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Diamond Heights Village Association, Inc. v. Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp.

(2011) 196 Cal.App.4th 290

[Assessment Collection; Judgment Lien Merger] When a HOA assessment lien is enforced by the HOA through judicial action, the debt secured by the assessment lien is merged into the judgment.

Ragghianti Freitas, David F. Feingold and Rodrigo D. Dias for Plaintiff and Appellant and for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Steyer Lowenthal Boodrookas Alvarez & Smith, Jeffrey H. Lowenthal, Carlos A. Alvarez and Benjamin R. Ehrhart for Defendant and Appellant and for Defendant and Respondent.

OPINION

[294] SEPULVEDA, J.

Plaintiff Diamond Heights Village Association, Inc. (Association), sued the owners of a condominium unit for failing to pay assessments levied for maintenance of common areas. The Association also sued Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corporation (Financial Freedom), which holds a deed of trust on the unit securing a reverse mortgage loan. In its single cause of action against Financial Freedom, the Association sought foreclosure of assessment liens and priority over the deed of trust. Financial Freedom obtained a summary judgment in its favor. A bench trial against the unit owners on other causes of action was held, at which the court partially voided Financial Freedom’s deed of trust.

The Association appeals the summary judgment for Financial Freedom, and Financial Freedom appeals the judgment on the remaining claims voiding its property interest. Financial Freedom also appeals the court’s attorney fee orders.

We affirm summary judgment for Financial Freedom on the lien foreclosure cause of action and reverse the judgment on the remaining claims to the extent it voids Financial Freedom’s deed of trust. The trial court erred in voiding Financial Freedom’s security interest in the property when Financial Freedom had not been joined as a party on the claims being tried, and final judgment had already been entered in its favor. We affirm the court’s attorney fee orders.

I. FACTS

The Association maintains a 396-unit residential condominium complex in San Francisco known as Diamond Heights Village. Diamond Heights Village is governed by a first restated declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&R’s) recorded in 1990. Under the CC&R’s, homeowners agree to pay assessments levied by the Association for maintenance of Diamond Heights Village. (See Civ. Code, § 1366 [authorizing assessments].)

[295]

A. Assessment liens

Mark Williams owned a unit in Diamond Heights Village and failed to pay the assessments. The Association recorded notices of delinquent assessment in 1994 and 1995. To avoid collection efforts by the Association and other creditors, Williams filed five separate bankruptcy petitions from 1995 to 1999, each of which was dismissed. Several days after the fifth bankruptcy petition was dismissed, Williams conveyed the Diamond Heights Village condominium unit to himself and his mother, Lois Crosby, as joint tenants. In 2000 and 2001, the Association recorded assessment liens against the condominium unit. (Civ. Code, § 1367.)

B. Judgment on assessment liens

In 2002, the Association obtained a default judgment against Williams for foreclosure of the assessment liens. The total amount of the judgment, including attorney fees and costs, was $39,199.[[1]] The Association did not record an abstract of judgment. The court issued a writ of execution for the sale of the unit to satisfy the judgment. Crosby, now a joint tenant of the unit, filed a petition for bankruptcy to evade the Association’s collection efforts. A second writ of execution was issued and a foreclosure sale was set for 2004, after Crosby’s bankruptcy petition was dismissed, but Williams filed a sixth bankruptcy petition on the day set for the sale. That bankruptcy petition, like all the others, was dismissed. Several months later, Williams and Crosby embarked on another transaction affecting the condominium unit before a foreclosure sale was conducted.

C. New first deed of trust

In October 2004, Crosby applied for a reverse mortgage with defendant Financial Freedom, a subsidiary of IndyMac Bank. A homeowner must be 62 years of age or older to qualify for a reverse mortgage with Financial Freedom. Crosby, born in 1920, qualified. Crosby’s application stated that there was an outstanding judgment against her and listed the Association among those holding a lien on the property.

Financial Freedom ordered a preliminary title report that noted title ownership by Crosby and her son, Williams, as joint tenants. The preliminary title report did not list the Association’s assessment liens despite their [296] recordation with the county recorder’s office. The Association’s judgment had not been recorded and was not listed in the title report.[[2]]

In November 2004, Financial Freedom obtained certification from the Association concerning certain features of Diamond Heights Village, such as unit ownership in fee simple and the provision of property and liability insurance. The Association also certified that there was nothing in the CC&R’s “that would prevent the placing of a first mortgage lien on an individual unit or would jeopardize the first lien status of such a mortgage due to future association assessments.” (Italics added.) Financial Freedom’s certification form did not ask if there were unpaid past assessments.

Financial Freedom completed the transaction in December 2004, creating a new first mortgage. Williams transferred his one-half interest in the unit to his mother, Crosby, giving her full title to the unit. Crosby then executed a deed of trust in favor of Financial Freedom to secure a reverse mortgage loan. The two documents—Williams’s grant deed and Crosby’s deed of trust—were notarized by the same person on the same date, and recorded within seconds of each other. Williams did not receive any consideration from his mother for the transfer of his ownership interest in the unit. In funding the loan, Financial Freedom paid off first and second deeds of trust totaling $219,935. Financial Freedom also paid $48,948 in cash to Crosby. Financial Freedom funded the loan in an amount no less than $278,505.

D. Amended judgment on assessment liens

An amended judgment against Williams and Crosby for foreclosure of the Association’s assessment liens was entered in 2005. The amended judgment included interest and costs incurred from the time of the original 2002 judgment and totaled $51,184. The Association did not record an abstract of judgment for the amended judgment. The Association obtained a writ of execution for the sale of the unit, but Crosby filed another petition for bankruptcy. The petition was later dismissed. The judgment was last renewed in January 2008 for an updated amount of $64,854.

E. Complaint to set aside fraudulent transfer and to foreclose lien

The Association learned of Financial Freedom’s first deed of trust at some point and, in an effort to establish priority for its assessments over Financial Freedom’s deed of trust, filed the present action in December 2007. The [297] Association stated six causes of action: setting aside fraudulent transfer; conspiracy; breach of contract (CC&R’s); foreclosure of a lien; open book account; and injunctive relief. All of the causes of action were stated against Williams and Crosby but only the fourth cause of action for foreclosure of a lien was stated against Financial Freedom. The fourth cause of action also named judgment creditor Hassen & Associates as a defendant. In that cause of action, the Association alleged that homeowners Williams and Crosby owed assessments amounting to $67,149 as of December 2007 (plus assessments accruing after filing of the complaint). It was further alleged that the homeowners had not satisfied the 2000 and 2001 assessment liens, nor the 2002 judgment and that those liens and judgment “remain valid and encumber the property.” The Association alleged that Financial Freedom’s 2004 deed of trust is subordinate to the liens and judgment held by the Association. While seeking judicial foreclosure of the assessment liens, the Association also stated its intention to reserve its right to enforce the existing judgment foreclosing the same liens.

F. Answers and cross-complaint

Financial Freedom answered the complaint raising several affirmative defenses, including the statute of limitations. It also filed a cross-complaint for declaratory relief and other claims. Financial Freedom asserted that it has a valid first lien against the Diamond Heights Village condominium unit and that it is “a bona fide encumbrancer with respect to said lien.” It sought a judicial determination of the rights and interests of itself and the Association in the property. Judgment creditor Hassen & Associates also answered the complaint. Homeowners Williams and Crosby never answered the complaint and their default was entered in March 2008.

G. Summary judgment motion

In February 2009, Financial Freedom moved for summary judgment on the Association’s complaint, which stated a single cause of action against Financial Freedom for foreclosure of liens. Financial Freedom noted that the Association did not have a judgment lien and was basing its priority claim upon the assessment liens. Financial Freedom argued that the Association’s action for foreclosure of the assessment liens, and the claimed priority under them, failed because (1) foreclosure of the assessment liens had already been litigated, reduced to judgment, and merged into that judgment; (2) foreclosure of the assessment liens was time-barred; and (3) the CC&R’s expressly subordinated assessment liens to first mortgage holders like Financial Freedom.

[298] Judge Charlotte Woolard ruled on the motion on May 6, 2009, and granted summary judgment on the first ground. The court ruled that the Association’s assessment liens merged into the judgment in the earlier foreclosure action against the homeowners, that the judgment was unrecorded, and that Financial Freedom’s recorded deed of trust thus had priority.

H. Judgment for Financial Freedom

Financial Freedom requested dismissal of its cross-complaint and sought entry of judgment in its favor. In June 2009, Judge Woolard entered a judgment in favor of Financial Freedom and against the Association decreeing that the Association “shall recover nothing, and shall obtain no relief, as against defendant Financial Freedom, in this action.” The court denied Financial Freedom’s motion for contractual attorney fees under the CC&R’s because there was “no privity” between Financial Freedom and the Association. (Civ. Code, § 1717.)

I. Trial of remaining claims

The Association’s remaining claims against homeowners Williams and Crosby and judgment creditor Hassen & Associates were tried before Judge Nancy Davis on May 26, 2009, a few weeks after Judge Woolard had granted summary judgment to Financial Freedom. The Association contended that Judge Woolard’s summary judgment ruling in Financial Freedom’s favor did not preclude Judge Davis from setting aside the alleged fraudulent conveyance and determining Financial Freedom’s security interest as a result of setting aside that conveyance. The court agreed and proceeded to resolve issues affecting Financial Freedom despite a dispositive ruling in Financial Freedom’s favor on the only cause of action against it and its absence from trial on the remaining claims. The only defendant appearing at trial was judgment creditor Hassen & Associates.

The court issued a statement of decision in August 2009. The court found that “the transfer from Williams to Crosby was fraudulent and must be set aside to the extent necessary to satisfy the Association’s claim” for assessments. The court noted that, “[a]t the time of the transfer, Williams and Crosby owned the Unit as Joint tenants, each owning an undivided one-half interest. As the transfer is set aside, the result is that Williams and Crosby remain joint tenants and were joint tenants at the time the deed of trust was granted to Financial Freedom by Crosby.” Crosby “could encumber her own one half interest, but could not encumber the one half interest in the Unit owned by Williams who, at the time, was a judgment debtor of the Association.” The court ruled that the deed of trust “conveyed by Crosby to Financial [299] Freedom is void to the extent [the deed] purported to encumber Williams’s one half interest” in the condominium unit.

The court’s statement of decision acknowledges that a fraudulent transfer is not voidable against “a person who took in good faith and for a reasonably equivalent value.” (Civ. Code, § 3439.08, subd. (a).) The court ruled that Financial Freedom was not a bona fide encumbrancer entitled to the protection of this statute because Financial Freedom “actively participated in the transfer from Williams to Crosby” and performed an inadequate title review that failed to discover the recorded assessment liens. The court also suggested that Financial Freedom forfeited any claim to bona fide encumbrancer status by dismissing its cross-complaint for declaratory relief and choosing not to appear at trial.

J. Judgment for the Association

The court entered a judgment in August 2009 ordering the Diamond Heights Village condominium unit sold and declaring the rights of the Association, homeowners, Financial Freedom, and judgment creditor Hassen & Associates to the proceeds of the sale. The court declared Hassen & Associates to have senior position, with right of first payment. The court ordered the remaining funds held until any appeal was resolved and, thereafter, “divided between the Association and Financial Freedom in accordance with their one-half secured interest” in the unit. The court awarded the Association $89,562 for assessments through May 2009, payable from Williams’s one-half interest in the property. The court also awarded the Association attorney fees against the homeowners under the CC&R’s, later assessed at $82,086, to be paid from Williams’s property interest. Financial Freedom was left with just Crosby’s original one-half interest in the property to secure its mortgage loan and payments of at least $278,505. Sale proceeds from that one-half interest may be insufficient to pay the full amount owed to Financial Freedom.

In September 2009, Financial Freedom filed a motion to vacate the judgment. Financial Freedom argued that the court had no jurisdiction to enter a judgment affecting Financial Freedom’s deed of trust because (1) the prior summary judgment fully adjudicated the Association’s single cause of action against Financial Freedom, (2) the Association’s appeal of the summary judgment divested the court of jurisdiction before the court ruled on the remaining claims affecting Financial Freedom’s interest, and (3) Financial [300] Freedom was not a defendant on the Association’s remaining claims and not a party to the trial. The court denied the motion in February 2010.

K. The appeals

We are presented with three related appeals, which we have consolidated for purposes of briefing, argument, and decision. On the summary judgment in Financial Freedom’s favor on the foreclosure cause of action: the Association appeals the judgment and Financial Freedom separately appeals the post judgment order denying it attorney fees. On the judgment following trial in the Association’s favor on the cause of action for fraudulent conveyance and all other remaining claims: Financial Freedom appeals both the judgment (and order denying its motion to vacate the judgment) and the post judgment order awarding the Association attorney fees.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Summary judgment was properly granted to Financial Freedom

As noted above, the Association recorded assessment liens against the Diamond Heights Village condominium unit in 2000 and 2001. (Civ. Code, § 1367.) In 2002, the Association obtained a default judgment against homeowner Williams for foreclosure of the assessment liens. The Association did not record an abstract of judgment. The court issued writs of execution for the sale of the unit to satisfy the judgment but the homeowners’ petitions for bankruptcy stayed proceedings and prevented levy. It was at this juncture that Williams conveyed his one-half interest in the property to his joint tenant and mother, Crosby, and she then mortgaged the entire property to Financial Freedom.

The Association then filed a new complaint in which it asserted a single cause of action against Financial Freedom for foreclosure of the Association’s assessment liens and sought priority over Financial Freedom’s deed of trust. Financial Freedom moved for summary judgment arguing, among other things, that the Association’s action for foreclosure of the assessment liens, and claimed priority under them, failed because foreclosure of the assessment liens had already been litigated, reduced to judgment, and merged into that judgment. Judge Woolard granted the motion. The court ruled that the Association’s assessment liens merged into the judgment from the earlier foreclosure action against the homeowners, the judgment was unrecorded, and Financial Freedom’s recorded deed of trust thus had priority.

(1) The court was correct. A condominium assessment becomes a debt of the owner when the assessment is levied by the condominium association. [301] (Civ. Code, § 1367.1, subd. (a).) “The debt is only a personal obligation of the owner, however, until the community association records a `notice of delinquent assessment’ against the owner’s interest in the development. Recording this notice creates a lien and gives the association a security interest in the lot or unit against which the assessment was imposed.” (Sproul & Rosenberry, Advising Cal. Common Interest Communities (Cont.Ed.Bar 2003) § 5.36, p. 328 [hereafter, Common Interest Communities]; see Civ. Code, § 1367, subd. (d).) The lien dates from the time the lien is properly recorded. (Thaler v. Household Finance Corp. (2000) 80 Cal.App.4th 1093, 1100-1102 .) “California follows the `first in time, first in right’ system of lien priorities.” (Id. at p. 1099.) Condominium assessment liens follow this same system. An assessment lien is “prior to all other liens recorded subsequent to the notice of assessment, except that the [CC&R’s] may provide for the subordination thereof to any other liens and encumbrances.”[[3]] (Civ. Code, § 1367, subd. (d).)

(2) It is generally understood that a lien is not a debt but acts as “security for payment of a debt or other obligation.” (4 Cal. Real Estate (3d ed. 2003) § 10:128, p. 395 (rel. 11/2003); see Civ. Code, § 2872.) The debt is the assessment, which is secured by the assessment lien. An assessment lien may be enforced “in any manner permitted by law,” including judicial foreclosure. (Civ. Code, § 1367, subd. (e).) When an assessment lien is enforced through judicial action, the debt secured by the lien is merged into the judgment. The doctrine of merger is an aspect of res judicata. (Passanisi v. Merit-McBride Realtors, Inc. (1987) 190 Cal.App.3d 1496, 1510.) “Under that aspect a claim presented and reduced to judgment merges with the judgment and is thereby superseded. [Citation.] The claimant’s remedy thereafter is to enforce the judgment; he may not reassert the claim.” (Ibid.)

“[W]hen a final judgment is entered, all causes of action arising from the same obligation are merged into the judgment and all alternative remedies to enforce that obligation extinguished by the judgment granting one of those remedies. [Citation.] The creditor cannot thereafter enforce the original obligation, because the judgment `”. . . creates a new debt or liability, distinct from the original claim or demand, and this new liability is not merely evidence of the creditor’s claim, but is thereafter the substance of the claim itself.”‘ ([Citation,] italics in original.) In other words, the . . . judgment extinguishes the contractual rights and remedies previously extant, [302] substituting in their place only such rights as attach to a judgment.” (O’Neil v. General Security Corp. (1992) 4 Cal.App.4th 587, 602.)

