Duarte v. Specialized Loan Servicing CA4/3

Filed 6/7/16 Duarte v. Specialized Loan Servicing CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

MARIA JUANITA DUARTE,

Plaintiff and Appellant, G050625, G050677

v. (Super. Ct. No. 30-2014-00697680)

SPECIALIZED LOAN SERVICING LLC OPINION et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Frederick Paul Horn, Judge. Affirmed. Law Offices of Hector C. Perez and Hector C. Perez for Plaintiff and Appellant. Severson and Werson, Jan T. Chilton and Bernard J. Kornberg for Defendants and Respondents Nationstar Mortgage LLC and Specialized Loan Servicing LLC.

McCarthy & Holthus and Melissa Robbins Coutts for Defendant and Respondent Quality Loan Service Corporation. * * * Plaintiff Maria Juanita Duarte and her late husband Ernesto refinanced their Costa Mesa home in 2006. Ernesto signed the two notes involved in the refinancing (for $334,000 and $100,000 respectively), but Maria did not. She did, however, sign the two respective deed of trusts corresponding to those two notes, and each of those notes had what we will call a “no personal obligation clause.” We reproduce both of those clauses in the margin.1 In 2010, Ernesto died. Maria did not keep up the payments required by the refinance. In December 2012, just 12 minutes before a scheduled noon foreclosure, Maria filed for bankruptcy. Indeed, as far as our record reflects, she is still the subject of a bankruptcy proceeding. However, in July 2014, the bankruptcy court entered an order abandoning the bankruptcy estate’s interest in the property. Maria had filed this state court action to quiet title in the property back in January 2014, but with the July 2014 bankruptcy court order, the state trial court was able to conclude that Maria had standing to pursue this case.