Indiana Commercial Foreclosure Law

Despite Lis Pendens, Onus Generally On Plaintiffs (Mortgagees), Not Tenants, To Deal With Leasehold Interests In Mortgage Foreclosure Actions

This follows-up my June 28th post about Myers v. Leedy, “To Terminate Post-Mortgage Leases, Tenants Generally Must Be Named In Foreclosure Actions.”  What actions must the tenant take if it knows or should know about a pending foreclosure action? 

Seller’s contention.  One of the arguments of the land contract seller on appeal of the Myers case was that the tenant had both constructive and actual knowledge of the pending breach of contract action at the time the tenant entered into the lease for the 2006 crop season.  The seller claimed it should not have been forced to name the tenant as a defendant in the action; rather, the tenant should himself have intervened in that action in order to protect his interests. 

Lis pendens, generally.  The seller’s argument triggered the Court’s analysis of Indiana lis pendens law.  See, Ind. Code §§ 32-30-11-1 to 10 and Indiana T. R. 63.1.  “Lis pendens” is Latin for “pending suit.”  The Court outlined that, historically, lis pendens provided that one who acquires an interest in real estate during the pendency of a lawsuit concerning the title to that real estate takes notice of such lawsuit and has to take its interest in the real estate subject to any subsequent judgment.  Ind. Code § 32-30-11-2 modified the common law and requires that the plaintiff file a separate, written notice with the county clerk’s office to perfect the lis pendens protections.  (I also wrote about lis pendens on 12-27-07 and 9-20-07.) 

Lis pendens, exception.  Statutory written notice is not required if the suit is founded upon a written instrument executed by the party having title to the real estate (like a mortgage) as appears from the properly-filed county records.  Thus the filing of the mortgage foreclosure complaint itself will provide the requisite constructive notice to post-suit claimants.  From the Court: 

We have no quarrel with the general proposition that the commencement of a foreclosure action standing alone provides third parties with constructive notice of a pending lawsuit. 

Constructive notice, but . . ..  In Myers, the seller retained legal title to the subject real estate, which interest was reflected by the memorandum of contract recorded in the county recorder’s office.  Under Indiana lis pendens law, therefore, the tenant was deemed to have constructive notice of the suit on the land contract against the buyer commenced two years before the subject lease.  But the Court did not adopt the seller’s lis pendens-related argument, reasoning that it “makes no sense” to say that a lis pendens notice of a foreclosure proceeding should bind a tenant already in possession.  To hold otherwise, a tenant in possession “must regularly check the records of the County Recorder’s office to determine whether a foreclosure action has been filed.” 

Actual notice side-stepped.  The Court also addressed the issue of the tenant’s alleged actual notice of the underlying lawsuit.  Should the tenant have intervened in the pending litigation of which he was aware?  In the final analysis, it appears that the Court may have simply concluded that the evidence was not altogether clear on whether, or to what extent, the tenant knew of the suit as it may have related to the real estate and his rights.  The Court ultimately affirmed the trial court’s finding that, among other things, the tenant should have been allowed to finish planting and harvesting his crop in 2006.  The Court had to choose a side, and it did.

“Should have known.”  As noted in my June 28th post, one of the critical factors in the Court’s decision was that the seller had actual knowledge that the tenant was farming the property at the time seller filed suit.  Thus the Court did not expand on the “upon reasonable diligence should have known” part of the test.  The Court appears to be deliberate in its requirement of notice of a tenant’s “possession” of the property.  The Court’s charge seems to be that lenders must undertake reasonable measures to determine whether there is a tenant in possession of the property.  To me, this implies observing the real estate.  Perhaps a site visit or property inspection may need to occur.  Having said that, we must remember that Myers was not a mortgage foreclosure case and dealt with the unique situation of a single tenant (farmer) on the property.  Ultimately, a secured lender’s “reasonable diligence” will need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. 

Business decision.  As a practical matter, in most commercial mortgage foreclosure actions the lender/mortgagee will not want to terminate any of the existing leases.  The leases generate income and thus increase the value of the property.  There are, however, instances where one or more tenants of a subject property may be undesirable and thus the target of termination.  If a business decision is made to terminate such post-mortgage leasehold interests, I recommend that you and your counsel ensure that those tenants are named as defendants in the foreclosure action. 

Lis Pendens Lessons

If you’re wondering what an Indiana lis pendens notice is, look no further than the December 12, 2007 Indiana Court of Appeals opinion in Clarkson v. Neff, 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 2752 (ClarksonOpinion.pdf).  The opinion provides some history, addresses common law rules and discusses Indiana’s lis pendens statute, I.C. § 32-30-11.  (I previously touched upon a lis pendens issue in my September 20, 2007 post.)

The Clarkson case surrounded a residential construction contract dispute, including an effort to secure a Court order requiring the purchase of a home.  During the pendency of the litigation between the builder and the original buyers (the Clarksons), a third party (Neff) purchased the home from the builder.  The question was whether Neff acquired the property free and clear of any interest of the Clarksons, who had filed a lis pendens notice.

Common laws tidbits.  Indiana’s lis pendens rules require that a separate, written notice of a pending suit be filed with the Clerk of the Court of the county where the real estate is located in order for the lawsuit to affect the interests of third-party purchasers.  Clarkson at 5-6.  The purpose of a lis pendens notice is:

to provide machinery whereby a person with an in rem claim to property, which is not otherwise recorded or perfected, may put his claim upon the public records so that third persons dealing with the defendant . . . will have constructive notice of it.

Id. at 6.  “If a lis pendens notice is properly filed on the public records, a subsequent purchaser will take the property subject to a judgment in the pending claim.”  Id.  “To protect an interest in the property, the subsequent purchaser may either ensure that the grantor does not harm his rights or intervene in the action.”  Id. 

The statute.  I.C. § § 32-30-11-3 and 32-30-11-9 specifically applied to the Clarkson case.  Lis pendens notices are not filed with the County Recorder’s office.  Rather, by statute, they must be filed with the Clerk’s office.  I.C. § 32-30-11-3(b).  Clarkson also illustrates that the validity of a lis pendens notice hinges upon whether there exists a pending lawsuit. 

In Clarkson, a lis pendens notice was properly filed with the appropriate County Clerk’s office thirteen days before third-party Neff closed on the purchase of the property.  The Indiana Court of Appeals concluded that “clearly, Neff had constructive notice of the Circuit Court lawsuit when he purchased the property, as provided by the lis pendens statutes, because the Clarksons correctly filed a lis pendens notice in Hancock County.  Id. at 8.  Neff thus was deemed to be bound by any judgment entered in the suit.  The suit was not yet resolved, so the Court concluded that Neff “does not at this time own the property in question free of any and all claims of the Clarksons as a matter of law.”  Id. at 11. 

Practical application.  A lis pendens filing will provide constructive notice (implied knowledge) that a piece of property is embroiled in litigation.  The notice—the document filed with the Clerk—will lead the researcher to the particular pleadings filed in the pending lawsuit, which pleadings will describe the nature of the legal dispute, including its potential impact upon title to the property.  If the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed, a lis pendens notice will demonstrate to a party doing due diligence that the property is or may be encumbered.  Although lis pendens-related matters rarely arise in a commercial foreclosure case, it is important for representatives of commercial lending institutions to be familiar with the concept.  In certain cases, a lis pendens notice could affect a lender’s priority.