First Midwest Bank v. Cobo
First Midwest Bank v. Cobo
Opinion
*418 ¶ 1 In Illinois, a plaintiff who voluntarily dismisses a claim has only one opportunity to refile that same claim. Whether two lawsuits assert the same claim does not depend solely on how the plaintiff titles the complaint, however. This issue sometimes requires a judicial determination.
¶ 2 In this case, plaintiff First Midwest Bank (First Midwest) sued defendants Andres Cobo and Amy M. Rule for breach of a promissory note. Cobo and Rule responded that First Midwest or its predecessor had already sued them twice for the same breach of the same promissory note: once in a foreclosure suit in 2011 and once in a breach of promissory note suit in 2013. First Midwest claimed that the first lawsuit involved a claim for foreclosure on a mortgage, which is different from a breach of a promissory note.
¶ 3 The circuit court of Cook County agreed with First Midwest Bank, but the appellate court reversed.
¶ 4 BACKGROUND
¶ 5 On November 20, 2006, Andres Cobo and Amy M. Rule, the defendants, took out a mortgage on their property located at 625 S. 12th Avenue, Maywood, Illinois, with Waukegan Savings and Loan, SB (Waukegan). This mortgage secured a loan from Waukegan for $227,500.
¶ 6 Five years later, Cobo and Rule defaulted on their loan. Waukegan commenced foreclosure proceedings on December 8, 2011, alleging that defendants had ceased making payments on July 1, 2011. In compensation for the remaining $214,079.06, plus interest, collection costs, and late fees, Waukegan sought a foreclosure and sale of 625 S. 12th Avenue and a deficiency judgment for the remaining debt against defendants. The complaint named Cobo and Rule as "persons claimed to be personally liable for deficiency." The complaint's requested relief included a "Judgment of foreclosure and sale" and "personal judgment for deficiency, if sought."
¶ 7 First Midwest acquired Waukegan's interest in the note and mortgage, and on April 2, 2013, First Midwest voluntarily dismissed the foreclosure suit. It filed a *419 *929 new lawsuit against Cobo and Rule on April 16, 2013, for breach of a promissory note. First Midwest alleged that Cobo and Rule had defaulted on their loan on July 1, 2011, and sought $251,165.72, which included the $214,079.06 remaining on the principal plus interest, late fees, and other costs.
¶ 8 After another two years the case had not yet proceeded to trial. First Midwest moved to continue the trial date, but on April 3, 2015, the circuit court denied that motion. That same day, First Midwest voluntarily dismissed its suit.
¶ 9 Finally on July 30, 2015, First Midwest initiated the lawsuit that provides the basis for this appeal. First Midwest sued Cobo and Rule for breach of a promissory note and unjust enrichment, seeking $278,838.13, which included the $214,079.06 principal plus interest, late fees, and other costs.
¶ 10 Cobo and Rule moved to dismiss under section 2-619 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code). 735 ILCS 5/2-619 (West 2016). Citing
LSREF2 Nova Investments III, LLC v. Coleman
,
¶ 11 The circuit court denied the motion to dismiss. Relying on
LP XXVI, LLC v. Goldstein
,
¶ 12 Later First Midwest moved for summary judgment. Cobo and Rule reasserted their single refiling rule argument as an affirmative defense. First Midwest moved to strike defendants' affirmative defenses. The circuit court granted First Midwest's motion to strike the affirmative defenses and granted summary judgment, awarding First Midwest $308,192.56.
¶ 13 The appellate court vacated the circuit court's order and dismissed the complaint.
¶ 14 First Midwest petitioned this court for leave to appeal, and we allowed that *420 *930 petition. Ill. S. Ct. R. 315 (eff. Mar. 15, 2016).
¶ 15 ANALYSIS
¶ 16 The circuit court's order under review is a grant of summary judgment in favor of First Midwest. We review a summary judgment order
de novo
.
Schultz v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co.
,
¶ 17 Defendants Cobo and Rule argue that the court should dismiss First Midwest's complaint based on the single refiling rule. This rule derives from section 13-217 of Code, which states that, in applicable actions, if
"the action is voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff, or the action is dismissed for want of prosecution, * * * the plaintiff, his or her heirs, executors or administrators may commence a new action within one year or within the remaining period of limitation, whichever is greater, after * * * the action is voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff." 735 ILCS 5/13-217 (West 1994).
In
Flesner v. Youngs Development Co.
,
¶ 18 Whether two complaints state the same claim does not depend on how the plaintiff labels the complaint. Although this court has not yet spoken on this issue, multiple districts of the Illinois Appellate Court have agreed to use the same analysis to determine whether two suits assert the same cause of action for the purposes of the single refiling rule as they use for
res judicata
. See,
e.g.
