Wells Fargo Bank v. Noerring
Wells Fargo Bank v. Noerring
Opinion
¶1 After Lynnette Noerring and Justine Noerring (collectively, the Noerrings) defaulted on a loan, Wells Fargo Bank, NA (Wells Fargo) prepared to foreclose on the real property that secured that loan. 1 A title search revealed, however, that, due to some missing words, the security interest in the property had not been effectively conveyed. Wells Fargo filed this action seeking, among other things, reformation of a vesting deed. Following a bench trial, the court amended the deed of trust entered into by the parties to reflect what all parties believed they were doing at the time-creating and conveying an enforceable deed of trust to secure the loan. Appellants challenge that decision. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
¶2 On March 15, 2003, Lynnette created the OMI Trust, designating herself as the trustee and her daughter, Justine, as the sole beneficiary. The only asset placed into the trust was the real property (the Property) at issue in this action.
¶3 Lynnette refinanced the Property several times. In each instance, she transferred the Property by quitclaim deed from herself, as trustee of the OMI Trust, to herself as an individual. After executing a deed of trust on the Property and closing the refinance, Lynnette typically conveyed the Property back to herself, as the trustee of the OMI Trust, by quitclaim deed.
¶4 Lynnette broke from this pattern in one such iteration. In February 2006, Lynnette executed a quitclaim deed (the 2006 Quitclaim Deed), purportedly transferring the Property to Lynnette and Justine as individuals, which was recorded on March 3, 2006. 2 Instead of identifying the grantor as the trustee of the OMI Trust-the record owner of the Property at the time-the 2006 Quitclaim Deed instead listed the grantor as "Lynnette Noerring, a married woman." Following the recording of that quitclaim deed, the Noerrings refinanced the mortgage on the Property with a loan from WMC Mortgage Corp., which loan was secured by a trust deed, also recorded on March 3, 2006.
¶5 Five months later, the Noerrings obtained a loan (the New Century Note) from New Century Mortgage Corp. (New Century). This loan satisfied the WMC loan and was, by its terms, to be secured by a trust deed on the Property. In executing the New Century Note, the Noerrings represented that they were title owners of the Property. Along with the note, the Noerrings executed several other documents at the closing, acknowledging that the purpose of the transaction was for a "residential mortgage loan," which entailed providing the lender a security interest in the Property. The New Century Trust Deed was signed by both Lynnette and Justine and recorded on August 29, 2006. The New Century Note was ultimately assigned to Wells Fargo as trustee. 3
¶6 The Noerrings later applied for and received two modifications to the New Century Note and made payments for approximately five years. 4 On February 25, 2010, Lynnette passed away. 5 A little over a year later, Justine defaulted on the New Century Note. A few months after the default, Wells Fargo conducted a title search on the Property in anticipation of foreclosure. The search revealed that the title owner of the Property was Lynnette Noerring, as trustee for the OMI Trust, and not Lynnette as an individual or Lynnette and Justine as individuals.
¶7 Wells Fargo then initiated this action seeking, among other things, reformation of the 2006 Quitclaim Deed. Specifically, Wells Fargo sought "[a] judgment reforming the [2006 Quitclaim Deed] to reflect that Lynnette Noerring, as trustee of the OMI Trust , conveyed the Property as the grantor to the Noerrings, so that the Noerrings will be the correct owner and grantor/trustor of the Property under the [New Century Trust Deed]." (Emphasis added.) Wells Fargo also sought an order declaring the New Century Trust Deed to be valid and that it "encumbers and constitutes a first priority lien against the entire Property." Subsequently, Wells Fargo also requested that the New Century Trust Deed be reformed to reflect that Lynnette, as trustee of the OMI Trust, conveyed the security interest in the Property.
¶8 Following a bench trial, the court concluded that Justine and Lynnette, individually, and Lynnette, as trustee for the OMI Trust, intended to grant a security interest in the Property to New Century in order to secure the New Century Note. The trial court found by clear and convincing evidence that the Noerrings and New Century made a mutual mistake regarding the New Century Trust Deed. Specifically, the court determined that the Noerrings and New Century intended to create a valid trust deed and convey a valid security interest in the Property. 6 Consequently, the trial court ordered reformation of the New Century Trust Deed. The court changed the grantor of the Property from Lynnette and Justine, as individuals, to Lynnette, as trustee of the OMI Trust. Justine and Darwin Long (collectively, Appellants) challenge the trial court's decision.
ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW
¶9 Appellants raise three issues on appeal. First, they argue that Wells Fargo's reformation claims are barred by the nonclaim provisions of the Utah Uniform Trust Code and the Utah Probate Code (collectively, the Nonclaim Statutes).
See
¶10 Second, Appellants argue that Wells Fargo's claims are barred by the three-year statute of limitations applicable to claims for relief on the ground of fraud or mistake. Utah Code Ann. § 78B-2-305(3). Whether a statute of limitations applies and whether the limitations period is subject to tolling are questions of law.
Shiozawa v. Duke
,
¶11 Third, Appellants contend that the trial court had no authority to reform a deed by substituting a third party as grantor, thereby creating a new deed. "Reformation of a deed is a proceeding in equity."
RHN Corp. v. Veibell
,
ANALYSIS
I. Nonclaim Statutes
¶12 Appellants assert that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to determine Wells Fargo's reformation claims because those claims were barred by Utah's Nonclaim Statutes.
See
Because Wells Fargo did not seek reformation within this one-year window, Appellants argue, any claim is barred "against the deceased settlor's estate, the trustee, the trust estate, and the beneficiaries of the deceased settlor's trust." (Quoting
¶13 The Nonclaim Statutes generally require creditors to present claims against a decedent's estate or a deceased settlor within one year of the person's death.
See
A nonclaim statute operates to deprive a court of jurisdiction. The personal representative of an estate can neither waive it nor toll it. A nonclaim statute imposes a condition precedent to the enforcement of a right of action; that is to say, the claim must be presented within the time set in the notice to creditors or be barred. A statute of limitations, on the other hand, does not bar the right of action but only the remedy. Such a statute may be tolled. Such a statute is a defense which is waived if not affirmatively pleaded.
Daigle
,
¶14 Wells Fargo asserts that its claims are exempt from the one-year presentment period contained in the Nonclaim Statutes because it is a lienholder. Relevant here, the Nonclaim Statutes exempt "any proceeding to enforce any mortgage, pledge, or other lien upon property of the deceased settlor's estate or the trust estate."
¶15 Armed with the knowledge that a mistake in the 2006 Quitclaim Deed-and likewise an error in the New Century Trust Deed-prevented foreclosure on the Property, Wells Fargo filed a complaint in the trial court seeking reformation. Wells Fargo requested that the New Century Trust Deed be reformed to reflect a proper conveyance to New Century of a security interest in the Property. Reformation was necessary, in Wells Fargo's view, because-absent altering the language of the New Century Trust Deed-Wells Fargo could not proceed to foreclose on the Property. Because of the mistake in the New Century Trust Deed and lack of a valid security interest in the Property, Wells Fargo sought a judgment for reformation, an equitable remedy preliminary to any enforcement action under the circumstances. Accordingly, Wells Fargo's action below sought to reframe the underlying vesting instrument, not to enforce its terms.
¶16 But this conclusion does not end our inquiry. For Wells Fargo's claims to be jurisdictionally barred, they must constitute "claims" within the meaning of the Nonclaim Statutes. Appellants argue that Wells Fargo's reformation claims are "claims" within the Nonclaim Statutes and are therefore barred because Wells Fargo did not present these reformation claims to Lynnette Noerring's estate within one year of Lynnette's passing. We also reject this argument and conclude that the Nonclaim Statutes do not apply to the issues presented on appeal.
¶17 As noted, the Nonclaim Statutes require presentation within one year of claims against a decedent's estate that arose before the death of the decedent. In this context, "claims" "include[ ] liabilities of the decedent ..., whether arising in contract, in tort, or otherwise, and ... [do] not include ... demands or disputes regarding title of a decedent ... to specific assets alleged to be included in the estate."
¶18 We have observed that "reformation is an equitable remedy that permits the court to add new terms to a deed or alter the original language of a deed to conform to the parties' intent."
FDIC v. Taylor
,
II. Statute of Limitations
¶19 Appellants next argue that the trial court incorrectly identified the date that the statute of limitations for fraud or mistake began to run. An action to reform a deed based upon fraud or mistake must be brought within three years. Utah Code Ann. § 78B-2-305(3) (LexisNexis Supp. 2018). 9
¶20 Generally, the "statute of limitations begins to run upon the happening of the last event necessary to complete the cause of action."
