McGurk

We are here concerned with the effect of a quiet title judgment on the assignee of the interest of an entity whose interest was not litigated in the quiet title action. The quiet title plaintiff, Mary McGurk, had named New Century Mortgage Corporation (New Century) in her quiet title action, as New Century held a deed of trust on McGurk’s property. McGurk had also recorded a lis pendens shortly after filing her quiet title complaint. During the course of the action, New Century assigned the deed of trust to Deutsche Bank National Trust Company (Deutsche Bank), as indenture trustee for New Century home equity loan trust 2005-4, but the assignment was not recorded, and McGurk was unaware of it. Thereafter, McGurk dismissed New Century from her quiet title action, as New Century was then in bankruptcy, and McGurk chose to pursue New Century in that forum, rather than seek relief from the automatic stay. McGurk thereafter obtained a judgment purporting to quiet title in her in fee simple. Subsequently, Deutsche Bank recorded its assignment, and brought the instant declaratory relief action, seeking a determination of the validity of the assigned deed of trust.

Given these…