Jonathan D. Fink, Esq., Wright Finlay & Zak
UTA has filed an amicus brief in the case of Torigian v WT Capital Lender Services. The case involves a trial court awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney fees against a Trustee who recorded a Notice of Default when the borrowers had successfully contended the note had been paid in full. The brief was filed by Wright Finlay & Zak on behalf of the Association and prepared by T. Robert Finlay, Esq., and Jonathan D. Fink, Esq.
The Torigian case is factually similar to the Kachlon v Markowitz (2008) case in which UTA successfully established a trustee’s right to a qualified immunity for its acts. The UTA amicus brief focuses primarily on the Civil Code Section 2924l issue and why the trial court’s decision to award fees to the trustor when the trustee tried to remain neutral would eviscerate both the statute and the immunity granted by Kachlon.
UTA argued forcefully that trustees should be liable for attorneys’ fees where no other monetary damages are awarded against them, at least absent a finding of malice or other wrongful conduct.