(3) Once a judgment is obtained, the judgment creditor may create a judgment lien by recording an abstract of judgment or may choose to levy execution, thereby creating an execution lien. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 674, 697.710; Kahn v. Berman (1988) 198 Cal.App.3d 1499, 1507, fn. 7.) An execution lien does not arise when a writ of execution is issued by the court, but rather when the levying officer levies the property (constructively seizes it) by recording a copy of the writ of execution and notice of levy. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 697.710, 700.010, 700.015, subd. (a); Kahn, supra, at p. 1508; see generally 8 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (5th ed. 2008) Enforcement of Judgment, § 99, p. 143.) The record here does not show that a levy ever occurred to create an execution lien, and the Association makes no claim to having an execution lien. The Association relies exclusively upon its assessment liens, despite having already foreclosed those liens in a 2002 judgment. The claim is unavailing. Those liens were foreclosed and the debts they secured were merged into the judgment. The Association’s remedy was to record the judgment, in which case the judgment lien would have given the Association priority over Financial Freedom. (Code Civ. Proc., § 697.310 et seq.)

(4) The Association seems to argue that an assessment lien lasts forever, even if foreclosed in a prior proceeding. This is incorrect. A lien is not a debt but acts as “security for payment of a debt or other obligation.” (4 Cal. Real Estate, supra, § 10:128, p. 395 (rel. 11/2003).) All liens are “extinguished by the lapse of time” if an enforcement action is not timely pursued on the principal obligation.[[4]] (Civ. Code, § 2911, subd. 1.) Where an action is timely pursued, the debt secured by the lien merges into the judgment. The judgment then becomes the debt. The judgment is enforceable for a period of 10 years, and longer if renewed. (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 683.020, 683.120, subd. (b).) (5) The Association has an enforceable judgment. It does not, however, have a lien on the property because the assessment liens and underlying debts merged into the judgment and the judgment was not recorded.

The Association argues that application of the merger doctrine under these circumstances creates the anomalous situation of a condominium association losing priority the moment a judgment is entered on an assessment. The Association argues that assessment liens should work like real estate attachment liens imposed during litigation. Where an attachment lien is in effect, a [303] judgment lien created on the same property relates back to the date the attachment lien was created and preserves the judgment creditor’s original priority. (Code Civ. Proc., § 697.020, subd. (b).) But a judgment itself does not relate back to the date of the attachment liens—it is the judgment lien that does so. Here, there is no judgment lien. The Association, therefore, has an unsecured judgment and may pursue enforcement against the homeowners. The Association may not, however, relitigate foreclosure of its assessment liens in an effort to achieve priority over Financial Freedom’s deed of trust.

The Association maintains that it is not really relitigating the assessments but, instead, the fraudulent conveyance that gave Financial Freedom a deed of trust. But Financial Freedom was not named as a defendant in the fraudulent conveyance cause of action. Financial Freedom was named as a defendant in a single cause of action for judicial foreclosure of the assessment liens. In that cause of action, the Association sought recovery against the homeowners for past assessments and alleged that the 2000 and 2001 liens encumber the property to secure the assessments. Those allegations were asserted, and adjudicated, in prior litigation. They may not be relitigated now. The trial court properly granted summary judgment to Financial Freedom on the Association’s cause of action to foreclose the previously litigated assessments liens.

B. The trial court erred in rendering a judgment on remaining claims that impaired Financial Freedom’s interests

The trial court granted defendant Financial Freedom summary judgment on the only cause of action stated against it. The order was filed on May 6, 2009. Financial Freedom then dismissed its cross-complaint, and Judge Woolard entered judgment for Financial Freedom on June 3, 2009. The judgment decreed that the Association “shall recover nothing, and shall obtain no relief, as against defendant Financial Freedom, in this action.”

Trial of the Association’s remaining claims against other defendants commenced before Judge Davis on May 26, 2009, and judgment was entered on August 17, 2009. Trial of those remaining claims was proper, including trial of the Association’s cause of action against the homeowners for fraudulent conveyance of their condominium unit. It was not proper, however, to void Financial Freedom’s security interest in the property (in whole or part) when Financial Freedom had not been joined as a party to the fraudulent conveyance cause of action, and final judgment had already been entered in its favor.

The Association brought its first cause of action to set aside a fraudulent transfer of real property against homeowners Williams and Crosby. A transfer is fraudulent if the debtor made the transfer “[w]ith actual intent to hinder, [304] delay, or defraud any creditor of the debtor,” “[w]ithout receiving a reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the transfer,” and with the intent to incur debts beyond the debtor’s ability to pay. (Civ. Code, § 3439.04, subd. (a)(1), (2).) Here, the Association alleged that Williams fraudulently conveyed his one-half interest to Crosby for no consideration in order to evade his debt to the Association, and that the transfer left Williams insolvent. The Association further alleged that Crosby was complicit in the fraudulent scheme. Crosby, once she obtained full ownership of the property, took out a reverse mortgage loan and made Financial Freedom the beneficiary of a deed of trust securing the loan. The Association did not allege that Financial Freedom participated in the homeowners’ fraudulent scheme. In fact, the Association did not name Financial Freedom as a defendant in its action to set aside the alleged fraudulent conveyance. Nor did the Association name the trustee of the deed of trust, Alliance Title Company. The Association’s position, adopted by Judge Davis, was that the court could void Financial Freedom’s security interest in the conveyed property despite Financial Freedom’s nonjoinder. This was error.

(6) The Association was free to exclude Financial Freedom from the fraudulent conveyance cause of action if it sought only a personal judgment against Williams and Crosby. But if the Association wanted to void Financial Freedom’s interest in the property, it should have joined the deed beneficiary as a party. (Code Civ. Proc., § 379.) Transferees are necessary parties “in an action to declare a transfer void as fraudulent.” (Heffernan v. Bennett & Armour (1952) 110 Cal.App.2d 564, 586-587.) Williams transferred his one-half interest to Crosby, making her the principal transferee, but the transaction also included Crosby’s execution of a deed of trust benefitting Financial Freedom. The Association may not void the deed of trust without joining Financial Freedom as a party and giving it an opportunity to defend the transfer. Trust beneficiaries, like Financial Freedom, “are necessary parties to an action affecting the security of a deed of trust.” (Monterey S.P. Partnership v. W. L. Bangham, Inc. (1989) 49 Cal.3d 454, 461; accord, Sylvester v. Sylvester (Alaska 1986) 723 P.2d 1253, 1259-1260 [mortgagee a necessary party in fraudulent conveyance action to set aside mortgage].) A deed of trust is, in practical effect, a mortgage with a power of sale. (Monterey S.P. Partnership, supra, at p. 460.) A respected commentator on the law has noted that a mortgagee is not indispensable to a fraudulent conveyance action “if the conveyance is to be set aside subject to the mortgage, . . . [b]ut where the suit is to set aside a previously given mortgage as fraudulent, then the mortgagee is a proper party defendant.” (3A Moore, Moore’s Federal Practice (2d ed. 1996) ¶ 19.09[6], p. 19-191.) The Association argues that Financial Freedom’s absence from the trial is the fault of Financial Freedom itself because it dismissed its cross-complaint seeking a declaration of its interests. This is incorrect. [305] Financial Freedom was entitled to abandon its cross-complaint after obtaining summary judgment in its favor on the only cause of action stated against it in the complaint. It was the Association’s obligation, as plaintiff in the fraudulent conveyance cause of action, to name parties necessary to obtaining the relief it sought.

The judgment voiding Financial Freedom’s interest in the property is also defective in another respect. Judge Woolard granted Financial Freedom’s summary judgment motion on May 6, 2009, and entered judgment on June 3, 2009. Judge Davis did not enter judgment on the remaining claims until August 17, 2009, over two months after Financial Freedom obtained a judgment decreeing that the Association “shall recover nothing, and shall obtain no relief, as against defendant Financial Freedom, in this action.” Judge Davis’s judgment also came after the Association appealed Judge Woolard’s judgment in Financial Freedom’s favor. Despite that final decree, and its appeal, Judge Davis issued a judgment granting the Association relief against Financial Freedom. Judge Davis voided Financial Freedom’s deed of trust as to one-half of the property and gave the Association priority over Financial Freedom on that half. This, too, was error.

(7) Judge Woolard properly entered judgment for Financial Freedom in this multiple defendant action after adjudicating the single cause of action stated against it. (Nguyen v. Calhoun (2003) 105 Cal.App.4th 428, 437.) “A judgment is the final determination of the rights of the parties in an action or proceeding.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 577, italics added.) “It is elementary that where a tribunal has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter, the jurisdiction continues until a final judgment is entered. . . .” (Riley v. Superior Court (1957) 49 Cal.2d 305, 309, italics added.) The court lost jurisdiction over Financial Freedom once judgment was entered in its favor, and thus had no power to void its property interest in the condominium unit.

Therefore, we must reverse the judgment entered by Judge Davis and remand the case with directions to enter a judgment affecting the rights only of those defendants properly before it: homeowners Williams and Crosby and judgment creditor Hassen & Associates. The judgment shall not invalidate any part of Financial Freedom’s deed of trust or otherwise impair its interests in the property.

C. The trial court was correct in ruling that Financial Freedom is not entitled to attorney fees

(8) Attorney fees incurred to enforce a contract are recoverable by the party prevailing on the contract if the contract specifically provides for such [306] recovery. (Civ. Code, § 1717.) The Diamond Heights Village CC&R’s contain several attorney fee provisions. The CC&R’s state that the Association may maintain a lawsuit against a unit owner for delinquent assessments, and that any judgment against the owner shall include an award of reasonable attorney fees. The Association is also entitled to attorney fees, according to the CC&R’s, in a court action to foreclose assessment liens. The CC&R’s also contain a general attorney fee provision, which states that the Association, or any owner, has the right to enforce the CC&R’s and is entitled to recover attorney fees in such an action.

The Association, in its foreclosure cause of action against the homeowners, Financial Freedom, and judgment creditor Hassen & Associates, included in its complaint a plea for an award of contractual attorney fees against the homeowners. The Association did not request attorney fees against Financial Freedom. Nevertheless, Financial Freedom filed a motion for contractual attorney fees after obtaining summary judgment in its favor. The court denied the motion, and Financial Freedom challenges that denial on appeal. The trial court was correct.

Civil Code section 1717, subdivision (a) provides in pertinent part that “[i]n any action on a contract, where the contract specifically provides that attorney’s fees and costs, which are incurred to enforce that contract, shall be awarded either to one of the parties or to the prevailing party, then the party who is determined to be the party prevailing on the contract, whether he or she is the party specified in the contract or not, shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees in addition to other costs.”

(9) Civil Code “[s]ection 1717 was enacted to establish mutuality of remedy where [a] contractual provision makes recovery of attorney’s fees available for only one party [citations], and to prevent oppressive use of one-sided attorney’s fees provisions.” (Reynolds Metals Co. v. Alperson (1979) 25 Cal.3d 124, 128.) In this case, for example, the attorney fee provision in the CC&R’s entitling the Association to attorney fees if it prevailed in an action against a condominium unit owner would reciprocally entitle the owner to fees should he or she prevail.

Civil Code section 1717 is also interpreted “to further provide a reciprocal remedy for a nonsignatory defendant, sued on a contract as if he were a party to it, when a plaintiff would clearly be entitled to attorney’s fees should he prevail in enforcing the contractual obligation against the defendant.” (Reynolds Metals Co. v. Alperson, supra, 25 Cal.3d at p. 128.) Thus, a [307] defendant who did not sign the contract containing the fee provision was held to be entitled to attorney fees where the defendant was unsuccessfully sued as an alleged coventurer bound by the contract. (Ibid.) Had the plaintiff in that case prevailed on its claim, the defendant would have had to pay the plaintiff’s attorney fees. (Ibid.) The court reasoned that the defendant therefore had a reciprocal right to fees when she prevailed. (Id. at p. 129.)

These principles do not aid Financial Freedom because the Association did not sue Financial Freedom under the CC&R’s, never sought fees against Financial Freedom under the CC&R’s, and was not entitled to fees against Financial Freedom had the Association prevailed. Civil Code section 1717 covers signatories to a contract containing a fee provision and those who are sued as alleged parties to the contract or otherwise alleged to be bound by its terms. The Association never alleged that Financial Freedom was bound by the CC&R’s. The Association included Financial Freedom in the cause of action for judicial foreclosure of liens because Financial Freedom claimed a senior lien that the Association disputed. The action between the Association and Financial Freedom rested upon a legal question as to lien priority, not contractual enforcement of the CC&R’s.

Financial Freedom argues that it is nevertheless entitled to fees because “as a practical matter” Financial Freedom, and not the legally liable homeowners, would have had to bear the cost of the fees if the Association prevailed against the owners. Financial Freedom reasons as follows: if the Association prevailed on its judicial foreclosure claim and assertion of lien priority, the Association would have been entitled to fees against the homeowners under the CC&R’s. Those fees, as a debt of the homeowners, would have been paid to the Association from the sale proceeds before Financial Freedom, as a junior lienholder on half the property, received any proceeds (or Financial Freedom would have to pay the Association’s secured debt and fees to protect Financial Freedom’s property interest and avoid foreclosure of the property). Financial Freedom argues that this collateral economic consequence of a foreclosure action entitles it to fees.

Financial Freedom’s argument relies upon Saucedo v. Mercury Sav. & Loan Assn.(1980) 111 Cal.App.3d 309 (Saucedo). In Saucedo, home buyers took the property subject to an existing loan secured by a deed of trust. (Id. at p. 311.) The deed holder refused to allow the purchasers to assume the loan without paying a transfer fee and increased interest, and threatened to enforce a due-on-sale clause requiring full payment of the loan. (Ibid.) The purchasers filed a successful suit to enjoin the deed holder from [308] enforcing the due-on-sale clause, and the court held that they were entitled to attorney fees. (Id. at pp. 312, 315.) The court found that the purchasers would not have been liable for fees had the deed holder prevailed because the loan note was between the deed holder and prior owner but also found that “as a . . . practical matter” the purchasers would have to pay off the secured debt, including attorney fees, if they wanted to prevent foreclosure and retain their home. (Id. at p. 315.) The court concluded that “[t]his practical `liability’ of the nonassuming grantee [purchaser] is sufficient to call into play the remedial reciprocity established by Civil Code section 1717.” (Ibid.) Since the purchasers would, “as a real and practical matter” be required to pay attorney fees incurred by the deed holder to prevent foreclosure, the purchasers were entitled to recover attorney fees when they prevailed in a declaratory relief action that forestalled foreclosure. (Ibid.)

There are distinguishing points between Saucedo and this case. A central point of distinction is that the purchasers who recovered fees in Saucedo were the successors in interest to the property subject to the promissory note containing the disputed due-on-sale clause and fee provision. (See Leach v. Home Savings & Loan Assn. (1986) 185 Cal.App.3d 1295, 1304-1306 [distinguishing and limiting Saucedo].) Here, the Association and Financial Freedom are complete strangers to each other, and the dispute rests upon the priority of competing security interests established by separate documents (an assessment lien and a deed of trust). The case resembles Clar v. Cacciola (1987) 193 Cal.App.3d 1032, 1037-1039 more than it resembles Saucedo, supra, 111 Cal.App.3d at page 315. In Clar, this District Court of Appeal refused to extend the reciprocal attorney fee provision of Civil Code section 1717 where the parties advanced competing claims on the priority of two deeds of trust. (Clar, supra, at pp. 1038-1039.) The prevailing defendants in Clar claimed a right to recover attorney fees because, had they lost, the plaintiffs’ attorney fees would have been added to the secured debt under the terms of the deed of trust, which the defendants would have had to pay “to prevent foreclosure and protect their equity in the property.” (Id. at p. 1037.) The court held that the defendants’ potential obligation to pay fees was too speculative. (Id. at pp. 1037-1038.)

(10) Likewise, Financial Freedom’s claim for attorney fees stretches Civil Code section 1717 too far. The statute is meant to prevent “oppressive use of one-sided attorney’s fees provisions” (Reynolds Metals Co. v. Alperson, supra, 25 Cal.3d at p. 128), not to abolish the general rule that each party pay its own attorney fees. It is one thing to grant nonsignatories the right to attorney fees where they are sued as if they were contracting parties liable for fees or otherwise held to the terms of the contract, and quite another to grant nonsignatories the right to attorney fees where no legal liability for fees was ever asserted and only an attenuated economic impact is threatened. The “practical liability” approach advocated by Financial Freedom is fraught with [309] peril. As one commentator has noted, “[i]n practical liability . . . cases, courts must make very fact specific analyses about the prevailing party’s potential liability had [he or] she lost. Nearly identical factual circumstances could yield entirely different results. The danger with analyzing the prevailing party’s practical liability is subjectivity and lack of guidelines for the courts to follow.” (Miller, Attorneys’ Fees for Contractual Non-Signatories Under California Civil Code Section 1717: A Remedy in Search of a Rationale (1995) 32 San Diego L.Rev. 535, 578-579, fn. omitted.) We decline Financial Freedom’s invitation to embark on this course.

D. The Association was entitled to attorney fees against the homeowners

As noted earlier, claims against the remaining defendants were tried after defendant Financial Freedom obtained summary judgment. Following that trial, the court awarded the Association, as the prevailing party, attorney fees against defendant homeowners Williams and Crosby under the CC&R’s and a statute authorizing fee recovery in a condominium association’s action to collect delinquent assessments. (Civ. Code, §§ 1717, 1366, subd. (e)(1).) Financial Freedom does not deny the validity of these fee provisions but argues that fees should have been denied in this instance because “as a practical matter” Financial Freedom as a junior lienor on one-half of the foreclosed property, not the homeowners, will bear the economic impact of the fee award. We again note our reluctance to embrace the practical liability approach to Civil Code section 1717 but have no occasion to discuss it further here. We are reversing the judgment to the extent that it voided Financial Freedom’s senior lienor status on the property, and thus no adverse economic impact attends the court’s order awarding fees to the Association against the homeowners. Financial Freedom’s objection to the fee award is therefore moot.

III. DISPOSITION

The June 3, 2009 judgment in favor of Financial Freedom is affirmed. The August 17, 2009 judgment in favor of the Association is reversed to the extent that it voided, in whole or part, Financial Freedom’s deed of trust on the property. The case is remanded with directions to amend the judgment consistent with the views expressed in this opinion, and to permit Financial Freedom an opportunity to address the court concerning amendment at any hearing conducted on the matter.

The September 24, 2009 order denying Financial Freedom attorney fees against the Association is affirmed. The February 8, 2010 order granting the Association attorney fees against Williams and Crosby is affirmed.

[310] The parties shall bear their own costs and attorney fees incurred on these appeals.

Ruvolo, P. J., and Rivera, J., concurred.


 

[1] Monetary amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar in this opinion.

[2] The title report did list an abstract of judgment in favor of Hassen & Associates in the amount of $6,438 that was recorded in 1996. On appeal, it is undisputed that Hassen & Associates has a judgment lien superior to the secured interest of the Association and Financial Freedom.

[3] To ensure financeability of condominiums, most CC&R’s “provide that the association’s lien is subordinate to the lien of any first deed of trust” regardless of when recorded, and Financial Freedom argued as an alternative basis for summary judgment that the CC&R’s here are no exception. (Common Interest Communities, supra, § 5.46 p. 339, italics added; see generally 9 Miller & Starr, Cal. Real Estate (3d ed. 2001) §§ 25B:92, 25C:57, pp. 25B-181 to 25B-185, 25C-182 to 25C-183 (rel. 10/2007) [hereafter, Cal. Real Estate].) We resolve the summary judgment on the ground adopted by the trial court and thus do not reach that issue.

[4] As yet another alternative basis for summary judgment, Financial Freedom argued that the Association’s 2007 action to foreclose on the 2000 and 2001 liens was time-barred. (See Cause of Action to Enforce Condominium Assessment (1989) 20 Causes of Action 827, § 9, accessible on Westlaw, database updated Sept. 2010 [assessment liens subject to statute of limitations].) We need not reach that issue.

Notice of Default (NOD)

The nonjudicial foreclosure of an assessment lien must be conducted in accordance with the procedural requirements contained in Civil Code Sections 2924, 2924b, and 2924c applicable to the exercise of powers of sale in mortgages and deeds of trust. (Civ. Code § 5710(a).) One of those procedural requirements involves the recording of a Notice of Default in the office of the county recorder where the property encumbered by the assessment lien is situated (the “Subject Property”). (Civ. Code § 2924(a)(1).)

Contents of Notice of Default
The required contents of the Notice of Default generally include information identifying the address of the Subject Property, a statement that the owner of the Subject Property has breached his/her obligation to pay assessments to the association, and a statement of the association’s information and its election to sell the property via the nonjudicial foreclosure action. (Civ. Code § 2924(a)(1).) The Notice of Default must also begin with the statement required under Civil Code Section 2924c(b) which, in sum, informs the owner of the following facts:

  • The potential for the Subject Property to be sold without court action;
  • The owner’s right to halt the nonjudicial foreclosure action by paying the amounts owed; and
  • The potential for the owner to lose legal rights if he/she does not take prompt action. (See Civ. Code § 2924c(b).)

Service of Notice of Default
The association must serve the Notice of Default on the owner in accordance with the manner of service of summons in Article 3 (commencing with Section 415.10) of Chapter 4 of Title 5 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. (Civ. Code § 5710(b).) This essentially mirrors the service requirements applicable to the filing of lawsuits. Additionally, within certain timeframes, a copy of the Notice of Default must be mailed to specified persons having a legal interest in the Subject Property or otherwise having a right to be provided with a copy of the Notice of Default. (Civ. Code §2924b(b)-(c).)

Board Decision to Initiate Foreclosure
Prior to recording the Notice of Default, the owner must be provided with notice of the board’s decision to initiate nonjudicial foreclosure. (Civ. Code § 5705(d); See also “Decision to Initiate Foreclosure.”)

Right of Redemption

Where an association enforces an assessment lien through foreclosure and sale of an owner’s property (whether through nonjudicial or judicial foreclosure), the purchaser of the property at the foreclosure sale (whether the purchaser is the association or a third-party) takes ownership of the property subject to the foreclosed owner’s “right of redemption.” The right of redemption allows for the foreclosed owner to “redeem” (reinstate his/her ownership of) the foreclosed property by paying a certain amount to the foreclosure trustee within the applicable redemption period.

Redemption Period
The redemption period varies depending upon whether the property is sold through nonjudicial foreclosure or through judicial foreclosure:

  • Nonjudicial Foreclosure: 90 Days – When an association enforces an assessment lien through nonjudicial foreclosure (aka “trustee sale”), the applicable redemption period is ninety (90) days. (Civ. Code § 5715(b); Code Civ. Pro § 729.035.)
  • Judicial Foreclosure: 3 Months or 1 Year – When an association enforces an assessment lien through judicial foreclosure, the applicable redemption period is three (3) months if the proceeds of the sale are sufficient to satisfy the association’s judgment amount, including the costs incurred in conducting the foreclosure sale.  (Code Civ. Pro § 729.030(a).) If the proceeds of the sale are insufficient to cover that amount, the redemption period is one (1) year. (Code Civ. Pro. § 729.030(b).)

Redemption Price
The price which must be paid by a foreclosed owner in order to exercise his/her right of redemption (the “redemption price”) is governed by Code of Civil Procedure Section 729.060. It generally includes the purchase price at the sale (where there are no third-party purchasers, and the property thus transfers to the association, the purchase price is typically the amount of the assessment lien plus the additional fees and costs incurred by the association in conducting the foreclosure sale).

Maintenance & Repairs During Redemption Period – In the event that the purchaser incurs expenses for maintenance and repair work on the property which were reasonably necessary for the preservation of the property, those maintenance and repair expenses may be incorporated into the redemption price. (Code Civ. Pro § 729.060(b); Barry v. OC Residential Properties (2011) 194 Cal.App.4th 861.)

Rents & Profits – During the redemption period and prior to the time when the property is redeemed, the purchaser at the foreclosure sale is entitled to receive from the person in possession of the property during the redemption period “the rents and profits from the property or the value of the use and occupation of the property.” (Code Civ. Pro. § 729.090.) Any such sums received by the purchaser must be offset against the other sums used in calculating the total redemption price. (Code Civ. Pro. § 729.060(c).)

Notice of Redemption Rights
When an assessment lien is enforced through nonjudicial foreclosure, the Notice of Sale that is recorded prior to conducting the foreclosure sale must include a statement that the owner’s property is being sold subject to the right of redemption. (Civ. Code § 5715.) Additionally, “promptly after the sale the levying officer or trustee who conducted the sale” must serve or mail a notice to the foreclosed owner of his/her right of redemption, including the applicable redemption period. (Code Civ. Pro. § 729.050.) This post-sale notice serves two (2) primary purposes:

“First, it ensures that the debtor is aware that the property may still be redeemed. Second, it informs the debtor the date on which his or her redemption rights expire. Presumably, a debtor who has not received such notice has been harmed or prejudiced by the fact that they were not informed of those rights.” (Multani v. Witkin & Neal (2013) 215 Cal.App.4th 1428, 1451.)

Where the post-sale notice is not provided, it may provide grounds for the foreclosed owner to set aside the foreclosure sale. (Multani.)

Possession During Redemption Period
The purchaser at the foreclosure sale does not technically own the property until the expiration of the redemption period.  The purchaser therefore does not have a legal right to possess the property during the redemption period (i.e., to evict the owner or a tenant from the property). However, the purchaser “is entitled to enter the property during reasonable hours to repair and maintain the premises and is entitled to an order restraining waste on the property. Such order may be granted with our without notice in the discretion of the court.” (Code Civ. Pro. § 729.090(c); Barry, at 868.)

Code of Civil Procedure Section 729.090. Rents & Profits During Redemption Period.

(a) From the time of the sale until a redemption, the purchaser is entitled to receive from the person in possession the rents and profits from the property or the value of the use and occupation of the property.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the purchaser is liable to the person who redeems for any rents or profits that have been received by the purchaser pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) The purchaser, from the time of sale until redemption, is entitled to enter the property during reasonable hours to repair and maintain the premises and is entitled to an order restraining waste on the property from the court. Such order may be granted with or without notice in the discretion of the court.

Barry v. OC Residential Properties

(2011) 194 Cal.App.4th 861

[Foreclosure; Redemption Price] When a property is sold through nonjudicial foreclosure of an assessment lien, the redemption price may include maintenance and repair expenses incurred by the purchaser during the redemption period that were reasonable necessary for the preservation of the property.

Law Offices of David A. Elwell and David A. Elwell for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Law Offices of Steven D. Silverstein and Steven D. Silverstein for Defendant and Respondent.

OPINION
RYLAARSDAM, Acting P. J.-

Plaintiff Shelby E. Barry filed a petition in the superior court to determine the redemption price for her unit in a common interest development that defendant OC Residential Properties, LLC had acquired at a nonjudicial foreclosure sale. (Civ. Code, § 1367.1, subd. (g); Code Civ. Proc., § 729.070, subd. (a).) The trial court ruled the amount due was $18,148.71, a sum that included over $17,900 in expenses defendant paid for maintenance and repair work on the unit after the foreclosure sale, an electric bill, and interest on the foreclosure sale purchase price. Plaintiff challenges the inclusion of these sums in the redemption price and the constitutionality of the procedure for determining the amount she needed to pay to redeem the property. Finding no error, we shall affirm the order.

FACTS

In 1977, plaintiff acquired a unit in a common interest development. Over the years, she leased the unit to others.[865]

Plaintiff failed to pay the monthly association fee. In June 2008, Associated Lien Services, the trustee under an October 2006 lien recorded by the homeowners association, issued a notice of trustee’s sale. According to the notice, “the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the property,” plus costs, exceeded $10,000. Initially, the sale was scheduled for July 2008 but it was continued until June 17, 2009.

On the latter date, defendant purchased the unit at the foreclosure sale for $66,092.60. The sale was subject to plaintiff’s right of redemption.

At the time of the foreclosure sale the unit was vacant. In a declaration supporting her petition, plaintiff claimed her “last tenant made substantial improvements” and the property was “in a condition such that I could re-rent it” with only some “minimal cleaning . . . .”

After purchasing the unit at the foreclosure sale, defendant paid a locksmith $336.11 to change the locks. One of its employees claimed, “Upon entering the . . . property on 6/17/09, . . . [defendant] discovered the property in need of repair and rehabilitation.”

Between June 22 and July 2 defendant: (1) paid a pest control company $800 to repair termite damage to the unit; (2) hired a contractor to make repairs, paying $16,800 for the work; and (3) paid an electricity bill for $17.15.

In her declaration, plaintiff claimed that, on July 3, she had a locksmith replace the locks. She also asserted “[a]n inspection of [the] property was made at that time which disclosed . . . the work undertaken by [defendant] was not complete,” and the unit “could not be rented in the condition it was in.”

The trustee sent plaintiff a letter enclosing a schedule showing the balance due to redeem the unit was $29,548.71 after deducting nearly $57,900 then held in trust. The schedule included the sums mentioned above, plus two months homeowners’ association assessments, taxes, collection costs, and $770 for two months’ interest on defendant’s purchase price. Plaintiff objected to including the repair expenses, utility payment, and interest in the redemption price. She deposited $11,500 with the trustee and filed the current petition for a judicial determination of the amount owed.

After a hearing, the court issued an order declaring “the additional amount required to redeem the property total[ed] $18,148.71,” constituting the difference between plaintiff’s deposit and the balance claimed by the trustee. In part, the court found plaintiff “failed to meet her burden of proof to show that[866]the work performed was not for the reasonable maintenance, upkeep, and repair of improvements on the property.” Although not supported by the appellate record, plaintiff’s opening brief asserts she timely paid the additional sum due and redeemed the unit.

DISCUSSION

1. Introduction

Generally, there is no right of redemption in nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings. (Alliance Mortgage Co. v. Rothwell (1995) 10 Cal.4th 1226, 1236.) But this case involves the foreclosure of a unit in a common interest development that resulted from plaintiff’s failure to pay the homeowner association’s monthly assessment for maintenance and preservation of the development’s common areas. (Civ. Code, §§ 1367, subd. (a); 1367.1, subd. (g) [association may enforce lien for delinquent assessments through “sale by . . . trustee”].) Code of Civil Procedure section 729.035 declares, “Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the sale of a separate interest in a common interest development is subject to the right of redemption . . . if the sale arises from a foreclosure by the association of a common interest development pursuant to subdivision (g) of [s]ection 1367.1 of the Civil Code . . . .” (See also Civ. Code, § 1367.4, subd. (c)(4) [“A nonjudicial foreclosure by an association to collect upon a debt for delinquent assessments shall be subject to a right of redemption”].)

Code of Civil Procedure section 729.060, subdivision (a) requires “[a] person who seeks to redeem the property [to] deposit the redemption price with the levying officer who conducted the sale before the expiration of the redemption period.” Subdivision (b) of this statute defines the redemption price as “the total of the following amounts . . . . [¶] (1) The purchase price at the sale. [¶] (2) The amount of any assessments or taxes and reasonable amounts for fire insurance, maintenance, upkeep, and repair of improvements on the property. [¶] (3) Any amount paid by the purchaser on a prior obligation secured by the property to the extent that the payment was necessary for the protection of the purchaser’s interest. [¶] (4) Interest on the amounts described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) . . . .” In addition, subdivision (c) of Code of Civil Procedure section 729.060 authorizes an offset to the redeeming party for “[r]ents and profits from the property paid to the purchaser or the value of the use and occupation of the property to the purchaser . . . .”

[1] After the trustee notified plaintiff of the amount required to redeem the property, she challenged it by filing a petition under Code of Civil Procedure section 729.070. This statute creates a procedure allowing one[867]“seeking to redeem the property [who] disagree[s with] the redemption price” to petition “the court for an order determining the redemption price . . . .” (Code Civ. Proc., § 729.070, subd. (a).) The statute requires a hearing on the petition at which “the person seeking to redeem the property has the burden of proof.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 729.070, subds. (c), (e).) “At the conclusion of the hearing, the court shall determine by order the amount required to redeem the property” based “upon affidavit or evidence satisfactory to the court” and, “[i]f an amount in addition to that deposited with the levying officer is required to redeem the property, the person seeking to redeem shall” have “10 days after the issuance of the order[ to] pay the additional amount . . . .” (Code Civ. Proc., § 729.070, subds. (f), (g).)

The trial court ruled against plaintiff, finding she had not met her burden of proof to show the redemption price demanded by the trustee exceeded the legally permitted amount or that she entitled to an offset.

2. Due Process

Plaintiff attacks the constitutionality of the redemption procedure created by Code of Civil Procedure section 729.070. She claims defendant’s “conduct [in entering the unit] prevented [her] from describing the [property’s] condition” and therefore the statute “does not afford a meaningful hearing for [a] . . . homeowner to meet her[] burden of proof.”

[2] Both the United States Constitution and the California Constitution guarantee no one may be deprived of his or her property “‘without due process of law.'” (Morongo Band of Mission Indians v. State Water Resources Control Bd. (2009) 45 Cal.4th 731, 736.) In civil proceedings, this guarantee includes the right to have a matter decided by a tribunal having jurisdiction of the action that is free of bias and conducts a full hearing on the matter after the parties have been given notice of the proceeding and an opportunity to appear and participate in it. (7 Witkin, Summary of Cal. Law (10th ed. 2005) Constitutional Law, §§ 640-642, pp. 1041-1044; 2 Witkin, Cal. Proc. (5th ed. 2008) Jurisdiction, §§ 302-304, 307-308, pp. 914-916, 918-921.) “When the Constitution requires a hearing, it requires a fair one, one before a tribunal which meets established standards of procedure. . . . Procedure is the fair, orderly, and deliberate method by which matters are litigated. To judge in a contested proceeding implies the hearing of evidence from both sides in open court, a comparison of the merits of the evidence of each side, a conclusion from the evidence of where the truth lies, application of the appropriate laws to the facts found, and the rendition of a judgment accordingly.” (Estate of Buchman (1954) 123 Cal.App.2d 546, 560.)[868]

[3] Plaintiff’s argument is meritless. She does not claim the trustee failed to give her notice of her default or the impending nonjudicial foreclosure sale resulting from her failure to pay monthly homeowner assessments. After the foreclosure sale, she admittedly received an itemized notice of the amount needed to redeem the property. The procedure created by Code of Civil Procedure section 729.070 afforded her a means to challenge the amount demanded by the trustee with a noticed hearing before an unbiased judicial tribunal where she was allowed to present evidence and argument on the issue.

Plaintiff claims this procedure fails to “safeguard[] . . . the right to discovery” and she was not given a chance to document the condition of the premises before defendant entered and began making modifications to the unit. But she also acknowledged her last tenant vacated the premises before the foreclosure sale, thereby giving her possession of the premises to inspect and document the unit’s habitable condition. There is no explanation of why plaintiff could not have obtained a declaration from the former tenant or photographically documented the condition of the premises when the last tenancy ended.

[4] Nor did defendant engage in wrongdoing when it entered the unit. By statute, it had the right “from the time of sale until redemption . . . to enter the property during reasonable hours to repair and maintain the premises . . . .” (Code Civ. Proc., § 729.090, subd. (c).) Thus, we reject plaintiff’s denial of due process claim.

3. Defendant’s Right to Enter and Repair the Unit

Next, plaintiff repeats her argument defendant acted as a trespasser, claiming it failed to contact her before having a locksmith change the locks and then engage a contractor to perform work that prepared the property for sale.

Plaintiff acknowledges Code of Civil Procedure section 729.090, subdivision (c) authorizes the purchaser at a foreclosure sale to enter the property “to repair and maintain the premises . . . .” While this statute limits entry to “reasonable hours” (ibid.), nothing in the statute required defendant to notify plaintiff or seek her cooperation. In addition, when the foreclosure sale occurred the unit was admittedly vacant and plaintiff had not shown any interest in recovering the property.

After entry, defendant began rehabilitating the unit with the intention of reselling it. Contrary to plaintiff’s claim, this effort did not alter the unit’s intended use. For that reason, plaintiff’s reliance on Dwyer v. Carroll (1890)[869]86 Cal. 298 is unpersuasive. There a landlord reentered the leased premises, a building used as a hotel, purportedly to make needed repairs to the first floor. Instead, the landlord raised the building’s foundation several feet and added a cellar and a new floor, thereby requiring the plaintiff and his lodgers to vacate the premises. Here, the unit was vacant when defendant entered and the work performed by it was to make the unit habitable. Thus, whether occupied by a third-party purchaser or a tenant, in either case the unit would be employed for the same purpose, habitation.

4. The Sums Charged for the Unit’s Maintenance, Upkeep, and Repair

Next, plaintiff presents a series of arguments attacking the amount awarded to defendant for the work performed on the unit before she retook possession of it.

[5] One claim is that the trial court erred by not imposing the burden of proof to establish the reasonableness of the repair costs on defendant. Plaintiff cites several policy reasons why defendant should carry the proof burden. But, as she acknowledges, under Evidence Code section 500, “[e]xcept as otherwise provided by law, a party has the burden of proof as to each fact the existence or nonexistence of which is essential to the claim for relief or defense that he [or she] is asserting.” Here, Code of Civil Procedure section 729.070, subdivision (e) expressly provides “[a]t the hearing on the petition, the person seeking to redeem the property has the burden of proof.” Thus, by statute the Legislature has declared the party challenging a trustee’s stated redemption price carries the burden to establish the validity of its objections to the disputed amounts.

Plaintiff’s second claim concerns the license status of Axcell Construction, the contractor defendant hired to repair and rehabilitate the unit. In support of her petition, plaintiff submitted evidence Axcell’s license was suspended at the time it worked on the unit. She argues defendant “cannot pass on [to her] an unlawful obligation for payments made to the unlicensed contractor . . . .” We disagree with this interpretation of the applicable law.

[6] Business and Professions Code section 7031, subdivision (a) declares “no person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of a contractor, may bring or maintain any action . . . for the collection of compensation for the performance of any act or contract where a license is required by this chapter without alleging that he or she was a duly licensed contractor at all times during the performance of that act or contract, regardless of the merits of the cause of action brought by the person . . . .” While “[g]enerally a contract made in violation of a regulatory statute is void” and “courts will not ‘”lend their aid to the enforcement of an illegal agreement or one against[870]public policy”‘” (Asdourian v. Araj (1985) 38 Cal.3d 276, 291), “‘the rule is not an inflexible one to be applied in its fullest rigor under any and all circumstances. A wide range of exceptions has been recognized.’ [Citation]” (ibid.).

[7] “It is not the law that every transaction connected with an illegal transaction is itself illegal. Each case must turn on its own facts. The purpose of the statute which has been violated must be considered. In that connection, the court should consider whether a holding that the collateral transaction is illegal will tend to assist or defeat the main purpose of the statute. . . . [¶] This principle is stated . . . as follows: ‘If refusal to enforce or to rescind an illegal bargain would produce a harmful effect on parties for whose protection the law making the bargain illegal exists, enforcement or rescission, whichever is appropriate, is allowed.'” (Robertson v. Hyde (1943) 58 Cal.App.2d 667, 672.)

[8] Cases have recognized “causes of action that do not seek ‘the collection of compensation for the performance of any act or contract for which a license is required’ are beyond the scope of Business and Professions Code section 7031.” (Holland v. Morse Diesel Internat., Inc. (2001) 86 Cal.App.4th 1443, 1451.) This case does not involve a collection action by Axcell for the cost of its work. Rather, defendant sought reimbursement from plaintiff for expenses it incurred to maintain and make repairs to the unit, including the amount it paid to Axcell. Thus, the sum claimed is in the nature of indemnification for one who paid by another who in justice should pay. (See Ranchwood Communities Limted Partnership v. Jim Beat Construction (1996) 49 Cal.App.4th 1397, 1421 [“total ban on . . . liability for equitable indemnity, arising from a too-strict interpretation of the licensing law, would be a windfall and would not be within the protective purpose of the licensing statute”].)

Finally, plaintiff claims defendant is barred from recovering the repair and maintenance expenses because it “was creating a new thing, i.e., rehabilitating a rental unit for sale.” This argument essentially amounts to an attack on the sufficiency of the evidence to support the trial court’s decision. “‘It is well established that a reviewing court starts with the presumption that the record contains evidence to sustain every finding of fact.’ [Citations.]” (Foreman & Clark Corp. v. Fallon (1971) 3 Cal.3d 875, 881.) Consequently, “‘[w]hen a finding of fact is attacked on the ground that there is not any substantial evidence to sustain it, the power of an appellate courtbeginsandendswith the determination as to whether there is any substantial evidence contradicted or uncontradicted which will support the finding of fact.’ [Citations.]” (Ibid.) The same rule applies “whether the[871]trial court’s ruling is based on oral testimony or declarations. [Citation.]” (Shamblin v. Brattain (1988) 44 Cal.3d 474, 479, fn. omitted.)

[9] As a general rule “the mortgagee may make such repairs as are reasonably necessary for the preservation of the property, but not permanent improvements, or things which conduced merely to his comfort or convenience. [Citations.]” (Raynor v. Drew (1887) 72 Cal. 307, 312.) “‘The ordinary rule in respect to improvements is that the mortgagee will not be allowed for them further than is proper to keep the premises in necessary repair. Unreasonable improvements may be of benefit to the estate; but, unless made with the consent and approbation of the mortgagor, no allowance can be made for them. The mortgagee has no right to impose them upon the owner, and thereby increase the burden of redeeming.’ [Citation.]” (Malone v. Roy (1895) 107 Cal. 518, 523.)

Defendant’s opposition to the petition included the declaration of Toby Strassenberg, one of its project managers. It stated he “personally evaluated the extent of damage” to the unit, concluding it was “in need of repair and rehabilitation.” In part, the repair work resulted from the discovery of substantial termite damage. He also claimed, the “repairs made were necessary to prevent further damage to the property . . . .”

Referring to her claim repairs “necessary to ‘maintain’ the property as a rental unit” are distinguishable from repairs rehabilitating the unit for the purpose of a resale, plaintiff claims “no conflict appeared in the evidence before the trial court.” While it may be true defendant made the repairs with the intent of reselling the unit, as discussed above, the distinction between one living in the unit as an owner and one living in it as a tenant, insofar as the right of redemption is concerned, amounts to a distinction without a difference.

Thus, plaintiff has failed to establish the trial court erred by awarding defendant the entire amount expended in the effort to repair and maintain the unit after acquiring it at the foreclosure sale.

5. Denial of Plaintiff’s Request for an Offset

Finally, noting the repair work begun by defendant “was not complete at the date of the hearing” on her petition and claiming “the amount to complete the work” would exceed the $770 in interest awarded to defendant as part of the redemption price, plaintiff argues awarding this amount to defendant would be inequitable.[872]

[10] Code of Civil Procedure section 729.060, subdivision (b)(1) and (4) expressly provides “[i]nterest on” “[t]he purchase price at the sale” constitutes an element of the redemption price. The statute allows an offset to one seeking to redeem the property only for “[r]ents and profits from the property paid to the purchaser or the value of the use and occupation of the property to the purchaser . . . .” (Code Civ. Proc., § 729.060, subd. (c).) As discussed above, defendant presented evidence supporting a finding substantial repairs were needed to make the inhabitable. Consequently, the unit was not available for occupation while it was being rehabilitated. In addition, defendant’s failure to complete the repair work resulted from plaintiff’s repossession of the unit while the work was in progress. Therefore, we reject plaintiff’s offset claim as well.

DISPOSITION

The order is affirmed. Respondent shall recover its costs on appeal.

O’Leary, J., and Moore, J., concurred.


FN *. Pursuant to Cal. Const., art. VI, § 21.

Code of Civil Procedure Section 729.060. Redemption Price.

(a) A person who seeks to redeem the property shall deposit the redemption price with the levying officer who conducted the sale before the expiration of the redemption period. If a successor in interest to the judgment debtor seeks to redeem the property, the successor in interest shall, at the time the redemption price is deposited, file with the levying officer either (1) a certified copy of a recorded conveyance or (2) a copy of an assignment or any other evidence of the interest verified by an affidavit of the successor in interest or of a subscribing witness thereto.

(b) The redemption price is the total of the following amounts, less any offset allowed under subdivision (c).

(1) The purchase price at the sale.

(2) The amount of any assessments or taxes and reasonable amounts for fire insurance, maintenance, upkeep, and repair of improvements on the property.

(3) Any amount paid by the purchaser on a prior obligation secured by the property to the extent that the payment was necessary for the protection of the purchaser’s interest.

(4) Interest on the amounts described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) at the rate of interest on money judgments from the time such amount was paid until the date the deposit is made.

(5) If the purchaser at the sale has any liens subordinate to the lien under which the property was sold, the amount of the purchaser’s lien, plus interest at the rate of interest on money judgments from the date of the sale until the date the deposit is made.

(c) Rents and profits from the property paid to the purchaser or the value of the use and occupation of the property to the purchaser may be offset against the amounts described in subdivision (b).

Code of Civil Procedure Section 729.030. Right of Redemption – Judicial Foreclosure.

The redemption period during which property may be redeemed from a foreclosure sale under this chapter ends:

(a) Three months after the date of sale if the proceeds of the sale are sufficient to satisfy the secured indebtedness with interest and costs of action and of sale.

(b) One year after the date of sale if the proceeds of the sale are not sufficient to satisfy the secured indebtedness with interest and costs of action and of sale.

Civil Code Section 2924f. Notice of Trustee Sale.

(a) As used in this section and Sections 2924g and 2924h, “property” means real property or a leasehold estate therein, and “calendar week” means Monday through Saturday, inclusive.

(b)

(1) Except as provided in subdivision (c), before any sale of property can be made under the power of sale contained in any deed of trust or mortgage, or any resale resulting from a rescission for a failure of consideration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 2924h, notice of the sale thereof shall be given by posting a written notice of the time of sale and of the street address and the specific place at the street address where the sale will be held, and describing the property to be sold, at least 20 days before the date of sale in one public place in the city where the property is to be sold, if the property is to be sold in a city, or, if not, then in one public place in the judicial district in which the property is to be sold, and publishing a copy once a week for three consecutive calendar weeks.

(2) The first publication to be at least 20 days before the date of sale, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the city in which the property or some part thereof is situated, if any part thereof is situated in a city, if not, then in a newspaper of general circulation published in the judicial district in which the property or some part thereof is situated, or in case no newspaper of general circulation is published in the city or judicial district, as the case may be, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county in which the property or some part thereof is situated, or in case no newspaper of general circulation is published in the city or judicial district or county, as the case may be, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county in this state that is contiguous to the county in which the property or some part thereof is situated and has, by comparison with all similarly contiguous counties, the highest population based upon total county population as determined by the most recent federal decennial census published by the Bureau of the Census.

(3) A copy of the notice of sale shall also be posted in a conspicuous place on the property to be sold at least 20 days before the date of sale, where possible and where not restricted for any reason. If the property is a single-family residence the posting shall be on a door of the residence, but, if not possible or restricted, then the notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the property; however, if access is denied because a common entrance to the property is restricted by a guard gate or similar impediment, the property may be posted at that guard gate or similar impediment to any development community.

(4) The notice of sale shall conform to the minimum requirements of Section 6043 of the Government Code and be recorded with the county recorder of the county in which the property or some part thereof is situated at least 20 days prior to the date of sale.

(5) The notice of sale shall contain the name, street address in this state, which may reflect an agent of the trustee, and either a toll-free telephone number or telephone number in this state of the trustee, and the name of the original trustor, and also shall contain the statement required by paragraph (3) of subdivision (c). In addition to any other description of the property, the notice shall describe the property by giving its street address, if any, or other common designation, if any, and a county assessor’s parcel number; but if the property has no street address or other common designation, the notice shall contain a legal description of the property, the name and address of the beneficiary at whose request the sale is to be conducted, and a statement that directions may be obtained pursuant to a written request submitted to the beneficiary within 10 days from the first publication of the notice. Directions shall be deemed reasonably sufficient to locate the property if information as to the location of the property is given by reference to the direction and approximate distance from the nearest crossroads, frontage road, or access road. If a legal description or a county assessor’s parcel number and either a street address or another common designation of the property is given, the validity of the notice and the validity of the sale shall not be affected by the fact that the street address, other common designation, name and address of the beneficiary, or the directions obtained therefrom are erroneous or that the street address, other common designation, name and address of the beneficiary, or directions obtained therefrom are omitted.

