Reed-Nickerson v. Yreka Western Railroad Co. CA3

Filed 3/1/16 Reed-Nickerson v. Yreka Western Railroad Co. CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Siskiyou) ----

JOAN REED-NICKERSON et al., C078267

Plaintiffs and Respondents, (Super. Ct. No. SCCVCV12- 1055) v.

YREKA WESTERN RAILROAD CO. et al.,

Defendants;

RAILROAD SERVICES & SUPPLY COMPANY, INC.,

Claimant and Appellant.

Third party claimant and appellant Railroad Services & Supply Company, a Nevada corporation (RS&S Nevada), appeals from a judgment denying its third party claim. At the hearing on the claim, RS&S Nevada sought to establish a superior security interest in a steam locomotive using noncertified records from a related federal proceeding and other noncertified documents. Judgment creditor and respondent Chelatchie Boiler Works, Inc. (Chelatchie) objected on the grounds that the documents were not properly authenticated. The trial court sustained the objection, and subsequently denied the claim. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment.

1

I. BACKGROUND In March 2013, Chelatchie obtained a default judgment against defendant Yreka Western Railroad Company (Yreka Western), which is not a party to this appeal. As part of the default judgment, the trial court found that Chelatchie was entitled to possession of a Baldwin 2-8-2 steam locomotive that had been pledged as security for a loan. RS&S Nevada filed a third party claim pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 720.210 et seq. The claim asserted that RS&S Nevada had a superior interest in the steam locomotive as assignee of the judgment creditor in a previous action, Cecil, et al. v. Rocky Mountain Railway and Mining Museum, et al., U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, case number 2:07-CV-00419-GEB-KJM (the federal action). Specifically, the claim asserted that Lynn T. Cecil and Suzie Cecil, trustees of the Cecil Family Revocable Trust, Rick Cecil and Lynette Cecil (collectively, the Cecils) acquired a security interest in the locomotive by means of an instrument dated January 21, 2000. The instrument was allegedly recorded with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) on November 12, 2004, approximately four years before Chelatchie perfected its security interest.1 The Cecils brought the federal action to enforce the instrument, and obtained a judgment giving them the right to foreclose on the locomotive. (See Cecil v. Rocky Mountain Railway and Mining Museum (E.D.Cal. 2008) 543 F.Supp.2d 1145, 1147.) The Cecils then assigned the judgment to John C. Nixon and Lisa L. Nixon, Trustees of the John and Lisa Nixon Family Trust (the Nixons), who subsequently assigned the judgment to Railroad Services & Supply Co., Inc., a California corporation (RS&S California). Although not spelled out in the original third-party claim, RS&S Nevada