,
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Norris
,
¶ 19 This test, which we adopted in
River Park, Inc. v. City of Highland Park
,
¶ 20 We agree with Cobo and Rule that First Midwest's two later suits for breach of a promissory note asserted the same cause of action as First Midwest's predecessor's first suit under the mortgage *931 *421 and the note. Both breach of promissory note complaints alleged the same default date, July 1, 2011, as the foreclosure complaint. All three complaints alleged that Cobo and Rule were personally liable for the same $214,079.06 principal. Most importantly, in the foreclosure complaint from 2011, First Midwest's predecessor expressly sought a deficiency judgment under the note. Although that complaint had only one count, for "FORECLOSURE," it requested as a remedy "a personal judgment for deficiency, if sought." For practical purposes, the request for a deficiency judgment asserted a second claim, this one under the note. First Midwest later sought a remedy under that same note, alleging the exact same default date, in 2013 and again in 2015. The 2015 suit was an impermissible third filing.
¶ 21 First Midwest responds that a foreclosure proceeding is
quasi in rem
but a breach of note proceeding is
in personam
.
ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, Inc. v. McGahan
,
¶ 22 First Midwest further objects that all of the facts that the foreclosure complaint shared with the breach of promissory note complaints are included in the form foreclosure complaint that the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law (Foreclosure Law) (735 5/15-1101
et seq.
(West 2016) ) provides. Section 15-1504(a) of the Foreclosure Law provides plaintiffs with a sample foreclosure complaint and instructs plaintiffs how to complete the form. This sample complaint instructs the plaintiffs to attach copies of both the mortgage and the note to the foreclosure complaint, to disclose the names of the defendants alleged to be personally liable for any deficiency, and to specify the total amount due.
¶ 23 This objection is not compelling because no section of the Foreclosure Law requires a plaintiff to seek a deficiency judgment during the foreclosure proceedings. Section 15-1504(b) clearly states that the "foreclosure complaint need contain only such statements and requests called for by the form set forth in subsection (a) of Section 15-1504 as may be appropriate for the relief sought."
¶ 24 That the exact language in First Midwest's predecessor's foreclosure complaint was "a personal judgment for deficiency, if sought " does not change our analysis. The phrase "if sought" likely results from the complainant closely replicating *932 *422 section 15-1504(a) of the Foreclosure Law. That section provides a sample foreclosure complaint form and instructions on how plaintiffs should complete the form. Section 15-1504(a) begins:
"A foreclosure complaint may be in substantially the following form:
(1) Plaintiff files this complaint to foreclose the mortgage (or other conveyance in the nature of a mortgage) (hereinafter called 'mortgage') hereinafter described and joins the following person as defendants: (here insert names of all defendants)."Id. § 15-1504(a)(1).
Section 1504(a) ends by providing a sample request for relief.
"REQUEST FOR RELIEF
Plaintiff requests:
(i) A judgment of foreclosure and sale.
(ii) An order granting a shortened redemption period, if sought.
(iii) A personal judgment for a deficiency, if sought.
(iv) An order granting possession, if sought.
(v) An order placing the mortgagee in possession or appointing a receiver, if sought.
(vi) A judgment for attorneys' fees, costs and expenses, if sought."Id. § 15-1504(a).
First Midwest's predecessor's foreclosure complaint from 2011 was nearly an exact reproduction of this request for relief. Rather than tailor the specific relief requested to the individual case by eliminating the instruction "if sought," First Midwest's predecessor likely transferred this language directly into its complaint. In such circumstances, we decline to find that the complaint did not seek a deficiency judgment.
¶ 25 Alternatively, First Midwest suggests that the phrase "if sought" allows a complainant to reserve that remedy. Purportedly this phrase allows a plaintiff to delay deciding whether to pursue a deficiency judgment until after the foreclosure sale. Without approving of this interpretation, we find that this interpretation would not change our conclusion. If First Midwest's predecessor sought to reserve the possibility that it would recover a personal judgment under the note, then it still invoked that note in the foreclosure complaint and threatened to seek a remedy based on the note. Cobo and Rule became alerted to the possibility that they would need to defend against a claim under the note. First Midwest cannot avoid the single refiling rule by claiming that the first complaint only raised the possibility that it might seek recovery under the note.
¶ 26 Our approach best reconciles the cases on which the parties rely. In
Coleman
, the lender initiated foreclosure proceedings, seeking both to foreclose on the mortgage and to secure a personal judgment against the borrowers for the deficiency.
¶ 27 The circuit court here distinguished this case from
Coleman
because the first lawsuit in
Coleman
reached a final adjudication on the merits. The lender had foreclosed on the borrower's property and actually secured a deficiency judgment before the plaintiff filed another lawsuit to collect under the promissory note.
Coleman
,
¶ 28 The single refiling rule does not require that the prior lawsuit have reached a final adjudication on the merits. The single refiling rule applies to a variety of circumstances, including when "the action is voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff, or the action is dismissed for want of prosecution, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for lack of jurisdiction, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for improper venue." 735 ILCS 5/13-217 (West 1994). In all of these circumstances the earlier litigation necessarily would not have reached a final adjudication on the merits. The single refiling rule is not simply another name for
res judicata
. Instead this rule results from our interpretation of section 13-217.