(6) The term “newspaper of general circulation,” as used in this section, has the same meaning as defined in Article 1 (commencing with Section 6000) of Chapter 1 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.

(7) The notice of sale shall contain a statement of the total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the property to be sold and reasonably estimated costs, expenses, advances at the time of the initial publication of the notice of sale, and, if republished pursuant to a cancellation of a cash equivalent pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2924h, a reference of that fact; provided, that the trustee shall incur no liability for any good faith error in stating the proper amount, including any amount provided in good faith by or on behalf of the beneficiary. An inaccurate statement of this amount shall not affect the validity of any sale to a bona fide purchaser for value, nor shall the failure to post the notice of sale on a door as provided by this subdivision affect the validity of any sale to a bona fide purchaser for value.

(8)

(A) On and after April 1, 2012, if the deed of trust or mortgage containing a power of sale is secured by real property containing from one to four single-family residences, the notice of sale shall contain substantially the following language, in addition to the language required pursuant to paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive:

NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder’s office or a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same lender may hold more than one mortgage or deed of trust on the property.

NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown on this notice of sale may be postponed one or more times by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that information about trustee sale postponements be made available to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call [telephone number for information regarding the trustee’s sale] or visit this Internet Web site [Internet Web site address for information regarding the sale of this property], using the file number assigned to this case [case file number]. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Web site. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale.

(B) A mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or authorized agent shall make a good faith effort to provide up-to-date information regarding sale dates and postponements to persons who wish this information. This information shall be made available free of charge. It may be made available via an Internet Web site, a telephone recording that is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or through any other means that allows 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no-cost access to updated information. A disruption of any of these methods of providing sale date and postponement information to allow for reasonable maintenance or due to a service outage shall not be deemed to be a violation of the good faith standard.

(C) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), nothing in the wording of the notices required by subparagraph (A) is intended to modify or create any substantive rights or obligations for any person providing, or specified in, either of the required notices. Failure to comply with subparagraph (A) or (B) shall not invalidate any sale that would otherwise be valid under Section 2924f.

(D) Information provided pursuant to subparagraph (A) does not constitute the public declaration required by subdivision (d) of Section 2924g.

(9) If the sale of the property is to be a unified sale as provided in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 9604 of the Commercial Code, the notice of sale shall also contain a description of the personal property or fixtures to be sold. In the case where it is contemplated that all of the personal property or fixtures are to be sold, the description in the notice of the personal property or fixtures shall be sufficient if it is the same as the description of the personal property or fixtures contained in the agreement creating the security interest in or encumbrance on the personal property or fixtures or the filed financing statement relating to the personal property or fixtures. In all other cases, the description in the notice shall be sufficient if it would be a sufficient description of the personal property or fixtures under Section 9108 of the Commercial Code. Inclusion of a reference to or a description of personal property or fixtures in a notice of sale hereunder shall not constitute an election by the secured party to conduct a unified sale pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 9604 of the Commercial Code, shall not obligate the secured party to conduct a unified sale pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 9604 of the Commercial Code, and in no way shall render defective or noncomplying either that notice or a sale pursuant to that notice by reason of the fact that the sale includes none or less than all of the personal property or fixtures referred to or described in the notice. This paragraph shall not otherwise affect the obligations or duties of a secured party under the Commercial Code.

(c)

(1) This subdivision applies only to deeds of trust or mortgages which contain a power of sale and which are secured by real property containing a single-family, owner-occupied residence, where the obligation secured by the deed of trust or mortgage is contained in a contract for goods or services subject to the provisions of the Unruh Act (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1801) of Title 2 of Part 4 of Division 3).

(2) Except as otherwise expressly set forth in this subdivision, all other provisions of law relating to the exercise of a power of sale shall govern the exercise of a power of sale contained in a deed of trust or mortgage described in paragraph (1).

(3) If any default of the obligation secured by a deed of trust or mortgage described in paragraph (1) has not been cured within 30 days after the recordation of the notice of default, the trustee or mortgagee shall mail to the trustor or mortgagor, at his or her last known address, a copy of the following statement:

YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A

_______________________________________________,

(Deed of trust or mortgage)

DATED ____. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT

YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE.

IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE

PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A

LAWYER.

(4) All sales of real property pursuant to a power of sale contained in any deed of trust or mortgage described in paragraph (1) shall be held in the county where the residence is located and shall be made to the person making the highest offer. The trustee may receive offers during the 10-day period immediately prior to the date of sale and if any offer is accepted in writing by both the trustor or mortgagor and the beneficiary or mortgagee prior to the time set for sale, the sale shall be postponed to a date certain and prior to which the property may be conveyed by the trustor to the person making the offer according to its terms. The offer is revocable until accepted. The performance of the offer, following acceptance, according to its terms, by a conveyance of the property to the offeror, shall operate to terminate any further proceeding under the notice of sale and it shall be deemed revoked.

(5) In addition to the trustee fee pursuant to Section 2924c, the trustee or mortgagee pursuant to a deed of trust or mortgage subject to this subdivision shall be entitled to charge an additional fee of fifty dollars ($50).

(6) This subdivision applies only to property on which notices of default were filed on or after the effective date of this subdivision.

(d) With respect to residential real property containing no more than four dwelling units, a separate document containing a summary of the notice of sale information in English and the languages described in Section 1632 shall be attached to the notice of sale provided to the mortgagor or trustor pursuant to Section 2923.3.

Multani v. Witkin & Neal

(2013) 215 Cal.App.4th 1428

[Assessment Collection; Redemption Rights] A nonjudicial foreclosure sale may be set aside where a HOA fails to notify the foreclosed owner of his/her redemption rights after the foreclosure sale.

Law office of Gary Kurtz and Gary Kurtz for Plaintiffs and Appellants.
Richardson Harman Ober, Kelly G. Richardson and Brian D. Moreno for Defendants and Respondents.

OPINION

ZELON, J.

INTRODUCTION

The Castle Green Homeowners Association notified Afshan and Rahim Multani that they were delinquent in paying their monthly assessment fees. After the Multanis disputed the debt, the association conducted a nonjudicial foreclosure sale of their condominium unit. The Multanis sued to set aside the foreclosure alleging irregularities in the sale notices and procedure. They further alleged that the association and its agents had committed tortious acts during the foreclosure process.

Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment or adjudication arguing that the court should dismiss the foreclosure claims because plaintiffs had actual knowledge of the foreclosure proceedings and failed to exercise their postsale right of redemption. Defendants also argued that plaintiffs’ tort claims were untimely and predicated on privileged conduct related to the foreclosure process. The court granted the motion.

We reverse the trial court’s dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims seeking to set aside the foreclosure sale, concluding that defendants failed to demonstrate that they notified the plaintiffs of their right of redemption as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 729.050.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Summary of Plaintiffs’ Complaint

1. Plaintiffs’ factual allegations

In January of 2010, plaintiffs Afshan and Rahim Multani filed a complaint against the Castle Green Homeowners Association (the Association) and [1435] numerous other parties arising from a foreclosure of the Multanis’ condominium unit.[1] The complaint alleged that, in 1998, plaintiffs had purchased a condominium unit in the “Castle Greens” building in Pasadena, California. Plaintiffs obtained financing to purchase the unit from Chase Bank, who later transferred the loan to IndyMac Bank.

In 2005, Rahim Multani returned from an overseas trip and was informed by the Association and its agents, LB Property Management and SBS Lien Services, that he was delinquent in paying his homeowner assessment fees. Although Multani paid the delinquent fees, he received a letter from SBS in August of 2005 alleging that he still owed approximately $2,000 in fees and costs. Multani met with SBS and issued a payment of $743.16 that was never credited to his account. In October, Multani attempted to pay the Association his monthly assessment but was told that the account had been referred to SBS “for collection.” One month later, the Association, acting through SBS, recorded a notice of delinquent assessment against the property in the amount of $3,317, which consisted of $2,229 in unpaid assessments and an additional $1,087 in attorney’s fees, costs, late fees and interest.

Throughout 2006, Multani and the Association continued to “disput[e] the validity of the amount … owed….” In February of 2007, Multani received a notice of sale informing him that the Association “intended to enforce the lien created by the November … recording of the Notice of Assessment by selling the Subject Property on March 27, 2007.” The Association alleged that Multani now owed almost $12,000 in assessment fees and costs. Although Multani disputed the Association’s accounting, he agreed to pay the full amount and the Association released the assessment lien.

Shortly after the lien was released, Multani contacted the Association and “requested that his account be given … credit f[or] … previously non-credited payments.” Between April and July of 2007, Multani continued to make his “required monthly assessment payments, but was never given the credit due on the account.” In February of 2008, the Association recorded a second notice of delinquent assessment lien against the property and, in June, recorded a “Notice of Default and Lien.” Six months later, on December 5, 2008, the Association and its trustee, Witkin & Neal, “set a sale date of the property to take place on January 27, 2009.” Multani “sent a letter disputing the validity of the amount owed” and requested alternative dispute resolution. The Association did not respond.

[1436] On January 5, 2009, “Indymac [Bank], the lender and beneficiary of the senior deed of trust [on the condominium unit], mistakenly instructed their [sic] trustee to foreclose … on the property.” Plaintiffs immediately filed a wrongful foreclosure action and IndyMac agreed to issue a notice of rescission of foreclosure, which was recorded on April 28, 2009. Plaintiffs contended that IndyMac’s actions had effectively “extinguish[ed] [the Association’s] lien and its Notice of Trustee’s Sale,” thereby requiring the Association to reinitiate the foreclosure process by recording a new lien.

The Association, however, elected to proceed and directed Witkin & Neal to record the notice of trustee sale set for January 27, 2009. In May of 2009, Multani informed the president of the Association, Randy Banks, that he “ha[d] been trying for some time to correct and rectify what seemed an impossible task of getting a [sic] accurate accounting on Plaintiffs’ account and getting the proper credits that were due.” Banks told Multani that he was unaware of the accounting discrepancies and would “provide assistance … with the outstanding issues regarding the [improper] Association assessments.”

Despite these assurances, on May 21, 2009, the Association placed a notice on the door of the Multanis’ condominium stating that they owed $13,640 for delinquent assessments and costs. Shortly after the notice was posted, the Multanis’ tenants informed them that the locks on the condominium unit had been changed. When Multani arrived at Castle Green to investigate the matter, he was met by Banks, who said that he had contacted the police and that Multani would be arrested if he did not leave the premises. Although Multani informed the responding officers that he was the legal owner of the condominium, he was forced to leave the building. Between May and October of 2009, Banks and other Association members continued to “harass[] Plaintiffs’ tenants,” causing them to vacate the condominium.

On July 23, 2009, the Association conducted a foreclosure sale of the Multanis’ condominium, which was purchased by ProValue Properties. Although the “property was estimated to be valued at approximately $400,000,” ProValue paid only $20,400, subject to IndyMac Bank’s $75,000 deed of trust. The Association and its trustee never notified the Multanis that the sale had been postponed from January 27 to July 23, nor did they provide any notice after the sale was completed.

In October of 2009, the Multanis signed a lease with new tenants who moved into the condominium. However, on November 19, the Multanis received a courtesy copy of an unlawful detainer complaint from the Los Angeles Superior Court stating that (1) a nonjudicial foreclosure of the condominium had occurred on July 23, 2009; (2) although originally scheduled to occur on January 27, 2009, the Association’s trustee had “from time [1437] to time postponed” the sale until July 23; and (3) a trustee deed of sale had been recorded on October 24, 2009, which was 90 days after the plaintiffs’ “right to redemption” had expired. Prior to receiving the unlawful detainer complaint, the plaintiffs were unaware of the foreclosure sale.

In November and December of 2009, ProValue repeatedly changed the locks on the condominium unit. Multani and his tenants had several disputes with ProValue, culminating in an altercation on December 17, 2009. Based on misrepresentations made by ProValue, the Pasadena police told Multani that he had to vacate the condominium by the end of the weekend or he would be arrested for trespassing. After being repeatedly harassed and threatened with arrest, Multani finally relinquished possession of the unit and elected to file a lawsuit against the Association, its agents — Witkin & Neal, SBS Lien Services and LB Property Management — and numerous other parties, including ProValue.

2. Summary of plaintiffs’ claims

The Multanis’ complaint asserted numerous claims seeking to set aside the foreclosure, including quiet title, wrongful foreclosure, rescission and declaratory relief. The Multanis alleged that the foreclosure was improper because the Association and its agents (collectively defendants) had failed to properly serve the notice of trustee sale or comply with other procedural requirements mandated under Civil Code section 2924 et seq. Plaintiffs also alleged that defendants had failed to comply with “Civil Code section 1367 et seq.,” which imposes additional procedural requirements on nonjudicial foreclosures conducted by homeowner associations for delinquent assessment fees. More specifically, plaintiffs alleged that defendants “failed to provide alternate dispute resolution as required by [Civil Code section 1367.4].” The Multanis further asserted that all of defendants’ foreclosure notices had been “effectively voided” when “Indymac Bank … conducted their non-judicial foreclosure sale of January 2009 and recorded the Deed Upon Sale.”

In addition to the foreclosure claims, the complaint alleged several tort claims based on defendants’ actions during the foreclosure process. Plaintiffs asserted claims for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and intentional infliction of emotional distress alleging that defendants had (1) “intentionally mixed up the accounting of Plaintiffs’ dues, imposed unwarranted dues and other charges, and confused Plaintiffs as to what was actually going on by repeated filings of notices, liens, and releases of liens by Defendants”; (2) “intentionally did not properly credit Plaintiffs’ account so as to further extract additional monies in the form of collections costs, attorneys fees and late penalties”; and (3) “conspired to conduct a [nonjudicial foreclosure] sale without any notice to prevent Plaintiffs from opposing such sale.”

[1438] The complaint also asserted claims for interference with contractual relations and interference with prospective economic advantage, which were predicated on defendants’ harassment of plaintiff’s condominium tenants. The complaint listed numerous additional statutory claims based on similar conduct, including violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code, § 51 et seq.), violation of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Civ. Code, § 1788 et seq.), violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) (18 U.S.C § 1961 et seq.) and unfair business practices.

B. Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment or Summary Adjudication

1. Defendants’ motion and supporting evidence

a. Summary of motion for summary judgment or adjudication

In June of 2011, the Association and its agents filed a motion for summary judgment or, alternatively, summary adjudication. First, defendants asserted that the undisputed evidence showed the Multanis had “violated the `tender rule’ by failing to tender the full amount before the foreclosure sale.” Second, defendants argued that they had provided evidence demonstrating substantial compliance with all statutory notice requirements. Third, defendants contended that plaintiffs were not harmed by any alleged procedural irregularity because they had actual notice that the foreclosure sale was scheduled to occur on January 27, 2009. Fourth, defendants argued that, pursuant to Civil Code section 1058.5, IndyMac Bank’s rescinded January 5th foreclosure had no effect on the Association’s foreclosure.[2]

As to plaintiffs’ tort claims, defendants argued that all of the conduct alleged in the complaint was related to the “processing of [a] … foreclosure” and was therefore “covered by the Civil Code Section 47(b) absolute privilege.” The Association also argued that the allegations in the complaint demonstrated that plaintiffs’ interference claims were time-barred.

The Association’s agents, Witkin & Neal and LB Property Management, separately argued that all of the tort claims asserted against them should be dismissed because they were entitled to qualified immunity under Civil Code [1439] section 2924, subdivision (b) and defendants had “failed to articulate the alleged bad acts committed by [them].”

b. Summary of evidence filed in support of defendants’ motion

In support of their motion, defendants submitted a declaration from the chief operating officer of Witkin & Neal summarizing the actions the trustee had taken during the foreclosure proceedings. According to the declaration, on April 21, 2008, Witkin & Neal mailed plaintiffs a “pre-notice” of default letter informing them that a notice of delinquent assessment had been recorded against the property and that the current amount due on the account was $4,206.40. The letter further stated that plaintiffs had the right to “dispute the assessment debt by submitting a written request for dispute resolution.” A declaration of mailing indicated that the letter was sent to the Multanis’ condominium unit and a Pasadena post office box numbered “82341.”

The declaration also stated that, on June 23, 2008, Witkin & Neal mailed plaintiffs a notice of default and election to sell stating that the amount currently due totaled $5,494.73 and would continue to “increase until [the] account bec[a]me current.” A declaration of mailing indicated that the notice was sent to the same two addresses as the “pre-notice” letter and to a second Pasadena post office box numbered “92341.” On January 9, 2009, Witkin & Neal sent plaintiffs a notice of trustee’s sale informing them that (1) the sale was scheduled to occur on January 27, 2009; (2) the total unpaid balance was currently $10,267.62; and (3) the foreclosure sale was subject to a 90-day redemption period during which the owners could reclaim the property. A declaration of mailing indicated that the notice was sent to the same three addresses as the notice of default.

The declaration further alleged that, “at the time and place fixed in the Notice of Trustee’s Sale, [Witkin & Neal] did, by public announcement, and in a manner provided by law, postpone the sale date from time to time thereafter until July 23, 2009, when [Witkin & Neal] sold the Subject unit to ProValue Properties … for the sum of $20,200.” On July 31, 2009, defendants recorded a certificate of sale confirming that the property was sold to ProValue and that the sale was subject to a 90-day “right of redemption.” According to the declaration, plaintiffs “made no attempt to tender the full amount before the foreclosure sale date” and “failed to redeem the Subject Property during the 90-day right of redemption period.” At the expiration of the 90-day redemption period, Witkin & Neal recorded a trustee’s deed upon sale, dated November 6, 2009.

Defendants also submitted excerpts from Rahim Multani’s deposition in which he admitted that he stopped paying his assessment fees because he [1440] “felt that [a] claim of overpayment was not being handled correctly.” According to Multani, “no one gave [him] a correct accounting or breakdown of what the actual outstanding amount was owed.” Multani alleged that, in 2008, he had tried to pay the amount that he believed he owed but the Association rejected his payments. Thereafter, Multani made a “conscious decision” not to pay the “entire asserted balance” because he believed it was incorrect and was “always a moving target.” Multani also testified that, prior to December 16, 2009, he was unaware that the Association had actually held a foreclosure sale.

2. Plaintiffs’ opposition and supporting documentation

On August 10, 2011, plaintiffs submitted an opposition arguing that there were disputed issues of material fact as to whether defendants had complied with all of the mandated procedural requirements. Plaintiffs argued, in relevant part, that (1) “[d]efendants failed to provide notice to Plaintiffs for the secret sale [that occurred on July 23, 2009]”; (2) defendant failed to respond to Rahim Multani’s letter dated December 2008, in which he specifically requested alternative dispute resolution; and (3) IndyMac’s subsequently rescinded foreclosure “extinguished” any prior notices the Association had issued in relation to their own foreclosure. Plaintiffs also argued that they were excused from complying with the tender rule because they had disputed “the validity of the underlying debt.”

As to the tort claims, plaintiffs asserted that their complaint alleged numerous forms of noncommunicative conduct that were not privileged under Civil Code section 47 subdivision (b), including allegations that defendants had unlawfully harassed Multani and his tenants and repeatedly changed the locks on the condominium unit.

In support of their opposition, plaintiffs submitted a 14-page declaration from Rahim Multani that contained a detailed discussion of the accounting dispute that preceded the Association’s recording of the delinquency lien. Multani asserted that, in June of 2007, he paid the Association almost $12,000 to resolve a prior payment dispute that had begun in 2005, but that defendants failed to properly credit him for two prior payments totaling approximately $1,500 and then began to intentionally inflate their monetary claims. Multani alleged that, on December 22, 2008, he sent the Association board a letter in which he disputed the amount that he owed and requested alternate dispute resolution. The Association, however, never responded to the letter.

Multani’s declaration admitted that he knew defendants had scheduled a foreclosure sale for January 27, 2009, but asserted that he was led to believe [1441] the sale had been cancelled. Multani explained that, one day prior to the scheduled sale date, his attorney informed Witkin & Neal that IndyMac Bank had foreclosed on the property two weeks earlier. In response, Witkin & Neal allegedly stated “if that was the case, then there would be no sale taking place the next day.” According to Multani, Witkin & Neal never indicated that it might postpone the foreclosure sale, but then “surreptitious[ly]” sold the property to ProValue on July 23, 2009. Multani further stated that, after this “secret” sale occurred, defendants failed to provide him a notice of his right to redemption as required under Code of Civil Procedure section 729.050.[3]

Multani also asserted that, during the foreclosure sale, defendants committed numerous “criminal acts by changing the locks on the Subject property…; calling the Pasadena Police Department on more than one occasion to attempt to prevent [him] from [entering the subject property]; improperly having [him] detained; and attempt[ing] to place [him] under citizen’s arrest for trespassing ….”[4]

C. The Trial Court’s Ruling

At the hearing, plaintiffs argued that defendants had sent many of the foreclosure notices to the wrong address. According to plaintiffs’ attorney, Rahim Multani’s proper mailing address was post office box number 92341, but defendants had sent several of the notices to post office box number 82341. Plaintiffs’ counsel further argued that the proper address had been on file with the Association but, “at some point[,] the homeowners association started sending it to the wrong P.O. box.”

In response, defendants’ attorney argued that they had submitted several recordations of mailings in support of their motion showing that most of the notices had in fact been sent to post office box 92341. Counsel also argued that it was irrelevant whether defendants had mailed the notices to the correct address because plaintiffs had admitted they “had actual knowledge of the [foreclosure] process.” After the court informed the parties that it was going to take the matter under submission, the following exchange occurred:

“PLAINTIFFS’ COUNSEL: Your honor, can I just ask the court to take a look at [section] 729.050.

“COURT: And what is it?

[1442] “PLAINTIFFS’ COUNSEL: That talks about the requirements. Their certificate of sale.

“COURT: Oh yeah, I’m going to look at that.”

On August 23, 2011, the trial court filed an order granting judgment in favor of Witkin & Neal and LB Property Management and granting the Association judgment on 12 of the 15 remaining claims pleaded against it.[5] The court concluded that defendants were entitled to judgment on each of the four claims seeking to set aside the foreclosure because plaintiffs had admitted that they “failed to tender the amount of the debt prior to the sale or exercise [their] right[s] of redemption after the sale.”[6]

In addition, the court concluded that the following evidence demonstrated that plaintiffs were not “prejudice[ed]” by any “procedural irregularity” in the foreclosure proceedings: (1) prior to recording the notice of delinquent assessment, the Association sent plaintiffs a letter advising them of their right to alternative dispute resolution; (2) Witkin & Neal’s declaration demonstrated that defendants had properly complied with all statutory requirements when postponing the foreclosure sale from January 27, 2009, to July 23, 2009; and (3) plaintiffs admitted they had “actual knowledge of the foreclosure proceedings” and, “[d]espite such knowledge, [had] failed to exercise their 90-day statutory right of redemption.”

The trial court also concluded that defendants’ evidence showed that four notices had been sent to plaintiffs’ condominium unit and post office box 82341: (1) a notice to pay or lien, dated December 27, 2007; (2) a notice of delinquent assessment liens, which had been sent on February 28, 2008, and again on April 21, 2008; (3) a notice of default and election to sell, dated June 23, 2008; and (4) a notice of trustee’s sale, dated October 31, 2009. The latter two items were also sent to post office box 92341, which Multani had alleged to be his proper mailing address. The court further noted that plaintiffs had never specifically alleged that they did not receive any of these four items.

On the tort-based claims, the court ruled that defendants were entitled to dismissal of the fifth cause of action (fraud), eighth cause of action (breach of [1443] fiduciary duty) ninth cause of action (intentional infliction of emotional distress) and the 18th cause of action (unfair business practices) because each of those claims was predicated on “actions … subject to immunities set forth in [Civil Code sections] 47 and 2924(b).” In addition, the court ruled that plaintiffs’ 13th through 16th claims, which alleged interference with contractual relations and prospective economic advantage, were “time-barred.”

The court entered judgment in favor of Witkin & Neal and LB Property Management on September 12, 2011. Three claims, however, remained pending against the Association: violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, forcible detainer and a request for an accounting.

On September 23, the Association moved for judgment on the pleadings seeking dismissal “of these remaining claims … such that judgment [may be] entered in favor of the Association.” The trial court granted the motion on October 19, 2011, and entered a final judgment in favor of the Association on November 9, 2011. Plaintiffs filed a timely appeal of the trial court’s judgment and order granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment or adjudication.[7]

DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

“`The standard for deciding a summary judgment motion is well-established, as is the standard of review on appeal.’ [Citation.] `A defendant moving for summary judgment has the burden of producing evidence showing that one or more elements of the plaintiff’s cause of action cannot be established, or that there is a complete defense to that cause of action. [Citations.] The burden then shifts to the plaintiff to produce specific facts showing a triable issue as to the cause of action or the defense. [Citations.] Despite the shifting burdens of production, the defendant, as the moving party, always bears the ultimate burden of persuasion as to whether summary judgment is warranted. [Citation.]’ [Citation.]” (Hypertouch, Inc. v. ValueClick, Inc.(2011) 192 Cal.App.4th 805, 817 [123 Cal.Rptr.3d 8] (Hypertouch).)

“`On appeal, we review de novo an order granting summary judgment. [Citation.] The trial court must grant a summary judgment motion when the [1444] evidence shows that there is no triable issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. [Citations.] In making this determination, courts view the evidence, including all reasonable inferences supported by that evidence, in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. [Citations.]’ [Citation.]” (Hypertouch, supra,192 Cal.App.4th at p. 818.) “The same standards apply to motions for summary adjudication.” (Id. at fn. 3.)

B. Defendants Failed to Satisfy Their Initial Burden of Production on Plaintiffs’ Foreclosure Claims

Plaintiffs argue that the trial court erred in dismissing each of their claims seeking to set aside the foreclosure sale because there are triable issues of fact as to whether defendants complied with numerous procedures required under the Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure. We reverse the trial court’s dismissal of the foreclosure claims, concluding that defendants failed to demonstrate that they notified plaintiffs of their right to redemption or the applicable redemption period as required under section 729.050.[8]

1. The postsale right to redemption in nonjudicial foreclosures by a homeowner association for delinquent assessment fees

(1) Special procedures govern nonjudicial foreclosures initiated by a homeowner association for the collection of delinquent assessment fees. Under the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (Civ. Code, § 1350 et seq.) (the Act), which governs common interest developments (CID) in California,[9] the amount of any unpaid association assessment, plus the reasonable costs of collection, late charges, and interest, constitute a “debt of the owner of the separate interest.” (Civ. Code, § 1367.1, subd. (a); see Civ. Code, § 1366, subd. (e)(1)-(3).) After complying with various notice requirements (see Civ. Code, § 1367.1, subds. (a)-(c)), an association may record a lien of delinquent assessment against the property (see Civ. Code, § 1367.1, subd. (e)) and then enforce the lien through a nonjudicial foreclosure “conducted in accordance with [Civil Code] [s]ections 2924, 2924b and 2924c applicable to the exercise of powers of sale in mortgages and deeds of trust.” (Civ. Code, § 1367.1, subd. (g).)

As a general rule, the debtor in a nonjudicial foreclosure may avoid the loss of the property by “pay[ing] all amounts due at any time prior to the [1445] sale …” (Knapp v. Doherty (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th 76, 86-87 [20 Cal.Rptr.3d 1] (Knapp).) However, “[o]nce the … sale is completed, the trustor has no further rights of redemption.” (Id. at p. 87.) Prior to 2006, these same rules applied to nonjudicial foreclosures by an association for delinquent assessments.

In 2005, however, the Legislature adopted Senate Bill No. 137 (2005-2006 Reg. Sess.) (Stats. 2005, ch. 452, § 5, p. 3649), which placed numerous limitations on an association’s ability to utilize foreclosure as a means to collect assessments. The legislative history indicates that Senate Bill No. 137 was intended to “institute … important procedural … requirements to protect CID homeowners” from the “extreme hammer of non-judicial foreclosure in order to collect relatively small amounts of overdue assessments.” (Off. of Assem. Floor Analyses, 3d reading analysis of Sen. Bill No. 137 (2005-2006 Reg. Sess.) as amended Sept. 1, 2005, pp. 4, 3.) Supporters of the Bill argued that there had been “too many instances” in which “CID associations [had] … initiated [foreclosures] for relatively small amounts …, [and then] sold [the property] for an all-too-often shockingly small fraction of its actual value.” (Id. at pp. 3-4.) The bill sought to avoid similar outcomes in the future by providing “CID homeowners” additional “due process protections.” (Ibid.)

(2) Senate Bill No. 137 added Civil Code section 1367.4, which prohibits (with certain exceptions) the use of foreclosure to collect delinquent assessments that total less than $1,800. (Civ. Code, § 1367.4, subd. (b).) Although the statute permits an association to “use … nonjudicial foreclosure” for delinquent assessments exceeding $1,800 (Civ. Code, § 1367.4, subd. (c)), section 1367.4, subdivision (c)(4) requires that the association provide CID owners a right to redeem the property within 90 days after the sale: “A nonjudicial foreclosure by an association to collect upon a debt for delinquent assessments shall be subject to a right of redemption. The redemption period within which the separate interest may be redeemed from a foreclosure sale under this paragraph ends 90 days after the sale….” A similar provision appears in section 729.035, which was also added as part of Senate Bill No. 137: “Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the sale of a separate interest in a common interest development is subject to the right of redemption within 90 days after the sale if the sale arises from a foreclosure by the association of a common interest development pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 1367.1 of the Civil Code, subject to the conditions of Section 1367.4 of the Civil Code.”[10]

[1446] The redemption process, which is normally available only in the context of judicial foreclosure, is governed by requirements set forth in the Code of Civil Procedure.[11] Section 729.040 mandates that, following a foreclosure subject to a right of redemption, the trustee must deliver a “certificate of sale” to the purchaser and record a duplicate of the certificate in the office of the county recorder. (Id., subd. (a).) Under section 729.050, the trustee must also promptly notify the debtor of his redemption rights: “If property is sold subject to the right of redemption, promptly after the sale the levying officer or trustee who conducted the sale shall serve notice of the right of redemption on the judgment debtor. Service shall be made personally or by mail. The notice of the right of redemption shall indicate the applicable redemption period.”

Sections 729.060 to 729.090 describe how the debtor may redeem his or her property following the foreclosure sale. “[S]ection 729.060, subdivision (a) requires `[a] person who seeks to redeem the property [to] deposit the redemption price with the levying officer who conducted the sale before the expiration of the redemption period.’ Subdivision (b) of this statute defines the redemption price as `the total of the following amounts…. [¶] (1) The purchase price at the sale. [¶] (2) The amount of any assessments or taxes and reasonable amounts for fire insurance, maintenance, upkeep, and repair of improvements on the property. [¶] (3) Any amount paid by the purchaser on a prior obligation secured by the property to the extent that the payment was necessary for the protection of the purchaser’s interest. [¶] (4) Interest on the amounts described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)….’ In addition, subdivision (c) of … section 729.060 authorizes an offset to the redeeming party for `[r]ents and profits from the property paid to the purchaser or the value of the use and occupation of the property to the purchaser….'” (Barry v. OC Residential Properties (2011) 194 Cal.App.4th 861, 866 [123 Cal.Rptr.3d 727] (Barry).)

[1447] (3) Section 729.070 establishes “a procedure allowing one `seeking to redeem the property [who] disagree[s with the purchaser’s claimed] redemption price’ to petition `the court for an order determining the redemption price ….’ [Citation.]” (Barry, supra, 194 Cal.App.4th at pp. 866-867.) If the debtor does not deposit the redemption price or otherwise file a petition challenging the redemption price within the applicable redemption period, the trustee must deliver an executed trustee’s deed to the purchaser and provide the debtor notice that the trustee sale has occurred. (§ 729.080, subd. (a).) If, however, the debtor tenders “the redemption price determined by court order or agreed upon by the purchaser … [¶] … the effect of the sale is terminated and the person who redeemed the property is restored to the estate therein sold at the sale.” (§ 729.080, subds. (c), (d).)