Russell Packard Dev., Inc. v. Carson
,
¶21 Here, the trial court determined that Wells Fargo discovered the mistake-that Lynnette and Justine, in their individual capacities, mistakenly pledged the Property as security for the New Century Loan without being title owners-in September 2011, when Wells Fargo completed a title search in anticipation of foreclosure. Having brought the action within three years of discovery of that information, the court concluded that the statute of limitations did not bar Wells Fargo's claim for reformation. Appellants do not challenge this finding on appeal, but instead assert that, as a matter of law, the statute of limitations began running in 2006 because New Century had actual or constructive knowledge of the New Century Trust Deed, which contained the mistaken statements. Because New Century-and by imputation, Wells Fargo-had sufficient notice of the mistake in the title to trigger the statute of limitations in 2006, they assert, the statute of limitations expired before the complaint was filed in 2013. In other words, Appellants ask us to supplant the trial court's factual finding-the 2011 discovery of the mistake-with a legal conclusion (constructive notice) that, by operation of the recording statutes, Wells Fargo reasonably should have known of the mistake in 2006.
¶22 In the context of Utah's recording statutes, we recognize two types of notice, actual and constructive.
See
FDIC v. Taylor
,
¶23 As we noted, Appellants do not challenge the trial court's finding that Wells Fargo had actual notice of the mistake in 2011. Accordingly, we discern no error in the trial court's findings and do not further consider the actual notice argument. With respect to inquiry notice, Appellants fail to explain the particular circumstances here that would put a reasonable person on guard. They instead assert generally that "had the real estate industry been less 'fast and loose' leading up to the Great Recession-[a] 2006 inquiry [into the Property's title] would have revealed the correct state of title." Because the briefing on this theory is inadequate to carry their burden of persuasion, we do not consider it further.
See
Bank of Am. v. Adamson
,
¶24 With regard to record notice, Appellants argue that Wells Fargo had notice in 2006 of the recorded instruments as a matter of law, which triggered the running of the statute of limitations. To be sure, "from the time of recording with the appropriate county recorder, [recorded deeds] impart notice to all persons of their contents."
of the facts constituting the fraud" or mistake.
Smith v. Edwards
,
¶25 Here, the trial court engaged in a "difficult and intensely fact-dependent inquiry," considered the instruments recorded, and concluded that the event triggering the statute of limitations occurred in 2011.
See
Russell Packard
,
¶26 The mistake is also not apparent on the face of the New Century Trust Deed. Lynnette and Justine represented in the deed that they were title owners of the Property with authority to convey it. By endorsing the New Century Trust Deed, they further agreed to convey an interest in the Property to New Century as security for the New Century Note. Although Lynnette and Justine, in their individual capacities, could not do this in reality, this defect is not apparent in the trust deed. Consequently, Wells Fargo's knowledge of the contents of the 2006 Quitclaim Deed and the New Century Trust Deed does not equate to discovery of the facts constituting the mistake.
See
Smith
,
¶27 The trial court found that New Century had no knowledge of the mistake in the New Century Trust Deed when the loan closed in 2006. Rather, the court determined that Wells Fargo discovered the mistake in 2011 when completing a title search. We are not persuaded that, under the circumstances of this case, the recording statute imparting constructive notice supplants the court's fact-finding inquiry. We accordingly decline to disturb the trial court's findings.
III. Authority to Reform a Deed
¶28 Appellants also argue that the trial court lacked authority to reform the New Century Trust Deed because doing so involved substituting a third party into the deed and creating a new deed. By changing the identity of the grantor of the security interest in the Property from Lynnette and Justine, as individuals, to Lynnette, as trustee for the OMI Trust, they argue, the court created an "entirely new" document. We disagree.
¶29 "Reformation of a deed is appropriate where the terms of the written instrument are mistaken in that they do not show the true intent of the agreement between the parties."
RHN Corp. v. Veibell
,
¶30 Appellants first contend that the trial court improperly substituted "a stranger [into] the deed." We are not persuaded. At the time Lynnette and Justine entered into the New Century Trust Deed, Lynnette was the sole trustee of the OMI Trust and Justine was the beneficiary. As trustee, Lynnette was authorized-with consent of the beneficiary, Justine-to mortgage or pledge the Property as security on behalf of the trust. Here, the trial court determined that New Century, Lynnette, and Justine intended to use the Property to secure the New Century Note. Indeed, each party stated as much in the resulting trust deed. Appellants do not challenge this finding, nor do they assert that Lynnette, at that time, could not have encumbered the Property on behalf of the OMI Trust. Instead, they argue that the court could not add the OMI Trust entity to the New Century Trust Deed.
