The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued its opinion in Case v. Wilmington National, N.A., No. E2021-00378-SC-R11-CV (Tenn. Nov. 14, 2024). The syllabus from the slip opinion reads:
Plaintiff Terry Case did not make his mortgage payments for several years. The real
property which secured his loan was subsequently sold at a foreclosure sale following the
postponement of a prior sale date. Mr. Case brought a claim for “wrongful foreclosure,”
among others, alleging Defendants Wilmington Trust, N.A. and Wilson & Associates,
PLLC violated the notice requirements in the applicable deed of trust by failing to provide
him with written notice of the postponement. The trial court granted summary judgment
to Defendants, and Mr. Case solely appealed the dismissal of his claim for “wrongful
foreclosure.” The Court of Appeals reversed, finding that Defendants failed to satisfy their
notice obligations under the deed of trust and that summary judgment on the claim for
“wrongful foreclosure” was therefore inappropriate. Defendant Wilmington Trust applied
for permission to appeal to this Court, and we granted review to determine (1) whether
Tennessee recognizes a common law cause of action for “wrongful foreclosure,” and (2)
whether the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Uniform Deed of Trust requires written notice of
postponement in addition to oral announcement pursuant to section 35-5-101(f) of the
Tennessee Code. We further instructed the parties to address whether Mr. Case satisfied
the requirements for constitutional standing. We hold that Mr. Case has constitutional
standing to bring his claim. However, we also hold that there is no common law cause of
action for “wrongful foreclosure” in Tennessee. As a result, we reverse the judgment of
the Court of Appeals and remand to the trial court for entry of an order consistent with this
opinion.
Here is a link to the majority opinion:
Majority Opinion - E2021-00378-SC-R11-CV_0.pdf
Here is a link to Chief Justice Kirby's concurring opinion:
Separate Opinion - E2021-00378-SC-R11-CV.pdf
NOTE: While the wrongful foreclosure does not interest me that much, the discussion of standing under Tennessee's open courts provision of its constitution is very interesting and worth a read.