
for Defendant-Appellant. /s/ Sonja M.P. McCullen
Associate Judge
David B. Rosen,
David E. McAllister,
Justin S. Moyer,
(Aldridge Pite, LLP),
for Plaintiff-Appellee.
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