¶31 There is no question that Lynnette, in her capacity as trustee of the OMI Trust, did not sign the New Century Trust Deed. This oversight prompted the present reformation litigation. Lynnette and Justine, as individuals, and Lynnette, as trustee of the OMI Trust, all shared the same interests, however, and benefited from the loan. Though reformation is inappropriate "when it will result in injury of innocent third parties," this is not such a situation.
See
27 Williston on Contracts § 70:45 (4th ed. 2018). Had Lynnette, as trustee of the OMI Trust, correctly transferred her interest in the Property for the New Century Note, the individuals present would be identical, i.e., Lynnette, Justine, and New Century. Moreover, by Lynnette and Justine's involvement, Lynnette, as trustee of the OMI Trust, had adequate notice of the transaction and opportunity to advance any opposition.
See
Farmers Union Oil Co. of Garrison v. Smetana
,
¶32 Appellants also contend that the trial court improperly wielded the reformation tool to craft a completely new document. We disagree. The reformation doctrine is generally used to "add words omitted from a piece of paper," and Appellants correctly observe that this court has expressed some skepticism about employing the remedy "to add the omitted piece of paper (the deed)."
See
Taylor
,
¶33 There is no dispute in this case that Lynnette, as trustee of the OMI Trust, did not sign either the 2006 Quitclaim Deed or the New Century Trust Deed. Modifying Lynnette's designation as grantor on the New Century Trust Deed, however, did not create a new document. It merely added words to the New Century Trust Deed to "show the true intent of the agreement between the parties."
See
Veibell
,
CONCLUSION
¶34 The trial court did not err when it granted Wells Fargo's request to reform the New Century Trust Deed. This particular cause of action-equitable reformation-is equitable in nature and therefore was not a "claim" within the meaning of the Nonclaim Statutes. Accordingly, the trial court had jurisdiction to decide the issues raised in this appeal. Additionally, we are not persuaded that, under the circumstances of this case, Wells Fargo had constructive notice of the mistakes in the 2006 Quitclaim Deed or New Century Trust Deed prior to 2011. Finally, we conclude that the trial court retained authority to reform the New Century Trust Deed to reflect the intent of the parties. We affirm.
Because Lynnette and Justine share a last name, we refer to each by her first name throughout this opinion. We intend no disrespect by the apparent informality.
By "recording" or "recorded" in this opinion, we refer to recordation of instruments at the Salt Lake County Recorder's Office.
Although not relevant to this appeal, we note for clarity that the New Century Note was sold and pooled together with other mortgage loans into an asset-backed trust. Wells Fargo Bank, NA is the trustee for that trust.
Following the second loan modification, Justine made two payments before defaulting, one in March and one in April 2011.
Justine succeeded Lynnette as the trustee of the OMI Trust and, in 2013, Darwin Long (Long) succeeded Justine as the trustee.
The court alternatively concluded that the 2006 Quitclaim Deed could be reformed based on the same reasoning. Although Wells Fargo initially requested the remedy of reformation of the 2006 Quitclaim Deed, it later asserted that the court could alternatively reform the New Century Trust Deed. Appellants did not challenge the court's adoption of this alternative remedy, but instead focused their arguments below, as on appeal, on the absence of the OMI Trust as a party to the New Century Trust Deed. The trial court could not reform the New Century Trust Deed, Appellants argued, because that reformation would entail drawing the OMI Trust-a separate legal entity that was not a party to the New Century Trust Deed-into that transaction. Because the trial court ordered reformation of the New Century Trust Deed, we likewise focus our attention on that aspect of the court's decision.
Where the applicable provision has not substantively changed, we cite the most recent version of the Utah Code for convenience.
We note that Wells Fargo asserted several claims in its complaint, some of which may have been subject to the Nonclaim Statutes' one-year presentation period. But the decision of the trial court as well as the parties' argument on appeal focuses on Wells Fargo's cause of action for reformation. We accordingly limit our review to that legal theory.
The parties do not dispute either the applicable statute of limitations or whether it is subject to tolling under the statutory discovery rule. We therefore limit our review to the trial court's finding regarding Wells Fargo's discovery of the facts forming the basis of the mistake claim.
See
Shiozawa v. Duke
,
To be certain, Lynnette's 2006 Quitclaim Deed did not effectively convey the Property because the OMI Trust was the title owner at the time and Lynnette listed herself, individually, as the grantor. But the deed was not defective simply because it could not convey title to the Property under the circumstances. Quitclaim deeds "do not imply the conveyance of any particular interest in property" but rather convey only the interest the grantor holds at the time, "be that interest what it may."
See
Nix v. Tooele County
,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.