Robert Robinson v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 12-14-00212-CV

Kenneth Houston purchased a house in 2007, executed a note secured by a deed of trust, and died within a year.
Wells Fargo purchased the property at a nonjudicial foreclosure sale and recorded a substitute trustee’s deed naming the bank as grantee.
Robert Robinson and Mary Edmiston were living in the house at the time of and after the foreclosure.
Wells Fargo sued Robinson and Edmiston in justice court for forcible detainer; the justice court ruled for Wells Fargo and the defendants appealed to county court at law.
The county court granted Wells Fargo’s traditional motion for summary judgment and issued a writ of possession; Robinson appealed to the Twelfth Court of Appeals.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ex parte communication	Robinson: judge and Wells Fargo’s counsel conferred ex parte during recess	Wells Fargo: no preserved complaint / no formal motion presented to court	Overruled — complaint waived for failure to properly move/preserve error
Validity of evidence / "robosigned" documents	Robinson: Bank relied on fabricated/forged filings and failed to show note assignment	Wells Fargo: produced deed of trust, substitute trustee’s deed, and notices to vacate showing purchaser at foreclosure	Overruled — defects in title/foreclosure not adjudicable in forcible detainer; Bank showed superior right to possession
Standing to bring forcible detainer	Robinson: alleged fraud prevents Bank from proving ownership/standing	Wells Fargo: purchaser at foreclosure has superior right to immediate possession; forcible detainer tests possession, not title	Overruled — forcible detainer only decides right to immediate possession; Bank met its burden
Constitutionality of nonjudicial foreclosure/forcible detainer law	Robinson: statute denies due process/equal protection and invites fraud	Wells Fargo: statute not challenged below; procedural default	Overruled — constitutional challenge waived for failure to raise in trial court

Randolph v. Texaco Exploration and Prod., 319 S.W.3d 831 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2010) (defines ex parte communication)
Lake v. Premier Transp., 246 S.W.3d 167 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2007) (preservation of error waiver principles)
Rhone-Poulenc, Inc. v. Steel, 997 S.W.2d 217 (Tex. 1999) (summary judgment movant must prove all elements)
City of Houston v. Clear Creek Basin Auth., 589 S.W.2d 671 (Tex. 1979) (burden shifts on summary judgment)
City of Keller v. Wilson, 168 S.W.3d 802 (Tex. 2005) (standard for reviewing evidence and fact issues)
Chinyere v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 440 S.W.3d 80 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2012) (forcible detainer limited to right to immediate possession)
Morris v. Am. Home Mortg. Servicing, Inc., 360 S.W.3d 32 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2011) (plaintiff need only show superior right to immediate possession)
Shutter v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 318 S.W.3d 467 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2010) (title defects not resolved in forcible detainer)
Black v. Washington Mut. Bank, 318 S.W.3d 414 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2010) (foreclosure purchaser creates landlord/tenant-at-sufferance relationship)
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Ezell, 410 S.W.3d 919 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2013) (foreclosure purchaser’s right to possession may be decided despite challenges to sale validity)
City of El Paso v. Heinrich, 284 S.W.3d 366 (Tex. 2009) (constitutional claims must be presented to trial court or are waived)