Opinion ID: 2617561
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Right to Cure

Text: The Mauchs allege that the trial court's refusal to allow the Mauchs to cure [any default in the 1979 Weinberg/Blackwell agreement] was inconsistent with the unequivocal evidence presented at trial. Appellants' Amended Opening Brief, at 19.
The Mauchs claim that Weinberg admitted that he consented to the terms of the February 1980 agreement in an answer to an interrogatory that was entered into evidence. In the answer, Weinberg checked the response Admit to a statement that read: Plaintiff consented to the written February, 1980 Blackwell/Mauch agreement. This alleged admission is ambiguous. Weinberg did consent to the 1980 Blackwell/Mauch agreement; however, that consent was limited to an acknowledgment only of the Mauchs' 7.56% security interest. The written documentation of Weinberg's consent is limited to: (1) an unsigned full consent to the 1980 Blackwell/Mauch agreement; and (2) another consent form signed by Weinberg acknowledging only the assignment of the 7.56% of the Blackwells' interest in Anini Vista Estates as security for a loan. Despite the absence of express consent on the part of Weinberg, the Mauchs contend that their intent and the Blackwells' intent to enter into a contract proved that the right to cure actually existed. We disagree. An agreement between the Mauchs and Blackwells is insufficient to validate the assignment of certain rights regarding the Anini Vista Estate because the prerequisite to a legitimate assignment between the Blackwells and the Mauchs was Weinberg's consent which, as to the right to cure, was not conveyed by Weinberg. Nonetheless, the Mauchs argue further that even if a meeting of the minds between the Mauchs and Blackwells was not sufficient to create the right to cure, Weinberg, because he took an interest in real property with knowledge of the existence of competing interests in the property, should therefore be subjected to the terms of the prior contracts. This argument is also unpersuasive. While Weinberg may have been aware of the 1981 Blackwell/Mauch agreement, he did not consent to the assignment of the right to cure. Consequently, this provision of the 1981 Blackwell/Mauch agreement was invalid. Weinberg, therefore, was not subject to any prior contract terms and did not injure the rights of the Mauchs. Because the Mauchs have failed to provide evidence of either Weinberg's express or implied consent to the Mauchs' right to cure, the Mauchs have not shown that they ever legitimately possessed a right to cure.
The Mauchs next claim that the circuit court's finding that the Mauchs never tendered payment to Weinberg to cure any default prior to the release of the mortgage lien was unsubstantiated by the evidence. However, the Mauchs also state that the evidence on the record shows that the Mauchs never tendered monies to cure any default by the Blackwells because they were never informed of the default before they released their mortgage in January 10, 1981. Appellant's Amended Opening Brief at 22 n. 3. The Mauchs, therefore, have failed to clearly articulate their point of error and also have failed to provide evidence to prove that the circuit court should have ruled otherwise.
Relying on Shane v. Winter Hill Federal Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 397 Mass. 479, 492 N.E.2d 92 (1986), the Mauchs claim that the circuit court erred in concluding that they did not have a right to cure the Blackwells' default because Weinberg, as the senior mortgagee, owed a responsibility to the Mauchs, as junior mortgagees, not to impair the Mauchs' security interest without their consent. However, at the time Weinberg entered into the second contract with the Blackwells, the Mauchs already had extinguished their mortgage in exchange for the undivided interest in one half of Lot 1. Moreover, because the 1981 Weinberg/Blackwell agreement acknowledged the Mauchs' one half interest in Lot 1, the Mauchs' interests were protected and not impaired in any way by Weinberg's actions.
The Mauchs argue that the right to cure was a separately bargained-for property interest that survived the 1980 Blackwell/Mauch agreement and continued after they received their one half interest in Lot 1. However, not only is the record devoid of any evidence of Weinberg's consent to this aspect of the 1980 Blackwell/Mauch agreement, but the Mauchs have failed to provide evidence of the consideration for this separate bargain. Accordingly, the circuit court did not err when it found that the Mauchs had no right to cure any defects in the 1979 Weinberg/Blackwell agreement.