Dillon v. S. Mgmt. Corp. Ret. Trust
Annotate this CaseThis action concerned the sale of certain property to Plaintiffs. The property was sold by Robert Rood, who, together with his company Level One Capital Partners, LLC, originated loans funded by Southern Management Corporation Retirement Trust (SMCRT). In 2006, Level One originated a loan to Thomas Gramuglia, which was secured by a trust deed for property Gramuglia owned in Park City. Gramuglia later sold the property to Plaintiffs. At the time of the purchase, Plaintiffs did not know the beneficial interest under the trust deed had been assigned to SMCRT. After SMCRT gave notice of its intent to foreclose on the property, Plaintiffs sued SMCRT. The district court determined (1) the trust deed encumbering the Plaintiffs’ property in Park City was invalid, (2) SMCRT had slandered Plaintiffs’ title, (3) SMCRT was liable for damages, and (4) Plaintiffs were entitled to recover their attorney fees, and a portion of those fees should be trebled. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment and the majority of its award of damages; but (2) reversed the court’s grant of treble attorney fees, holding that the court erred when it concluded that Utah Code 57-1-38(3) permits the trebling of attorney fees.
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