Medina, Jr. v. Cml-Nv Lumber, LLC C/W 62673 ( 2014 )

 ORDER OF AFFIRMANCE
These are consolidated appeals from district court orders,
certified as final under NRCP 54(b), in deficiency-related actions. Eighth
Judicial District Court, Clark County; Susan Scann, Judge.
Silver State Bank loaned Mitchell Street, LLC and Design
Place, LLC, certain sums of money. The companies secured the loans with
parcels of real property and appellants, the Medinas, guaranteed
repayment. Eventually, respondents CML-NV, Lumber, LLC, and CML-
NV Two, LLC (collectively, CML-NV) acquired the rights to the loans
and—after the borrowers' default—foreclosed on the properties. CML-NV
sold the properties at two separate trustee's sales, but the properties were
worth less than the amount owed under the loans' terms.
Subsequently, the Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill
273, which placed additional restrictions on the amount a court could
award in a deficiency action where there has been a transfer of the right to
obtain a deficiency judgment. The bill was codified as NRS 40.459(1)(c).
See 2011 Nev. Stat., ch. 311, § 5, at 1743.
Thereafter, CML-NV filed deficiency actions against Mitchell,
Design Place, and the Medinas. CML-NV also filed motions for partial
summary judgment arguing that NRS 40.459(1)(c) did not apply to the
deficiency actions. The district court granted the motions; the Medinas
stipulated to deficiency judgments with CML-NV, which were certified as
final under NRCP 54(b), and then filed the instant consolidated appeals
challenging the district court's orders. Specifically, the Medinas challenge
the district court's conclusion that NRS 40.459(1)(c) is not applicable in
the underlying deficiency actions.
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Whether or not a statute applies in a particular instance is a
question of law that we review de novo. Sandpointe Apartments, EL. C., v.
Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 129 Nev. „ 313 P.3d 849, 853 (2013).
We addressed this issue in Sandpointe and determined that a
"right to a deficiency vests upon the sale pursuant to a judicial foreclosure
or trustee's sale, and thus, applying NRS 40.459(1)(c) to deficiencies
arising from sales" that occurred prior to the statute's effective date would
result in an improper retroactive effect. Id. at , 313 P.3d at 856.
Here, CML-NV sold the properties at trustee's sales that took
place prior to NRS 40.459(1)(c)'s effective date; thus, the district court
correctly determined that the statute is inapplicable to the underlying
matters. Accordingly, we
ORDER the judgnenf the district court AFFIRMED.
/A /1
C.J.
Gibbons
, J. J.
Pickering
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Parraguirre Douglas ``
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cc: Hon. Susan Scann, District Judge
The Schwartz Law Firm, Inc.
Hutchison & Steffen, LLC
Lionel Sawyer & Collins/Las Vegas
Eighth District Court Clerk
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CHERRY, J., dissenting:
I respectfully dissent from my colleagues in the majority and
would reverse in accordance with my dissent in Sandpointe Apartments,
L.L.C. v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 129 Nev. , 313 P.3d 849 (2013).
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