Flesner
,
¶ 29
Coleman
distinguished its facts from those in
Turczak
,
¶ 30 In
Goldstein
, the defendant and the plaintiff's predecessor executed a mortgage, a promissory note, and a commercial guaranty.
¶ 31 The appeal in
Goldstein
resulted from a guaranty specifically waiving any "one action" or "anti-deficiency" defense and any " 'other law which may prevent [plaintiff] from bringing any action, including a claim for deficiency, against [defendant], before or after [plaintiff's] commencement or completion of any foreclosure action.' "
Id. at 238,
¶ 32 Moreover,
Goldstein
did not address a situation in which the lender sought a remedy under the same instrument in three separate suits. The first
*424
*934
complaint in
Goldstein
did not seek a remedy under the guaranty. The court explicitly found that "defendant's rights under the guaranty were not placed in issue or adjudicated" in the prior litigation.
Id. at 241,
¶ 33 In
Turczak
the defendant bank had already secured a default judgment against the plaintiffs for breaching a promissory note that accompanied a mortgage. When the plaintiffs later sought to sell their property to satisfy their debts to both the defendant and a second lender, the defendant bank claimed that its consent was required because it still had an enforceable mortgage on that property.
Turczak
,
¶ 34 The appellate court rejected the plaintiffs' argument. It found that the defendant bank's mortgage had remained enforceable despite the prior default judgment. Id. ¶¶ 27-29. The court explained that a lender may sue under the mortgage and the note consecutively or concurrently. Id. ¶ 31. Because the defendant had sought only a default judgment in its earlier lawsuit, no prior action adjudicated the parties' rights under the mortgage, and that mortgage remained enforceable. Id. ¶ 36.
¶ 35 First Midwest's reliance on Turczak is misplaced. The key component that was missing in Turczak -a prior lawsuit seeking to adjudicate the parties' rights under the disputed instrument-is present in this case. In Turczak the defendant bank had sought only a default judgment in the earlier litigation. Id. ¶¶ 27-29. It did not seek to foreclose on the mortgage, so the mortgage remained enforceable. Here First Midwest's predecessor sought remedies under both the mortgage and the note.
¶ 36 Notably, both
Goldstein
and
Turczak
relied on
Farmer City State Bank v. Champaign National Bank
,
¶ 37 We need not overturn
Farmer City
to rule in Cobo and Rule's favor. Consistent with
Farmer City
, we find that lenders may pursue a claim under the mortgage and note either consecutively or concurrently.
1
First Midwest's predecessor sought relief under the mortgage and note concurrently, and we do not hold that any part of the complaint was inappropriate at the time it was filed. Conversely,
*935
*425
if First Midwest's predecessor had sought a remedy only under the note, it could seek a remedy under the mortgage later.
Turczak
,
¶ 38 First Midwest warns that this approach will have harmful consequences. Many notes or mortgages incorporate or reference a variety of other legal instruments. Sometimes a note is secured through multiple mortgages. Often a third party acts as a guarantor. The lender and the borrower frequently enter into loan modification agreements. First Midwest warns that if we rule against it, the court will limit the available remedies and require lenders to file one suit under all possible instruments.
¶ 39 By focusing on the remedy sought we avoid the consequences that First Midwest raises. First Midwest is correct that foreclosure complaints often share many facts with other lawsuits that a lender might bring. These shared facts, however, are not necessarily "operative facts" under the transactional test.
River Park, Inc.
,
¶ 40 This reasoning also applies to other instruments besides the note and the mortgage, such as a guaranty or a loan modification agreement. Illinois courts have consistently found that a plaintiff may not recover from a guarantor without pleading separately.
United Central Bank v. Patel
,
¶ 41 CONCLUSION
¶ 42 First Midwest's suit for breach of a promissory note constituted the third attempt to collect from the same defendants based on the same July 1, 2011, default of the same promissory note. The single refiling rule barred this claim. The appellate court's opinion is affirmed, the circuit court's summary judgment order is vacated, and the case is dismissed.
¶ 43 Appellate court judgment affirmed.
¶ 44 Circuit court judgment vacated.
Chief Justice Karmeier and Justices Thomas, Kilbride, Burke, Theis, and Neville concurred in the judgment and opinion.
For a helpful discussion of the historical difference between the deficiency judgment as a form of legal relief and the foreclosure as a form of equitable relief, see Elizabeth Martin, Note,
Getting a Second Bite at the Apple: The Res Judicata Exception for Seeking Foreclosure Deficiencies in Illinois
,
In
United Central Bank v. KMWC 845, LLC
,
In further response to First Midwest's prediction, we observe that it is not clear whether requiring lenders to bring all their potential claims against a borrower in one suit would be inadvisable. For example, California's "one action rule" states that "[t]here can be but one form of action for the recovery of any debt or the enforcement of any right secured by mortgage upon real property or an estate for years therein."
Reference
- Full Case Name
- FIRST MIDWEST BANK, Appellant, v. Andres COBO Et Al., Appellees.
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Unpublished