law-foreclosure | liens | home equity loans liens expedited foreclosure | lien validity | Texas
homestead law |
FORECLOSURE -
PETITIONS FOR REVIEW DENIED BY THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT
09-0071 TERRA XXI, LTD., TERRA PARTNERS, VEIGEL FARMS, INC., ROBERT W. VEIGEL AND
ELLA MARIE VEIGEL v. AG ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION; from Deaf Smith County; 7th district
(07-06-00419-CV, 280 SW3d 414, 10-31-08)(Jurisdiction of Courts Below, foreclosure sale, right to
possession, forcible detainer)
08-0588
MICHAEL O. MURRAY AND WHITNEY W. MURRAY v. THE CADLE COMPANY; from Dallas County;
5th district
(05-06-01481-CV, 257 SW3d 291, 04-25-08)(lien priority, foreclosure, equitable subrogation)
07-0966
TERRA XXI, LTD., ET AL. v. MARK HARMON; from Deaf Smith County; 7th district
(07-06-00193-CV, ___ S.W.3d ___, 07-16-07, pet. denied May 2008) (debt, deed of trust,
foreclosure, summary judgment)
THE CADLE COMPANY AND CADLEWAY PROPERTIES, INC. v. MARY ESTER ORTIZ AND DAVID
ORTIZ; (Dissenting Opinion) from Calhoun County; 13th district (13-06-00282-CV, 227 SW3d 831,
05-17-07, pet. denied April 2008) (wrongful foreclosue, mechanics lien, attorneys fees)
This appeal arises from a wrongful foreclosure lawsuit. Mary Ester Ortiz and David Ortiz, appellees,
obtained a judgment invalidating a lien on their homestead held by The Cadle Company and
Cadleway Properties, Inc. ("Cadle"), appellants. The trial court declared a wrongful foreclosure and
also awarded the Ortizes attorneys' fees. The issues presented are (1) whether a mechanic's lien
against a marital homestead is valid if the lien documents are not signed by both spouses, and (2)
whether attorneys' fees are available in a foreclosure case wherein title ultimately depends upon a
deed's construction. We hold that the mechanic's lien is invalid, and attorneys' fees are available.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court's judgment on both issues.