Cody v. Nationstar Mortgage CA3

Filed 2/26/26 Cody v. Nationstar Mortgage CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT

(Trinity) ----

LEON CODY, C103574

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Super. Ct. No. 23CV053 )

v.

NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC,

Defendant and Respondent.

In 2008, plaintiff and appellant Leon Cody secured a mortgage loan that was serviced by defendant and respondent Nationstar Mortgage LLC (Nationstar). Cody stopped making payments on the loan in 2012, and a Notice of Default (NOD) was recorded on the loan in 2023. Cody sued Nationstar, alleging unfair business practices under the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (Rosenthal Act), and he requested cancellation of the loan documents. He also filed a variety of documents in the trial court including, as relevant here, a summary judgment motion and a “Petition Pursuant to the Power of Attorney Law” (Petition), both of which were denied. The trial court granted Nationstar’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, and the matter was dismissed with prejudice.

1

On appeal, Cody challenges several of the trial court’s rulings including the grant of Nationstar’s motion for judgment on the pleadings without leave to amend, as well as the denial of his Petition and summary judgment motion. Cody also asks this court for “clarity” on the statute of limitations for a power of sale. Cody’s contentions on appeal do not comply with required appellate procedures and are therefore forfeited. We affirm the judgment.

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS Cody financed a property with a mortgage loan in March 2008. Cody signed both a deed of trust (DOT) and a note promising to timely pay the principal sum plus interest to the lender (collectively the Loan). The Loan was originally serviced by Bank of America, N.A., though it was assigned to Nationstar in 2012 via a “Corporate Assignment of Deed of Trust” (ADOT). Cody stopped making Loan payments in March 2012. Nationstar sent Cody “formal notice” of default of the Loan (NOD), and when no payments were received, the Loan was referred for foreclosure proceedings in September 2012. The NOD was recorded in 2023. Shortly thereafter, Cody sued Nationstar alleging unfair business practices under the Rosenthal Act. According to Cody, the NOD was “time-barred” because the statute of limitations for enforcement of the DOT had expired by the time the NOD was recorded in 2023. Cody requested cancellation of the NOD. Cody also requested cancellation of the ADOT and claimed it was void because it was defectively signed by an “attorney in fact” for Bank of America. Cody subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment. The trial court denied the motion because the accompanying separate statement of facts “contain[ed] legal conclusions rather than undisputed material facts for each cause of action,” and the trial court struck them. In addition, the court found that it was undisputed that Cody had made