California Court of Appeal

In claims for wrongful foreclosure under a deed of trust and breach of a home improvement contract, judgment is reversed in part where: 1) Civil Code section 2924 deems the statutorily required mailing, publication, and delivery of notices in nonjudicial foreclosure, and the performance of statutory nonjudicial foreclosure procedures, to be privileged communications under the qualified, common-interest privilege of Civil Code section 47, subdivision (c)(1); 2) foreclosure company's recording of the notice of default on instruction by the home sellers was privileged; and 3) evidence failed to demonstrate foreclosure company acted with malice thus foreclosure company was immune from homebuyers' slander of title and negligence claims. Judgment is affirmed in part where: 1) unlike foreclosure company, home sellers were not entitled to privilege protection; and 2) the trial court properly found that homebuyers were prevailing parties entitled to attorney fees against home sellers and foreclosure company on equitable claims arising out of the promissory note and deed of trust.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/17/2008
• Published 11/17/2008

Judges

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel