Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Las Vegas partner Rob Larsen and senior counsel David Gluth recently prevailed in a five day bench trial on a case involving numerous claims raised by a Bank of New York Mellon on behalf of a securitized trust against Gordon & Rees' client Lamplight Cottages @ Santoli Village Homeowners Association (“Lamplight HOA”) including wrongful foreclosure, unjust enrichment, tortious interference, negligence breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing among others. After years of the homeowners not paying assessments, Lamplight HOA foreclosed on the delinquent assessments. SFR Investments purchased the property for $16,800. SFR claimed that the homeowners association foreclosure on sale extinguished Bank of New York Mellon’s deed of trust. Bank of New York Mellon sued Lamplight HOA and SFR. At trial, Bank of New York Mellon requested as much as $468,848 in damages from Lamplight HOA.
Throughout the litigation, Bank of New York Mellon rebuffed all attempts by Lamplight HOA to settle the case. Prior to trial, the Las Vegas team was able to get several claims dismissed. After Bank of New York Mellon rested its case, the Las Vegas team obtained dismissal of two more claims leaving just two claims outstanding by the end of the trial. Ultimately, the court found in favor of Bank of New York Mellon with respect to its claims against SFR. However, the court found in favor of Lamplight HOA on the two remaining claims. This meant that Lamplight HOA prevailed on all claims in the case. Lamplight HOA is now seeking more than $100,000 in attorneys’ fees from Bank of New York Mellon. This outcome surprised Lamplight HOA and its insurance carrier as just a few months prior the same judge issued an adverse judgment against a homeowners association in a nearly identical case handled by another law firm.