Pembrook Condominium Association-One v. North Shore Trust and Savings
2013 IL App (2d) 130288
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2014Background
- Pembrook Condominium Association filed forcible entry and detainer seeking possession and unpaid association charges against a unit owned by Aimee Zeit; North Shore Trust & Savings held a first mortgage.
- North Shore foreclosed (complaint filed July 2011), purchased the unit at sheriff’s sale April 13, 2012, and a deed to North Shore was recorded April 17, 2012; foreclosure sale was confirmed by the court.
- Pembrook recorded a lien July 27, 2011 for unpaid charges ($1,607.55) and later another lien August 30, 2012 for larger amounts through July 2012.
- North Shore tendered checks for May–July 2012 charges (tender for May and June was delivered June 18, 2012); plaintiff initially refused but accepted payments from August 2012 onward.
- Trial court dismissed plaintiff’s claims for assessments that accrued before North Shore obtained title/possession, but left the May–July claim; plaintiff appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can the association enforce a lien against a foreclosing mortgagee for assessments that became due before the mortgagee obtained title/possession? | Association: lien arose when assessments became due and survived foreclosure; foreclosure without naming association doesn’t extinguish lien. | North Shore: lien cannot be enforced against purchaser for pre-foreclosure charges; purchaser not liable until it obtains title/possession. | Court: No—association cannot recover charges that became due before North Shore obtained title/possession (follow Newport). |
| Does a purchaser’s payment of post-foreclosure assessments extinguish a prior lien under 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(3)? | Association: acceptance/refusal of tender irrelevant; it was not named in foreclosure so lien survives. | North Shore: statute requires purchaser to pay post-sale assessments; such payment confirms extinguishment of prior lien. | Court: Yes—payment of assessments from the first day of the month after the sale (May 1, 2012) extinguished any prior lien under §9(g)(3). |
| Did the timing of North Shore’s tender (check delivered June 18, 2012) prevent §9(g)(3) from applying? | Association: late tender shows purchaser didn’t pay for May, so §9(g)(3) not triggered. | North Shore: the June check covered May and June charges, so it satisfied the statute’s requirement. | Court: Payment covering May charges satisfied §9(g)(3); lien extinguished. |
| Could the foreclosure judgment itself (or condo declaration) be disregarded in favor of association’s lien? | Association: declaration reserves lien; foreclosure without joining association cannot extinguish lien except as permitted by law. | North Shore: declaration subordinates liens to prior first mortgages and transfer on foreclosure can extinguish pre-transfer assessments. | Court: Declined to rely on declaration or foreclosure-judgment arguments because prior case law and §9(g)(3) independently bar recovery. |
Key Cases Cited
- Newport Condominium Ass’n v. Talman Home Federal Savings & Loan Ass’n of Chicago, 188 Ill. App. 3d 1054 (Ill. App. Ct. 1988) (purchaser at foreclosure not liable for assessments accruing before it obtained sheriff’s deed).
- Board of Directors of Olde Salem Homeowners’ Ass’n v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 226 Ill. App. 3d 281 (Ill. App. Ct. 1992) (citing Newport; assignee of mortgage lender not liable for pre-deed assessments where association was not named in foreclosure).
- Wells v. Board of Trustees of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, 361 Ill. App. 3d 716 (Ill. App. Ct. 2005) (statutes applied according to plain meaning).