Real Estate Law

Plaintiffs, as individuals and on behalf of similarly situated persons, appealed from a circuit court order dismissing their claims against the defendants homeowners association and board of directors in which they alleged that the defendants’ assessments were unlawful and unconscionable and that defendants breached their fiduciary duty by misappropriating funds. Plaintiffs also appealed from the circuit court’s judgment on the pleadings for defendants on plaintiffs’ claims that defendants’ organizational structure did not comply with law. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the circuit court did not err in dismissed the claims or entering judgment on the pleadings under the facts alleged by the plaintiffs. (ODEN JOHNSON and WILSON, concurring)

Plaintiff initiated legal proceedings seeking to foreclose and reform a mortgage concerning residential property located in East St. Louis. The mortgagor died prior to the commencement of the action but before her death, the defendant had executed and recorded a quitclaim deed transferring the property to defendant and his siblings as tenants in common. Defendant argued that the mortgage should have been discharged upon the mortgagor’s death because she merely reserved a life estate and that the plaintiff’s actions constituted fraudulent and deceptive practices under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The circuit court granted the plaintiff’s motion, finding that the deed was testamentary in nature and that defendant did not bring forth sufficient facts in support of his counterclaim. The appellate court reversed the order granting summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff and denying defendant’s motion for summary judgment on his first affirmative defense by finding that the deed conveyed immediate title to defendant in fee simple as a tenant in common while reserving a life estate so that upon the decedent’s death the mortgage was extinguished and vacated any orders that adversely affected defendant’s interest in the property. (McHANEY and SHOLAR, concurring)