You are here

Opinion 335

Case Name: 

Richard L. Clissold Inv. Co. v. Valley Bank & Trust Co. (In re Richard L. Clissold Inv. Co.)

Judge: 
Judge Clark
Date: 
Aug-7-1991
Case Number(s): 
90PC-0323
Status: 

UNPUBLISHED

Body: 

Debtor brought this adversary action, claiming that defendant creditor was obligated to apply the fair market value of debtor's properties to its notes, and that its refusal to do so constituted conversion, unjust enrichment, and breach of contract. Creditor counterclaimed, asserting that, since the fair market value of the properties at issue had yet to be determined, it should be allowed three months after any award of money to debtor in which to pursue a deficiency judgment. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the court held that: (1) Debtor/plaintiff asserted a jury demand in its adversary complaint but failed to request a withdrawal of reference, which constituted a waiver of the jury demand. (2) Under Utah law, when a secured creditor sells collateral securing a debt in a non-judicial sale, the creditor must commence a deficiency action, pursuant to Utah Code Ann. § 57-1-32, in order to preserve its claim for a deficiency. (3) However, since creditor's notes were secured by more than one property, creditor was not required to commence a deficiency action until three months after the last property securing that specific debt is sold. On one of creditor's notes, one of the properties securing the note had not yet been sold, and creditor was not precluded by § 57-1-32 from filing a deficiency action. On creditor's other note, however, all properties had been sold and the three-month period had run, which precluded creditor from filing a deficiency action on that note, whether or not the fair market values of those properties had been determined.

Internal Ref: 
Opinion 335
File: