Real Property Notes Blog
No Redemption, No Standing
Again, the Michigan Court of Appeals has held that a mortgagor who fails to redeem property from a properly held foreclosure sale has no standing to bring an action related to the property or the foreclosure absent a clear showing of fraud or irregularity in the foreclosure itself.
In Baron v Lakeview Loan Servicing, LLC, an unpublished opinion, the mortgagor filed a multi-count lawsuit after a mortgage foreclosure. As it pertained to the foreclosure process itself, the lawsuit claimed the mortgagor did not receive notice of the foreclosure and that the loan was not in default.
Regarding the first claim, the defendants presented the affidavits of posting and publishing. The court of appeals held that the mortgagor’s bare denial that he received notice in an untimely affidavit was not sufficient to create an issue of fact.
Regarding the second claim, the court held that the record contained evidence provided by the mortgagee that the loan was in default and the mortgagor did not present any contradictory evidence sufficient to create an issue of fact.
Mortgagors attempting to challenge a foreclosure sale have a significant evidentiary burden to overcome.
Multiple Late Payment of Rent Precludes Renewal of Lease or Exercise of Option to Purchase Premises
In Illiria, Inc. v Pinebrook Plaza, LLC, an unpublished Michigan Court of Appeals opinion, a tenant’s lease included an option to purchase if exercised during the initial lease term or any renewal. The lease also contained a clause prohibiting renewal of the lease if the tenant were late in payment of rent three times in the prior term. The tenant sent a notice of renewal, but had been in default more than three times in the term. The building subseqently sold and the tenant sued for violation of its option to purchase. The trial court granted summary disposition to the new owner and the tenant appealed.
The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed. The tenant’s notice of renewal for a new term was ineffective because the tenant had not fulfilled a condition precedent to renewal of the lease. Because the lease was not renewed, the tenant became a month-to-month tenant and the option to purchase expired. The landlord’s acceptance of late rent was not considered a waiver of the condition precedent that the tenant not be late in rent.