Prior Replevin Of Manufactured Home Did Not Render Mortgage Fully Satisfied As To the Underlying Land

Lesson. If a security interest involves both real and personal property, then the secured party may accept certain of the collateral in partial satisfaction of the obligation it secures.

Case cite. United States Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. Spencer, 214 N.E.3d 1017 (Ind. Ct. App. 2023)

Legal issue. Whether, under Indiana Code § 26-1-9.1-620(g), Borrowers’ mortgage obligation was fully satisfied as a result of a prior replevin judgment related to a manufactured home located on the mortgaged real estate.

Vital facts. Spencer was seemingly a straightforward residential mortgage foreclosure case arising out of a payment default. There was no dispute that Borrowers had failed to make payments on their loan for several years. This particular case, however, was Lender’s third stop on a long and winding road in pursuit of relief.

Lender terminated its first foreclosure case through a Trial Rule 41(A)(1)(a) voluntary motion to dismiss “without prejudice.” Lender had filed the second case about two weeks before the first case was dismissed. This second case had counts to foreclose on the mortgaged real estate and for replevin of a manufactured home situated on that real estate. The court denied summary judgment as to the real estate but granted summary judgment as to the manufactured home.

Apparently due in part to some title issues surrounding the mortgaged real estate, Lender filed a motion to dismiss the claim against the real estate in the second case, without prejudice, under T.R. 41(A)(2). The trial court granted the motion over Borrowers’ objection, which asserted that the dismissal should be “with prejudice.”

Lender later filed this third suit, once again seeking to foreclose on the mortgaged real estate.

Procedural history. Lender filed a motion for summary judgment. The trial court denied the motion. Following a bench trial, the court entered judgment for Borrowers that essentially nullified the mortgage and erased the debt.

Key rules.

I.C. § 26-1-9.1-620(g), which is part of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), states: "In a consumer transaction, a secured party may not accept collateral in partial satisfaction of the obligation it secures."

However, I.C. § 26-1-9.1-604(a) states:

If a security agreement covers both personal and real property, a secured party may proceed:

(1) under IC 26-1-9.1-601 through IC 26-1-9.1-628 as to the personal property without prejudicing any rights with respect to the real property; or

(2) as to both the personal property and the real property in accordance with the rights with respect to the real property, in which case the other provisions of IC 26-1-9.1-601 through IC 26-1-9.1-628 do not apply.

Indiana courts have decided, based on Section 604(a), that if a security interest involves both real and personal property, Section 620 does not apply. In other words, secured parties may accept collateral in partial satisfaction of the obligation it secures.

Holding. The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s denial of summary judgment on the issue of liability (foreclosure).

Policy/rationale. Borrowers contended, based on I.C. § 26-1-9.1-620(g), that the replevin judgment against the manufactured home operated to fully satisfy Borrowers’ debt. But, the security agreement (mortgage) covered both the manufactured home, which constitutes personal property, and the real estate. The Court therefore rejected Borrowers’ theory based on Section 604(a), stating: “Section 620 does not apply to the instant matter and cannot serve as a sufficient basis for concluding that [Lender] was precluded from foreclosing on the Real Estate.”

Note: This is the first of what I expect to be four posts about Spencer. There were other arguments made by Borrowers and rules to address.
Related posts.

• What Is A Replevin Action?
• Creditor May Repossess Collateral And Sue For Full Debt Simultaneously, And Generally Is Not Compelled To Accept Short Sale

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I represent parties in disputes arising out of secured loans. If you need assistance with a similar matter, please call me at 317-639-6151 or email me at [email protected]. Also, don’t forget that you can follow me on Twitter @JohnDWaller or on LinkedIn, or you can subscribe to posts via RSS or email as noted on my home page.