Passanisi

This case presents issues relating to the rights of trustors of a deed of trust when the secured realty is sold at a trustee’s sale and the beneficiary is the successful bidder. At issue is the right of the trustors to the satisfaction of an earlier judgment for attorney’s fees awarded to the beneficiary in an unsuccessful suit to enjoin the sale.

Following a trustee’s sale of real property to satisfy a debt owed by plaintiffs Gary and Judy Passanisi to defendants Merit-McBride Realtors, Inc., Jeannette Ceser, and Doris Betts (Merit-McBride), the plaintiffs filed a motion to compel Merit-McBride to acknowledge the satisfaction of a judgment for attorney’s fees and costs awarded to it in an earlier action between the parties. In that action Merit-McBride had successfully defended against plaintiffs’ attempt to enjoin a trustee’s sale. The motion was denied and plaintiffs appeal asserting a plethora of claims. In essence, plaintiffs claim the trustee’s sale either satisfied the judgment by operation of law or statutorily prevented its subsequent enforcement. We reject both of those contentions and hold instead that the judgment was neither automatically satisfied nor…