Fatica Renovations, LLC v. Bridge

125 N.E.3d 184

2018 Ohio 4949

FATICA RENOVATIONS, LLC, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.William W. BRIDGE, III, et al., Defendant-Appellant.

NO. 2018-G-0150

Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eleventh District, Geauga County.

Decided December 10, 2018

David L. Van Slyke, Plunkett & Cooney, P.C., 300 East Broad Street, Suite # 590, Columbus, OH 43215 (For Plaintiff-Appellee).

William W. Bridge, III, pro se, PMB 50931, 700 North Valley Street, Suite B., Anaheim, CA 92801 (Defendant-Appellant).

THOMAS R. WRIGHT, P.J.

{¶ 1} Appellant, William W. Bridge, III, appeals the ruling granting summary judgment in favor of substituted plaintiffs, Adam and Courtney Cramer, on their claims for injunctive relief and to quiet title. He argues that the order enjoining him from disseminating information regarding ownership of the at-issue real property violates his constitutional right to free speech. We affirm.

{¶ 2} This action concerns the legal interest appellant and his wife, Lisa Bridge, continue to claim in a home and land in Russell, Geauga County, Ohio, despite that property having been sold in foreclosure in November 2013. In November 2001, Lisa was the sole owner of the property as a result of a quit claim deed appellant executed in her favor. On December 7, 2001, she signed a promissory note for $467,000, payable to Aames Home Loan and executed and delivered an open-end mortgage to Aames Home Loan as security.

{¶ 3} Over the next few years, the Bridges lived on the Russell property and made payments on the loan. At some point, Aames Home Loan assigned the mortgage to Bankers Trust of California, N.A. in Trust for the Benefit of the Holders of Aames Mortgage Trust 2002-1 Mortgage Pass Through Certificates Series 2002-1. Following the assignment, Bankers Trust of California changed its name to Deutsche Bank N.A.

{¶ 4} In September 2007, appellant and Lisa brought an action against several defendants in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, asserting that multiple violations of federal statutes occurred during servicing of their loan. Both Aames Home Loan and Deutsche Bank were named as defendants. After the case had been pending for five years, Deutsche Bank filed a counterclaim for foreclosure, alleging that Lisa was in default on the loan payments.

{¶ 5} On September 6, 2013, the district court granted Deutsche Bank's motion for summary judgment on its counterclaim, and ordered that the Russell property be sold in foreclosure. A Master Commissioner was appointed to execute the sale, set for November 25, 2013.

{¶ 6} On the same day as the scheduled sale, appellant appeared at the clerk's office of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio to file a bankruptcy petition on behalf of Lisa. The clerk accepted the filing fee and wrote at the top of the bankruptcy petition that appellant attempted to submit the petition on November 25, 2013. However, since appellant was not a licensed attorney and did not have a power of attorney to act on his wife's behalf, the clerk did not time-stamp the petition as filed on that date. Instead, Lisa's bankruptcy petition was not filed until the following day, November 26, 2013.

{¶ 7} The Master Commissioner's sale of the subject property went forward as scheduled, and Deutsche Bank purchased it for $213,333.33. After the bank moved the district court to confirm the sale, the Bridges submitted two sets of objections to the proceeding. In the second set, they asserted that the sale must be declared null and void because Lisa had invoked the automatic stay provision of a federal bankruptcy action prior to the sale. In essence, the Bridges argued that the bankruptcy action was "instituted" for purposes of the automatic stay when appellant handed the petition to the bankruptcy court clerk. In addition to their objections, the Bridges moved for relief from the foreclosure judgment under Civ.R. 60(B).

{¶ 8} In February 2015, the federal district court rendered two judgments. In the first judgment, the district court overruled the Bridges' objections to the sale. The court rejected their "automatic stay" argument, holding that, Lisa's bankruptcy petition was not filed when presented, but rather the day after the Master Commissioner's sale. In its second judgment, the district court confirmed the sale to Deutsche Bank. In May 2015, the Master Commissioner, therefore, filed a deed with the Geauga County Recorder documenting the transfer.

{¶ 9} The Bridges filed three appeals before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in regard to the foreclosure proceeding. While these appeals were pending, the Bridges submitted an Affidavit and Notice of Lis Pendens with the Geauga County Recorder, claiming to have an interest in the Russell property as a consequence of the pending appeals. In October 2015, however, the federal appellate court dismissed all three appeals for lack of prosecution.

{¶ 10} Approximately six months later, in March 2016, the Bridges submitted an amended Affidavit and Notice of Lis Pendens, again claiming an interest in the property due to pending 60(B) motion for relief from the foreclosure order from the federal district.

{¶ 11} After the sale to Deutsche Bank was confirmed, the Bridges vacated and moved to an abutting property owned by Lisa's mother. After filing the amended Notice of Lis Pendens, appellant taped a copy to the front door of his prior residence.

{¶ 12} After holding the Russell property for approximately one year, Deutsche Bank placed the property for sale via internet auction. Prior to the auction, potential bidders were permitted to view the property. During viewing, Lou Fatica, the sole owner of Fatica Renovations, LLC, saw the copy of the Notice of Lis Pendens taped to the front door. After being informed by two different titles companies that the Bridges did not have a valid claim to the property, Fatica submitted the winning bid in the auction, agreeing to pay $285,584 for it. In June 2016, Deutsche Bank filed a special warranty deed with the Geauga County Recorder conveying the property to Fatica Renovations.

{¶ 13} Over the next three months, Fatica made significant improvements to the residence. Once the improvements were completed, he hired a licensed broker to sell the property, listing for $685,000. On November 6, 2016, the broker held an open house. When leaving the open house, she noticed that a professional sign had been erected on Lisa's mother's property instructing to tune-in to a low frequency a.m. radio station if they wanted to know more about the ownership. Upon tuning in the station, the broker heard a recorded message stating that the property's prior owner had lost it in a wrongful foreclosure action, and that she was still trying to have the foreclosure sale declared null and void. The message further warned that no one should purchase the property without first consulting a lawyer.

{¶ 14} Appellant was responsible for the sign recording. Fatica also learned that appellant had a website that set forth identical information stated in the recorded message. In response, Fatica Renovations instituted the underlying action. The complaint seeks a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, to quiet title, and damages for slander to title.

{¶ 15} Initially, the trial court denied Fatica Renovations' motion for a temporary restraining order because it did not adequately state the efforts made to provide notice to the Bridges. Nevertheless, the trial court scheduled a hearing on Fatica Renovations' motion for a preliminary injunction for December 5, 2016. Prior to that date, Fatica Renovations' counsel had failed to serve the complaint on the Bridges. Counsel, however, informed appellant of the hearing date via an email. Appellant was therefore present at the hearing and was served with a copy of the complaint immediately before the hearing began. Service on Lisa did not occur until after the trial court granted a preliminary injunction.

{¶ 16} The preliminary injunction enjoins the Bridges from doing anything to interfere with Fatica Renovations' efforts to sell the subject property and requires release of the two Notices of Lis Pendens, termination of the website, and removal of the sign. Appellant, acting pro se and by himself, immediately appealed, but we dismissed for lack of a final judgment. See Fatica Renovations, LLC v. Bridge , 11th Dist. Geauga No. 2017-G-0106, 2017-Ohio-1419, 2017 WL 1419941.

{¶ 17} During the pendency of the foregoing appeal, Fatica Renovations sold the home and property to Adam and Courtney Cramer. Following our dismissal, the Cramers became substitute plaintiffs in place of Fatica Renovations, no longer with any interest in the outcome.

{¶ 18} In conjunction with the motion to substitute, the Cramers also gave notice to dismiss their slander to the title claim. The action proceeded on the three remaining claims for a permanent injunction, declaratory judgment, and to quiet title.

{¶ 19} The Bridges ultimately filed an answer to the complaint on September 5, 2017, approximately one week after the Cramers moved in the alternative for default judgment or summary judgment on all remaining claims. After the answer was filed, the Cramers reasserted their summary judgment motion. In relation to all three claims, they contended that, as a consequence of the foreclosure proceedings, the Bridges no longer had any legal interest in the Russell property. The Cramers also argued that the Bridges were barred by collateral estoppel from relitigating whether Lisa's bankruptcy petition invoked the automatic stay provision prior to the foreclosure sale. In support, the Cramers attached to their motion copies of various submissions and judgments from both the bankruptcy and foreclosure proceedings.

{¶ 20} In response, appellant moved to strike the motion for summary judgment, maintaining that, since Fatica Renovations sold the property to the Cramers, the permanent injunction claim was moot. Appellant also argued the ...