2. Defendants failed to make a prima facie showing that plaintiffs cannot establish the elements necessary to set aside the foreclosure sale

Plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in dismissing their foreclosure claims because defendants failed to notify them of their right of redemption as required under section 729.050.

a. Defendants have waived any argument regarding plaintiffs’ failure to plead a violation of section 729.050

Before addressing the merits of this argument, we assess defendants’ contention that we should “disregard[]” this “alleged [procedural] violation” because it “is outside the scope of the Second Amended Complaint.”

(4) Generally, “[a] defendant moving for summary judgment need address only the issues raised by the complaint; the plaintiff cannot bring up new, unpleaded issues in his or her opposing papers. [Citation.]” (Government Employees Ins. Co. v. Superior Court (2000) 79 Cal.App.4th 95, 98-99, fn. 4 [93 Cal.Rptr.2d 820].) Defendants assert that, in this case, plaintiffs’ “allegation that [the Association and its trustee] somehow violated … [s]ection 729.050 … does not exist in the [second amended complaint],” which prohibits them from raising the issue on appeal.

Plaintiffs’ complaint, however, alleges that defendants “conducted the foreclosure proceedings unlawfully in that they did not follow the California non-judicial foreclosure sale procedures prescribed by … Civil Code § 2924 and 1367.” The complaint also alleges violation of “§ 1367 et seq.” As discussed above, Civil Code section 1367.4, subdivision (c)(4) requires the association to provide CID owners a 90-day period to redeem the property, which triggers the trustee’s notice requirements under section 729.050.

[1448] (5) In any event, defendants have forfeited this issue. When a plaintiff opposes a motion for summary judgment or adjudication by raising an “unpleaded issue,” the defendant’s failure to “object to [the] injection of [the] unpleaded theory … [constitutes a] waive[r].” (Knapp, supra, 123 Cal.App.4th at p. 90; see Stalnaker v. Boeing Co.(1986) 186 Cal.App.3d 1291, 1302 [231 Cal.Rptr. 323].) The purpose of this objection requirement is to ensure that, if the objection is sustained, the plaintiff has an opportunity to request leave to amend the pleading to raise the unpleaded theory. (See Stalnaker, supra, 186 Cal.App.3d at p. 1302.)

In the trial court, plaintiffs’ opposition papers included a declaration from Rahim Multani in which he alleged that defendants did not comply with section 729.050’s notice requirements. Although defendants objected to numerous statements in Multani’s declaration on the ground that they introduced issues outside the pleadings, defendants did not raise this objection in regards to Multani’s statements about section 729.050. Moreover, during oral argument, plaintiffs’ attorney specifically requested that the trial court review section 729.050 and determine whether defendants had demonstrated compliance with its requirements. Defendants did not object to this request and the trial court agreed that it would consider the issue. Under these circumstances, “we deem waived defendants’ objection to plaintiffs’ … mode of pleading and argument.” (Stalnaker v. Boeing Co., supra, 186 Cal.App.3d at p. 1302; see id. at fn. 7 [finding waiver where “the newly introduced theory was … presented to the trial court, without defendants’ objection”].)

b. Defendants failed to make a prima facie showing that they were entitled to dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims seeking to set aside the foreclosure

As the party moving for summary adjudication of plaintiffs’ foreclosure claims, defendants had the “`initial burden of production to make a prima facie showing'” that “`one or more elements of the plaintiff’s cause of action cannot be established.'” (Hypertouch, supra, 192 Cal.App.4th at pp. 838, 818.)

(6) “The rights and powers of trustees in nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings have long been regarded as strictly limited and defined by the contract of the parties and the statutes.” (I. E. Associates v. Safeco Title Ins. Co. (1985) 39 Cal.3d 281, 287 [216 Cal.Rptr. 438, 702 P.2d 596].) “Because nonjudicial foreclosure is a `drastic sanction’ and a `draconian remedy’ [citation], `”[t]he statutory requirements must be strictly complied with, and a trustee’s sale based on statutorily deficient notice of default is invalid.”‘ [Citation.]” (Ung v. Koehler (2005) 135 Cal.App.4th 186, 202-203 [37 Cal.Rptr.3d 311]; see Holland v. Pendleton Mtge. Co. (1943) 61 Cal.App.2d 570, 573-574 [143 P.2d [1449] 493] [foreclosure sale invalid where trustee fails to comply with statutory notice procedures]; 4 Miller & Starr, Cal. Real Estate (3d ed. 2011) § 10:210, p. 670 [“A sale of the collateral by an exercise of the power of sale in violation of the statutory limitations on the power is invalid.”].)

To set aside a foreclosure, a plaintiff must generally establish three elements: “(1) the trustee … caused an illegal, fraudulent, or willfully oppressive sale of real property pursuant to a power of sale in a mortgage or deed of trust; (2) the party attacking the sale … was prejudiced or harmed; and (3) in cases where the trustor … challenges the sale, the trustor … tendered the amount of the secured indebtedness or was excused from tendering.” (Lona v. Citibank, N.A. (2011) 202 Cal.App.4th 89, 104 [134 Cal.Rptr.3d 622] (Lona).) Defendants argue that their moving papers made a prima facie showing that plaintiffs cannot establish any of these three elements.

i. Defendants introduced no evidence that they complied with section 729.050

(7) “Justifications … which satisfy the first element [(to set aside a foreclosure)] include the trustee’s … failure to comply with the statutory procedural requirements for the notice or conduct of the sale.” (Lona, supra, 202 Cal.App.4th at p. 104.) Although there is generally no “postsale right of redemption” in nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings (Alliance, supra, 10 Cal.4th at p. 1236), a nonjudicial foreclosure by an association for delinquent assessments is “subject to the right of redemption within 90 days after the sale.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 729.035; see Civ. Code, § 1367.4, subd. (c)(4).) As a result, the trustee who conducts the sale must “promptly … serve notice of the right of redemption on the judgment debtor,” which “shall indicate the applicable redemption period.” (§ 729.050.)

Defendants have failed to provide any evidence that they complied with this statutory requirement. In support of their motion for summary adjudication, defendants submitted evidence that they mailed the Multanis the following notices regarding the foreclosure proceedings: (1) a “pre-notice of Default letter,” mailed April 21, 2008; (2) a “Notice of Default and Election to Sell,” mailed June 23, 2008; (3) a “Notice of Board Decision to Foreclose and Notice of Default,” mailed October 7, 2008; and (4) a “Notice of Trustee’s Sale,” mailed January 9, 2009. Defendants also submitted evidence that, following the foreclosure sale, the trustee recorded a “Certification of Sale” on July 31, 2009, and then recorded the “Trustee’s Deed Upon sale … [a]fter the 90-day right of redemption period expired.”

Defendants, however, have cited no evidence in the record — and we have located none — demonstrating that it mailed the Multanis a notice of right to [1450] redemption as required under section 729.050. Instead, defendants contend that they had no burden to present evidence that they complied with section 729.050 because “[a] nonjudicial foreclosure sale is accompanied by a common law presumption that it `was conducted regularly and fairly.’ [Citations.]” (Lona, supra, 202 Cal.App.4th at p. 105.) Defendants appear to assert that this presumption was, standing alone, sufficient “`to make a prima facie showing'” (Hypertouch, supra, 192 Cal.App.4th at p. 836) that plaintiff could not demonstrate any procedural irregularity in the foreclosure proceedings.

(8) Defendants have not cited any authority indicating that this common law presumption of regularity applies to the postsale redemption procedures at issue here. All of the cases they cite applied the presumption in the context of standard nonjudicial foreclosures that were not subject to statutory redemption. Even if the common law presumption were to apply to redemption procedures, however, a defendant moving for summary adjudication of claims seeking to set aside a foreclosure may not discharge his or her initial burden of production by merely referencing the presumption. The presumption, which is rebuttable (see 6 Angels, Inc. v. Stuart-Wright Mortgage, Inc. (2001) 85 Cal.App.4th 1279, 1284 [102 Cal.Rptr.2d 711]), merely requires that the party “attacking the sale … [must] `… plead[] and prove[] an improper procedure and the resulting prejudice.’ [Citation.]” (Knapp, supra, 123 Cal.App.4th at p. 86, fn. 4.) Thus, the plaintiff has the burden to allege in its pleading that a prejudicial irregularity occurred and then to prove that allegation at trial.

For the purposes of summary judgment or adjudication, however, defendants still must make a prima facie showing that plaintiffs could not prove that any irregularity occurred. This initial burden required defendants here to “`present evidence'” that they complied with the statutory procedures applicable to this foreclosure. (Hypertouch, supra, 192 Cal.App.4th at p. 838.) Their failure to do so means that they failed to “`conclusively negate[]'” the first element of plaintiffs’ foreclosure claims. (Ibid.)

ii. Defendants did not make a prima facie showing that plaintiffs suffered no harm from the procedural defect

The second element necessary to set aside a foreclosure requires the plaintiff to show that he or she was “prejudiced or harmed” by defendants’ failure to comply “with the statutory procedural requirements” for the foreclosure sale. (Lona, supra,202 Cal.App.4th at p. 104 [to challenge a sale successfully there must be evidence of a failure to comply with the procedural requirements for the foreclosure sale that caused prejudice to the person attacking the sale].)

[1451] (9) Section 729.050’s notification requirement serves two purposes. First, it ensures that the debtor is aware that the property may still be redeemed. Second, it informs the debtor the date on which his or her redemption rights expire. Presumably, a debtor who has not received such notice has been harmed or prejudiced by the fact that they were not informed of those rights. (See Residential Capital v. Cal-Western Reconveyance Corp. (2003) 108 Cal.App.4th 807, 822 [134 Cal.Rptr.2d 162] (Residential Capital) [“The inquiry is whether … there is a … defect in the statutory procedure that is prejudicial to the interests of the trustor and claimants.”].)

Defendants, however, contend that no such prejudice occurred here because plaintiffs were provided enough information to independently calculate when their redemption period was set to expire. In support, defendants cite evidence indicating that, prior to the foreclosure sale, they provided plaintiffs a statutorily required notice of intent to sell stating that (1) the foreclosure sale was scheduled to occur on January 27, 2009, and (2) the sale would be subject to a right of redemption that would end 90 days after the sale date. Defendants assert that, based on this information, plaintiffs could have determined when their right to redemption ended and therefore were not harmed by the trustee’s failure to comply with section 729.050.

(10) For the purposes of this appeal, we assume that defendants did in fact make a prima facie showing that they properly notified plaintiffs that the foreclosure sale was originally scheduled to occur on January 27 and that the sale would be subject to a 90-day right of redemption.[12] Such evidence, however, is insufficient to demonstrate that plaintiffs suffered no prejudice or harm from defendants’ failure to comply with the notice requirements of section 729.050. Defendants’ argument is predicated on the assumption that a debtor has an independent duty to calculate the applicable redemption period based on information received during the foreclosure process. Section 729.050, however, specifically relieves the debtor of any such burden by requiring the trustee to provide notice of the applicable redemption period promptly after the foreclosures sale.

This postsale notice requirement is of heightened importance where, as here, the trustee postponed the original sale date without individualized notice to the debtor. Civil Code section 2924g permits a trustee to postpone a foreclosure sale for up to a year by making a public announcement “at the time and place last appointed for sale…. No other notice of postponement [1452] need be given.” (Civ. Code, § 2924g, subd. (d).)[13] Although the foreclosure in this case was originally scheduled for January 27, 2009, defendants’ moving papers state that “[a]t the time and place fixed in the [notice of sale, the trustee] did, by public announcement … postpone the sale date from time to time … until July 23.” Defendants provided no evidence that they gave plaintiffs any notice regarding the postponements beyond the public announcement requirements described in Civil Code section 2924g. Thus, without the section 729.050 notice, plaintiffs could have only determined their applicable redemption period by attending each of the scheduled sale dates or otherwise researching when, exactly, the sale occurred. Again, section 729.050 relieved them of any such obligation.

(11) Defendants’ argument would also permit homeowner associations to ignore section 729.050 without consequence. Defendants were statutorily required to send the presale notice that contained the information they now contend remedied any harm from their subsequent failure to comply with section 729.050. The Civil Code requires that, before conducting a foreclosure sale predicated on delinquent assessment fees, the association must provide a notice of sale that includes the date of the sale and a statement “that the property is being sold subject to the right of redemption.” (Civ. Code, §§ 1367.4, subd. (c)(4), 2924b, subd. (b), 2924f.) Thus, defendants are essentially arguing that a trustee who complies with this presale notice requirement need not comply with section 729.050’s postsale notice requirement. This argument is the antithesis of the statutory scheme, which imposes a duty to provide a presale notice referencing the right to redemption and a postsale notice stating the applicable redemption period. The Legislature plainly concluded that, for the purpose of protecting a CID owner’s due process rights, both forms of notice are necessary.

The primary authority defendants cite in support of their assertion that plaintiffs cannot establish harm is Knapp, supra, 123 Cal.App.4th 76, which held that “a slight deviation from statutory notice requirements” does not always require a court to “invalidate a foreclosure sale, where the trustee otherwise complies fully with the Civil Code.” (Id. at p. 93.) The plaintiff in Knapp provided evidence that the defendant had served a notice of sale prematurely. Under the Civil Code, the trustee was required to comply with multiple timing requirements when serving the notice of sale: Civil Code section 2924 required the trustee to serve the notice no earlier than “`three months’ following recordation of the notice of default” (id. at p. 92), while [1453] section 2924b required that the trustee serve the notice “at least 20 days prior to the sale” (id. at p. 88). The court explained that the evidence showed the trustee “served the [s]ale [n]otice on … a date that was slightly less than three months after recordation of the [d]efault [n]otice,” but 29 days prior to the sale date. (Id. at p. 92.) “Thus, while the [s]ale [n]otice did not comply fully with the three-month requirement under section 2924, it provided more than the 20 days notice mandated under section 2924b ….” (Ibid., italics omitted.)

The court ruled that, under such circumstances, the foreclosure need not be set aside, concluding: “[T]he slight procedural irregularity in the service of the [s]ale [n]otice did not cause any injury to [b]orrowers. They had notice of the original sale date; the trustee’s sale did not go forward until almost one year after the date noticed. There was no prejudicial procedural irregularity.” (Knapp, supra, 123 Cal.App.4th at p. 94, italics omitted.) In the court’s view, the “[b]orrowers’ objection to the premature notice [wa]s, in effect, a criticism that the trustee provided too much notice of the sale. There [wa]s no evidence that they were prejudiced by the premature mailing of the notice. Given the fact that the trustee’s sale did not occur until almost a year after service of the [s]ale [n]otice, it is difficult to imagine how [b]orrowers could claim any prejudice.” (Id. at p. 96.)

In reaching its holding, the court specifically differentiated prior decisions setting aside foreclosure sales in which the debtor had been denied a “`substantial statutory right'” that was likely to result in prejudice. (Knapp, supra, 123 Cal.App.4th at p. 94.) According to the court, “no such substantial statutory right was abridged by trustee’s premature mailing of the [s]ale [n]otice, which otherwise gave [b]orrowers adequate and timely notice of the trustee’s sale.” (Ibid.)

The facts in Knapp bear little resemblances to the facts in this case. Defendants’ failure to comply with section 729.050 was not “a slight deviation from statutory notice requirements.” (Knapp, supra, 123 Cal.App.4th at p. 93.) Defendants did not, as in Knapp, send a statutorily required notice “slightly” prematurely; instead, the evidence suggests that they completely failed to send the notice required under section 729.050. Moreover, unlike in Knapp, defendants have provided no evidence that plaintiffs were not harmed by the procedural defect. Nothing in defendants’ moving papers demonstrates that, despite the lack of section 729.050 notice, plaintiffs were actually aware of the date on which their redemption rights were set to expire but elected not to redeem. At most, defendants have shown that plaintiffs might have been able to calculate when their redemption rights expired based on information that was provided in other statutorily mandated presale notices.

