Kottcamp v. Fleet Real Estate Funding Corp.
Kottcamp v. Fleet Real Estate Funding Corp.
Opinion of the Court
This appeal involves the applicability of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1983)
We will affirm the district court.
The facts are not in dispute. Appellant brought this action against the appellee which had begun a foreclosure by advertisement and sale. No opportunity was afforded by appellee for a hearing by which appellant could present available defenses to the foreclosure proceeding. The specific defense claimed by appellant was that appellant and appellee as mortgagee had reached an agreement whereby appellant would be permitted to deed over to appellee the mortgage in lieu of foreclosure in full satisfaction of all claims under the mortgage. The sheriff of Fremont County was to conduct the foreclosure sale.
The parties made and filed a stipulation providing for acceptance of a deed by ap-pellee in lieu of foreclosure along with payment of attorney fees and costs and appellant agreed to dismiss its claims except that filed pursuant to § 1983 of the federal code.
Appellant relies heavily on Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co., Inc., 457 U.S. 922, 102 S.Ct. 2744, 73 L.Ed.2d 482 (1982) which concerns the relationship between the requirement of “State action” to establish a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and the requirement of action “under color of state law” to establish a right to recover under § 1983. In that case, suit on a debt was filed and prejudgment attachment of the debtor’s property was sought. The court held that attachment procedures ex parte in character violate due process. Lugar, 457 U.S. at 939 n. 21, 102 S.Ct. at 2755 n. 21 confines Lugar to prejudgment attachment and does not hold that a private party’s mere invocation of state legal procedures constitutes “joint participation” as a conspiracy with state officials satisfying the § 1983 requirement of “action under color of law.”
A number of federal cases involving mortgage foreclosure hold that the power of sale contained in the mortgage creates the authority of the sheriff to conduct the sale, not the state. There is no direct state involvement and thus no significant state action. The power of the state is invoked by the private contractual agreement between the parties which is the driving force. The term “nexus” is used to identify a connection with the state. In the facts before us, there was no such nexus. Charmicor v. Deaner, 572 F.2d 694 (9th Cir. 1978); Northrip v. FNMA, 527 F.2d 23 (6th Cir. 1975); Barrera v. Security Building and Investment Corporation, 519 F.2d 1166 (5th Cir. 1975); Bryant v. Jefferson Federal Savings and Loan Association, 509 F.2d 511 (D.C.Cir. 1974). The one mortgage foreclosure case relied on by appellant, Dieffenbach v. Attorney General of Vermont, 604 F.2d 187 (2nd Cir. 1979) is inapplicable in that the mortgage implicated there contained no power of sale provision.
In a recent § 1983 case, the Wyoming Supreme Court held that the mere presence of state officers and employees on a governing board of an agency does not amount to state action. Chasson v. Community Action of Laramie County, Inc., 768 P.2d 572 (Wyo. 1989). The foreclosure picture is similar.
Since we find no state action here, the district court is affirmed.
THOMAS, J., filed a specially concurring opinion.
. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1983) reads:
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory * * *, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or the proper proceeding for redress.
Concurring Opinion
specially concurring.
I concur in the result reached by the majority opinion in this case, and I agree with the rationale that is articulated. I have another concern with respect to Mary Lou Kottcamp’s contentions.
The invocation of a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 depends upon the “deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, 4 4 *.” I am not aware of any precedent standing for the proposition that a statutory provision authorizing foreclosure of a real estate mortgage pursuant to a power of sale results in the deprivation of “any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws.” Kottcamp has failed to present any such authority in her brief or argument. The essence of Kott-camp’s position is that she was deprived of due process by virtue of the foreclosure sale, and I cannot agree that there occurred any invasion of her constitutional rights.
The thrust of her position simply is that foreclosure pursuant to the power of sale, which was consummated by the sale of the property, resulted in a breach of an agreement by Fleet Real Estate Funding Corporation to accept a deed in full satisfaction of its claims against her. If such a breach of contract did occur, Kottcamp is not left without any remedy for that breach, and her concerns in that regard simply carry no constitutional implications.
I would not reach the question of whether the participation by the sheriff of Fremont County in the foreclosure sale could be equated with action “under color of state law” because there first must occur an invasion of the claimant’s constitutional rights. None occurred here.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mary Lou KOTTCAMP, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. FLEET REAL ESTATE FUNDING CORPORATION, Appellee (Defendant)
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published