Wilmington Savings Fund Society v. Mosier

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAII REPORTS OR THE PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed
Intermediate Court of Appeals
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
05-AUG-2024
08:16 AM
Dkt. 52 OGMD

NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I

WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB AS OWNER TRUSTEE OF
THE RESIDENTIAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES TRUST V-D,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
DONNALYN M. MOSIER, Defendant-Appellant,
and
BANK OF AMERICAN, N.A.; STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION;
MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC.; UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE;
ASSOCIATION OF APARTMENT OWNERS OF ONE WATERFRONT TOWERS,
Defendant-Appellees,
and
JOHN DOES 1-50; JANE DOES 1-50; DOE PARTNERSHIPS 1-50;
DOE CORPORATIONS 2-50; DOE ENTITIES 2-50, AND DOE GOVERNMENTAL
UNITS 2-50, Defendants.

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT
(CIVIL NO. 1CC131000042)

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL
(By: Leonard, Acting C.J., and Wadsworth and Nakasone, JJ.)

Upon consideration of the January 16, 2024 motion for
order dismissing appeal (Motion to Dismiss), filed by Plaintiff-
Appellee Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, as Owner Trustee
of The Residential Credit Opportunities Trust V-D (Wilmington),
the papers in support, the record, and there being no opposition:
1. Defendant-Appellant Donnalyn M. Mosier (Mosier),
now known as Donnalyn Morgan, appeals from the following orders
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAII REPORTS OR THE PACIFIC REPORTER

and judgment, entered in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit:
(a) the February 16, 2022 "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law
and Order Granting [Wilmington's] Motion for Summary Judgment
Against All Defendants and for Interlocutory Decree of
Foreclosure"; (b) the February 16, 2022 "Judgment"; (c) the June
2, 2022 "Order Denying [Mosier's] Non-Hearing Motion to
Reconsider the Court's 'Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and
Order Granting [WilminGton's] Motion for Summary Judgment Against
All Defendants and for Interlocutory Decree of Foreclosure,'
and (2) 'Judgment', Filed February 28, 2022"; and (d) the June 6,
2022 "Order Denying [Mosier's] Non-Hearing Motion to Set Aside
the Clerk's Entry of Default, Filed February 28, 2022."
2. On January 16, 2024, Wilmington filed the Motion
to Dismiss, by which Wilmington sought dismissal of this appeal
as moot, on the grounds that Mosier did not obtain a stay and the
property at issue (Property) was sold to a third-party, good-
faith purchaser, Thoai Pham (Pham), at the foreclosure sale.
3. The Motion to Dismiss is supported by a
Declaration of Counsel, which attaches, among other documents:
(a) a "true and correct copy" of the Circuit Court's July 25,
2023 "Order Confirming Foreclosure Sale, Approving Commissioner's
Report, Allowance of Commissioner's Fees, Attorneys' Fees, Costs,
Directing Conveyance and for Writ of Ejectment" (Confirmation
Order); and (b) a "true and correct certified copy" of a
"Commissioner's Deed," recorded on October 30, 2023, in the State
of Hawai#i Bureau of Conveyances. The Confirmation Order, among
other things, confirms the sale of the Property to Pham or his
nominee; states that Pham is a "good-faith" purchaser"; orders
the Commissioner to convey the Property to Pham or his nominee
upon receipt of the full purchase price; and states that upon
delivery of the conveyance, Pham or his nominee, "as a good-faith
purchaser," is entitled to possession of the Property. The
Commissioner's Deed conveys the property to several grantees
identified as Pham's nominees.

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NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAII REPORTS OR THE PACIFIC REPORTER

4. Mosier filed no response to the Motion to Dismiss.
5. On March 12, 2024, Pham filed a motion for order
for entry of Stipulation to Limit Legal Remedy of [Mosier's]
Appeal, If Any, to Money Damages (Motion re Stipulation). The
stipulation attached to the motion is signed by counsel for
Mosier, Wilmington, and Pham.
6. Under Hawai#i law, mootness is an issue of
justiciability. See State v. Hewitt, 153 Hawai#i 33, 42, 526
P.3d 558, 567 (2023).
7. The mootness doctrine applies "where events
subsequent to the judgment of the trial court have so affected
the relations between the parties that the two conditions for
justiciability relevant on appeal — adverse interest and
effective remedy — have been compromised." Hamilton ex rel.
Lethem v. Lethem, 119 Hawai#i 1, 5, 193 P.3d 839, 843 (2008).
8. We take judicial notice of the Confirmation Order
and the Commissioner's Deed. See HRE Rule 201; State v. Abdon,
137 Hawai#i 19, 26, 364 P.3d 917, 924 (2016) ("The most frequent
use of judicial notice of ascertainable facts is in noticing the
content of court records." (quoting State v. Akana, 68 Haw. 164,
165, 706 P.2d 1300, 1302 (1985))); In re Thomas H. Gentry
Revocable Tr., 138 Hawai#i 158, 171 n.8, 378 P.3d 874, 887 n.8
(2016) (taking judicial notice of a warranty deed transferring
property because the deed was a matter of public record and
easily verifiable); U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. as Trustee for LSF9
Master Participation Trust v. Ass'n of Apartment Owners of
Waikoloa Hills Condominium Phase I, 150 Hawai#i 573, 584 n.12,
506 P.3d 869, 880 n.12 (App. 2022) (taking judicial notice of
commissioner's apartment deed recorded in the Bureau of
Conveyances).
9. It is undisputed that Mosier did not post a
supersedeas bond or otherwise obtain a stay. the Circuit Court
determined, and Mosier does not dispute, that Pham or his
nominees are third-party, good-faith purchasers of the Property.

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NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAII REPORTS OR THE PACIFIC REPORTER

In these circumstances, no effective relief can be granted to
Mosier with respect to her appeal; it has therefore been rendered
moot. See Bank of New York Mellon v. R. Onaga, Inc., 140 Hawai#i
358, 370, 400 P.3d 559, 571 (2017).
10. No exceptions to the mootness doctrine apply to
this case.
Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion to
Dismiss is granted, and the appeal is dismissed as moot.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Motion re Stipulation is
dismissed.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, August 5, 2024.

/s/ Katherine G. Leonard
Acting Chief Judge

/s/ Clyde J. Wadsworth
Associate Judge

/s/ Karen T. Nakasone
Associate Judge

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