[1454] (12) In sum, defendants have failed to make a prima facie showing that their failure to comply with section 729.050 was not “prejudicial to the interests of the … claimants.” (Residential Capital, supra, 108 Cal.App.4th at p. 822.) Because defendants have provided no evidence that plaintiffs were notified, or were otherwise aware of the actual date on which their right to redemption expired, we cannot conclude that plaintiffs suffered no prejudice.[14]

iii. Defendants failed to establish that the tender rule precluded plaintiffs from seeking to set aside the foreclosure sale

Defendants argue that plaintiffs cannot satisfy the third element necessary to set aside a foreclosure sale, which requires a showing that “the trustor … tendered the amount of the secured indebtedness or was excused from tendering.” (Lona, supra,202 Cal.App.4th at p. 104.) Defendants assert that plaintiffs have admitted they never offered to pay the full amount of the debt and are therefore precluded from challenging the foreclosure sale.

(13) The tender requirement is rooted in the equitable nature of an action to set aside a nonjudicial foreclosure. “Because the action is in equity, a defaulted borrower who seeks to set aside a trustee’s sale is required to do equity before the court will exercise its equitable powers. [Citation.] Consequently, as a condition precedent to an action by the borrower to set aside the trustee’s sale on the ground that the sale is voidable because of irregularities in the sale notice or procedure, the borrower must offer to pay the full amount of the debt for which the property was security. [Citation.] `The rationale behind the rule is that if [the borrower] could not have redeemed the property had the sale procedures been proper, any irregularities in the sale did not result in damages to the [borrower].’ [Citation.]” (Lona, supra, 202 Cal.App.4th at p. 112.)

(14) There are, however, several exceptions to the requirement. “First, if the borrower’s action attacks the validity of the underlying debt, a tender is [1455] not required since it would constitute an affirmation of the debt. [Citations.] [¶] Second, a tender will not be required when the person who seeks to set aside the trustee’s sale has a counterclaim or setoff against the beneficiary. In such cases, it is deemed that the tender and the counterclaim offset one another, and if the offset is equal to or greater than the amount due, a tender is not required. [Citation.] [¶] Third, a tender may not be required where it would be inequitable to impose such a condition on the party challenging the sale [Citation.] …. [¶] Fourth, no tender will be required when the trustor is not required to rely on equity to attack the deed because the trustee’s deed is void on its face. [Citation.]” (Lona, supra, 202 Cal.App.4th at pp. 112-113.)

(15) As discussed above, a nonjudicial foreclosure by an association predicated on delinquent assessment fees is unique in that the CID owner is entitled to a postsale right of redemption. (See Civ. Code, § 1367.4, subd. (c)(4); Code Civ. Proc., § 729.035.) Under these redemption rights, the property owner is entitled to receive notice of the applicable redemption period and then pay the redemption price or contest the redemption price through a judicial proceeding. (See §§ 729.050-729.080.) Therefore, unlike most forms of nonjudicial foreclosure, CID owners are provided an opportunity to avoid the loss of their property either by tendering the amount of the debt prior to the sale or paying the applicable redemption price — which consists of the purchase price and various other costs — after the sale.

(16) Defendants assume, without discussion, that the tender requirement applies where, as here, the debtor is seeking to set aside a nonjudicial foreclosure subject to a statutory, postsale right of redemption. Although we have found no authority analyzing the issue, we conclude that a debtor is properly excused from complying with the tender requirement where the nonjudicial foreclosure is subject to a statutory right of redemption and the trustee has failed to provide the notice required under section 729.050.

Applying the tender rule under such circumstances would be inconsistent with the statutory scheme. CID owners who were denied their statutory right to be notified of the redemption process could only challenge the denial of that right by offering to tender the amount of the secured debt. In other words, CID owners could only challenge an association’s failure to provide notice of the redemption process by offering to forego the redemption process. Such an outcome would be neither logical nor equitable.

Defendants argue that even if plaintiffs were not required to tender the amount of the secured debt as a condition of bringing their suit, they were [1456] nonetheless required to tender the redemption price, thereby ensuring that they could have redeemed the property had section 729.050 been properly followed. Defendants’ argument overlooks the fact that, under the statutory framework governing redemption, if the debtor and the purchaser disagree on the proper redemption price, the debtor may seek a judicial determination of the appropriate price. (See § 729.070.) Under defendants’ theory, however, CID owners would have to affirm the purchaser’s claimed redemption price through an offer of tender — thereby effectively waiving their right to seek a judicial determination of the redemption price — as a condition of challenging an association’s failure to comply with section 729.050. Given that the tender rule is inapplicable where the debtor’s action attacks the validity of the underlying debt, the rule should not be applied in a manner that would require a CID owner who never received notice of his redemption rights to forego any challenge to the redemption price.

Because defendants failed to make a prima facie showing that plaintiffs cannot establish any of the three elements necessary to set aside the foreclosure, it is not entitled to summary adjudication on plaintiffs second, third, sixth or seventh causes of action.

C. Plaintiffs Have Forfeited Any Claim of Error Regarding Additional Causes of Action Pleaded in the Second Amended Complaint

In addition to their four claims seeking to set aside the foreclosure, plaintiffs’ second amended complaint asserts 13 tort and statutory-based claims arising from various acts that defendants allegedly committed during the foreclosure process. The trial court dismissed all 13 of these additional claims at various points in the proceedings. The court sustained a demurrer without leave to amend on two of the claims — violations of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and RICO — prior to the hearing on the motion for summary adjudication. The trial court’s order granting defendants’ motion for summary adjudication dismissed four of the claims — fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress and unfair business practices — on the basis that each claim was predicated on “actions … subject to immunities set forth in [Civil Code sections] 47 and 2924(b).” The summary adjudication order also dismissed plaintiffs’ four interference claims, concluding that they were “time barred.” Finally, the court dismissed the remaining three claims for violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, accounting and forcible detainer pursuant to an order granting defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings.

[1457] Although a large majority of plaintiffs’ 60-page brief argues that we should reinstate their foreclosure claims because there is evidence defendants committed various procedural irregularities, the final five pages of the brief asserts that their “claims for wrongful closure are not based on a communicative act” and are therefore not precluded under the “litigation privilege.” (See Civ. Code, § 47, subd. (b).) In the course of this discussion, plaintiffs allude to various other claims in their complaint. Specifically, plaintiffs assert that Civil Code “[s]ection 47(b)(2), does not bar Plaintiffs’ cause of action for intentional interference with contractual relations because it is based upon an alleged tortious course of conduct. While the isolated act of filing a notice of lien was communicative, it was only one act in the overall course of conduct alleged in Appellant’s eight through twentieth causes of action.” This five-page section of the brief does not include a single citation to the record.

For the purposes of this appeal, we need not assess whether the litigation privilege applies to plaintiffs’ claims seeking to set aside the foreclosure sale. The trial court’s order granting the motion for summary adjudication demonstrates that it dismissed those particular claims based on its finding that plaintiffs had not complied with the tender rule and had not been prejudiced by any “procedural irregularity,” not because the claims were precluded under the litigation privilege. For the reasons discussed above, we have reversed the trial court’s dismissal of those claims.

(17) As to the remaining causes of action set forth in the second amended complaint, plaintiffs have forfeited any claim of error. “[I]t is appellant’s burden to affirmatively show error. [Citation.] To demonstrate error, appellant must present meaningful legal analysis supported by citations to authority and citations to facts in the record that support the claim of error. [Citations.]” (In re S.C. (2006) 138 Cal.App.4th 396, 408 [41 Cal.Rptr.3d 453] (S.C.).) “Mere suggestions of error without supporting argument or authority other than general abstract principles do not properly present grounds for appellate review.” (Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control v. Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Bd. (2002) 100 Cal.App.4th 1066, 1078 [123 Cal.Rptr.2d 278].) “Hence, conclusory claims of error will fail.” (S.C., supra, 138 Cal.App.4th at p. 408.)

Plaintiffs’ conclusory assertions that the litigation privilege does not apply to their “cause of action for intentional interference with contractual relations” or their “eight through twentieth causes of action”[15] does not constitute “adequate factual or legal analysis.” (Placer County Local Agency Formation Com. v. Nevada County Local Agency Formation Com. (2006) 135 [1458] Cal.App.4th 793, 814 [37 Cal.Rptr.3d 729].) The record demonstrates that most of these claims were not dismissed pursuant to the litigation privilege. The trial court dismissed the plaintiffs’ 13th through 16th claims, which allege interference with contract relations and prospective economic advantage, based on the statute of limitations. The 10th and 11th claims for violations of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Practices Act and RICO were dismissed pursuant to an order sustaining a demurrer that is not in the record and was not appealed by plaintiffs. Plaintiffs’ 12th and 17th claims for forcible detainer and an accounting were dismissed pursuant to an order granting defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings. Plaintiffs, however, provide no independent legal analysis of that motion or the resulting order.

Plaintiffs’ discussion of the litigation privilege consists of little more than a summary of general abstract principles that is devoid of a single citation to the record. (See generally Metzenbaum v. Metzenbaum (1950) 96 Cal.App.2d 197, 199 [214 P.2d 603] [“[A]n appellate court cannot be expected to search through a voluminous record to discover evidence on a point raised by appellant when his brief makes no reference to the pages where the evidence on the point can be found in the record.”].) Although plaintiffs’ brief summarizes various holdings pertaining to different aspects of the litigation privilege, it fails to adequately explain how those holdings relate to the nonforeclosure claims asserted in the complaint.

In sum, to the extent plaintiffs were requesting that we reverse the trial court’s dismissal of any claims beyond those seeking to set aside the foreclosure sale, they failed “to provide meaningful legal analysis and record citations for [their] complaints.” (S.C., supra, 138 Cal.App.4th at p. 408.)[16] These claims have therefore been abandoned. (Reyes, supra, 65 Cal.App.4th at p. 466, fn. 6.)

DISPOSITION

The trial court’s judgment is reversed and the case is remanded for further proceedings. The trial court’s order granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment, or, in the alternative, summary adjudication is reversed to the [1459] extent it dismisses plaintiffs’ second, third, sixth and seventh claims. The trial court’s order granting defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings is affirmed. Each party shall its own costs.

Perluss, P. J., and Jackson, J., concurred.


[1] This factual summary is predicated on the allegations in plaintiffs’ second amended complaint, which was filed on June 28, 2010.

[2] Civil Code section 1058.5, subdivision (b) states, in relevant part: “Where a trustee’s deed is invalidated by a pending bankruptcy or otherwise, recordation of a notice of rescission of the trustee’s deed … shall restore the condition of record title to the real property described in the trustee’s deed and the existence and priority of all lienholders to the status quo prior to the recordation of the trustee’s deed upon sale….”

[3] Unless otherwise noted, all further statutory citations and references are to the Code of Civil Procedure.

[4] Defendants filed objections to numerous aspects of Rahim Multani’s deposition. The record, however, does not indicate whether the court ruled on the objections, and defendants have not asserted there were any erroneous evidentiary rulings.

[5] The record indicates that, several months prior to the hearing on the motion for summary judgment or adjudication, the trial court had sustained a demurrer to plaintiffs’ claims alleging violations of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and RICO. Appellants do not challenge that ruling.

[6] Plaintiffs sought to set aside the foreclosure in four separate claims: declaratory relief, quiet title, wrongful foreclosure and rescission. We refer collectively to these four claims as the “foreclosure claims” or as “claims seeking to set aside the foreclosure.” Plaintiffs also pleaded a claim for cancellation of deed against ProValue, which is not a party to this appeal.

[7] Plaintiffs’ notice of appeal and portions of their appellate brief also allude to the trial court’s order granting the Association’s motion for judgment on the pleadings. As discussed in more detail below, however, the brief contains insufficient legal analysis of any of the three claims dismissed in that order. Plaintiffs have therefore abandoned any claim of error regarding the trial court’s order granting defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings. (Reyes v. Kosha (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th 451, 466, fn. 6 [76 Cal.Rptr.2d 457] (Reyes).)

[8] Plaintiffs raise numerous additional arguments as to why we should reverse the trial court’s dismissal of their foreclosure claims. Because we reverse the dismissal of those claims based on defendants’ failure to provide evidence demonstrating compliance with section 729.050, we need not address plaintiffs’ additional arguments.

[9] The parties do not dispute that the Multanis’ condominium unit was part of a common interest development governed by the Act.

[10] Civil Code section 1367.4 imposes various other conditions on an association’s use of nonjudicial foreclosure. First, “[p]rior to initiating [the] foreclosure,” the association must “offer the owner and, if so requested by the owner, participate in” various, enumerated forms of alternative dispute resolution, including binding arbitration. (Civ. Code, § 1367.4, subd. (c)(1).) Second, the statute requires that the decision to initiate foreclosure must be made by the association’s board of directors in an open vote. (Civ. Code, § 1367.4, subd. (c)(2).) Third, the board must provide the owner notice of its decision. (Civ. Code, § 1367.4, subd. (c)(3).)

[11] A judicial foreclosure involves significant “court oversight” (Arabia v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P. (2012) 208 Cal.App.4th 462, 470 [145 Cal.Rptr.3d 678]) and provides the creditor and the debtor certain rights that are generally not available in nonjudicial foreclosure: “In a judicial foreclosure, if the property is sold for less than the amount of the outstanding indebtedness, the creditor may seek a deficiency judgment, or the difference between the amount of the indebtedness and the fair market value of the property, as determined by a court, at the time of the sale. [Citation.] However, the debtor has a statutory right of redemption … for a period of time after foreclosure. [Citation.]” (Alliance Mortgage Co. v. Rothwell (1995) 10 Cal.4th 1226, 1236 [44 Cal.Rptr.2d 352, 900 P.2d 601] (Alliance).) By contrast, in a nonjudicial foreclosure, there “is no oversight by a court, … the debtor has no postsale right of redemption[,] … [and] the creditor may not seek a deficiency judgment.” (National Enterprises, Inc. v. Woods (2001) 94 Cal.App.4th 1217, 1226 [115 Cal.Rptr.2d 37].)

[12] Plaintiffs argue that the notice of sale was ineffective because there is a triable issue of fact as to whether defendants sent it to the correct address. For the purpose of our analysis, however, we need not resolve that dispute.

[13] The Civil Code has since been amended to require that, as of January 1, 2011, “whenever a sale is postponed for a period of at least 10 business days pursuant to Section 2924g, a mortgagee, beneficiary, or authorized agent shall provide written notice to a borrower regarding the new sale date and time, within five business days following the postponement.” (Civ. Code, § 2924, subd. (a)(5).)

[14] Defendants also argue that plaintiffs were not harmed by the trustee’s failure to comply with section 729.050 because, shortly after the foreclosure sale, the trustee recorded a certificate of sale referencing the date of the sale and the 90-day redemption period. According to defendants, the trustee’s recording of the certificate provided plaintiffs “constructive notice of the right to redemption.” This argument fails for the same reasons discussed above. First, the argument presumes that plaintiffs had a duty to monitor whether a certificate of sale was recorded against their property. The Legislature relieved CID owners of any such duty by requiring that the trustee provide notice of the redemption period promptly after the sale pursuant to section 729.050. Second, the trustee’s act of recording a certificate of sale that included the sale date and a statement regarding the right to redemption was statutorily mandated under section 729.040. Thus, defendants argue that a trustee who complies with section 729.040’s recording requirements need not comply with section 729.050’s postsale notice requirements. Such an outcome would be inconsistent with the legislative scheme.

[15] Although plaintiffs’ brief references their “eight through twentieth causes of action,” the second amended complaint only contains 18 claims.

[16] The final paragraph of plaintiffs’ brief asserts that “Respondents were awarded attorneys’ fees as prevailing parties” and requests that the “award of costs and attorney’s fees … be vacated.” This portion of the brief does not contain any citation to legal authority or the record. Moreover, plaintiffs failed to include a copy of the order awarding fees and costs in the appellate record. Without such materials, we have no basis to review the order. (Bennett v. McCall (1993) 19 Cal.App.4th 122, 127 [23 Cal.Rptr.2d 268], citing Buckhart v. San Francisco Residential Rent Etc., Bd. (1988) 197 Cal.App.3d 1032, 1036 [243 Cal.Rptr. 298] [“The appellant must affirmatively demonstrate error by an adequate record.”].)

Code of Civil Procedure Section 729.050. Post-Sale Notice of Right of Redemption.

If property is sold subject to the right of redemption, promptly after the sale the levying officer or trustee who conducted the sale shall serve notice of the right of redemption on the judgment debtor. Service shall be made personally or by mail. The notice of the right of redemption shall indicate the applicable redemption period.