MYRON SPONDER, ETC., APPELLANT,
v.
EQUITY CAPITAL COMPANY ET AL., APPELLEES
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A junior mortgagee appealed a summary judgment denying his right to redeem property after foreclosure of a senior mortgage. The court affirmed, holding that the junior mortgagee was barred by the equitable defense of unclean hands because he knowingly participated in the senior foreclosure and waited years to assert his redemption rights while improvements were made to the property.
The court held that while a junior mortgagee generally has a right to redeem, such equitable relief may be denied where the mortgagee comes into court with unclean hands. Here, Sponder's unclean hands—evidenced by his knowing participation in the senior foreclosure and his nine-year delay in asserting redemption rights while improvements were made—barred his equitable claim for redemption.
[1] A junior mortgagee may be denied the equitable relief of redemption if they come into court with unclean hands.
[2] A party seeking equitable relief must offer to do equity and not merely seek to acquire property through a lien for a fraction of its value.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Plaintiff knowingly participated in the original foreclosure action wherein Co-Defendant, EQUITY CAPITAL CO., a Minnesota corporation foreclosed its senior mortgage on this and other 'properties owned by Co-Defendant, 601 W. 26TH CORP., a New York corporation; Plaintiff therefore has not come into equity with clean hands.”
Establishes the unclean hands defense based on Sponder's participation in the senior foreclosure
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSponder held a junior mortgage on property with a principal of $7,500, which matured in June 1959. Equity Capital Company held a senior mortgage and f…
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This is an appeal from a summary final judgment entered for the defendants in an action brought by a junior mortgagee to redeem certain property after foreclosure of the senior mortgage and a judicial sale of the premises. The trial judge held upon the basis of the pleadings, depositions on file, interrogatories and affidavits that:
* * * * * *
“1. Plaintiff knowingly participated in the original foreclosure action wherein Co-Defendant, EQUITY CAPITAL CO., a Minnesota corporation foreclosed its senior mortgage on this and other 'properties owned by Co-Defendant, 601 W. 26TH CORP., a New York corporation; Plaintiff therefore has not come into equity with clean hands.
“2. Plaintiff has not come into equity seeking to obtain true equity between the parties nor offering to do equity; Plaintiff’s avowed object is to obtain, as admitted by his counsel, the fee ownership of property worth well in excess of $1,-000,000.00 through foreclosure of a lien in the approximate sum of $20,000.00, which said $20,000.00 has heretofore been *252tendered in the Court registry by these Defendants for the express purpose of paying the full and complete debt owed to Plaintiff and as secured by Plaintiff’s junior mortgage.
“3. Plaintiff had a right, as of June, 1959, to demand payment of his said note, in the principal sum of $7,500.00; however, this action was not brought until August 28, 1968, at a time when substantial improvements had been made by Co-Defendants, EDMAL REALTY CORPORATION, INC., a Florida corporation, and HAROLD J. SEGAL, who purchased the property from the Grantee at the foreclosure sale; under these and other facts reflected of record herein, Plaintiff is clearly guilty of laches, waiver and/or estoppel.
“4. Since Plaintiff’s original debt together with accrued interest has been fully paid by way of the deposit aforesaid into the Court registry, and because the only purpose of a mortgage is to collateralize or secure the repayment of a loan or indebtedness, with the property standing as security only for such repayment, there would be no equity in allowing Plaintiff to capture the fee ownership of the collateral when payment of his claim is already secured to him as above described.”
Appellant has presented two points. The first is that a junior mortgagee has an absolute. right to redeem from the lien of a senior mortgage. The second is that a junior mortgagee does not forfeit his right to redeem where he has knowledge of a senior mortgage foreclosure and he fails to intervene. We think that neither of these points presents reversible error on this appeal because the trial judge entered the judgment upon the finding that the appellant as plaintiff came into the court with unclean hands and that because of this fact he should be denied the equitable relief for which he prayed. Faber v. Landman, Fla.App.1960, 123 So.2d 405. The court did then proceed in its final judgment to do equity by providing for the payment of appellant’s mortgage.
Finding that appellant has failed to demonstrate error in the court’s determination that all of the facts before the court together with the reasonable inferences therefrom established the defense of unclean hands without genuine issue, we therefore affirm the judgment entered.
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Carroll & Assocs., P.A. v. Galindo, 864 So. 2d 24 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003)…mes to the court with unclean hands or the foreclosure would be unconscionable”); Lamb v. Pike, 659 So. 2d 1385, 1387 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)(stating that unclean hands is a valid equitable defense to a foreclosure action); Sponder v. Equity Capital Co., 248 So. 2d 251, 252 (Fla. 3d DCA 1971)(finding that a junior mortgagee with unclean hands should be denied the equitable relief of foreclosure). Accordingly, the final judgment of foreclosure is reversed and the cause remanded with instructions that the foreclosu…
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Posnansky v. Breckenridge Ests. Corp., 621 So. 2d 736 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)…enor comes before the court requesting equity with unclean hands, one factor in which may be the failure to intervene in a prior foreclosure of which he had notice. Riley v. Grissett, 556 So. 2d 473 (Fla. 1st DCA1990); Sponder v. Equity Capital Co., 248 So. 2d 251 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied, 252 So. 2d 804 (Fla.1971). See also Orr v. Allen-Hanford, Inc., 158 Fla. 34, 27 So. 2d 823 (1946). For a variety of reasons apparent from the record, the equities in this case appear to favor the Plaintiffs, who did not…
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Myron Sponder v. Equity Cap. Co., 252 So. 2d 804 (Fla. 1971)…Certiorari denied. 248 So. 2d 251. ROBERTS, C. J., and ERVIN, BOYD, McCAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- State of Fla. ex rel. Princess Griffin v. Schulz, 123 So. 2d 405 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960)