American Exchange Bank v. Topp

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court held that Nebraska's antideficiency statute, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1013, applied to guaranty obligations secured by trust deeds. It further held that a contractual waiver of the statute's deficiency limitations was unenforceable as contrary to public policy when the lender exercised the trustee's power of sale and sought a deficiency judgment. The court concluded that assessed values and prior appraisals created a genuine issue of material fact regarding the properties' fair market values, reversed summary judgment, and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1013 applies to a guarantor's obligation when the guarantor's trust deed secures that obligation and the creditor seeks a deficiency judgment after exercising the trust deed's power of sale.
2. A waiver of the limitation on deficiency judgments in § 76-1013 is unenforceable when a trust deed secures the obligation, the creditor exercises the power of sale, and the creditor seeks a deficiency judgment.
3. The evidence of assessed values and prior appraisals created a genuine issue of material fact regarding the properties' fair market values at the time of the trustee sales, making summary judgment improper.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Nebraska's antideficiency statute, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-1013, applies to guarantors whose obligations are secured by trust deeds.
2. Whether a contractual waiver of the fair-market-value limitation on deficiency judgments is enforceable when the creditor exercises a trust deed's power of sale and seeks a deficiency judgment.
3. Whether the assessed values and prior appraisals created a genuine issue of material fact regarding the properties' fair market value at the time of the trustee sales.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded