Opinion ID: 2222275
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Delay in Receiving Payment

Text: On the day of the sale, Huber paid 10 percent of his winning bid by cashier's check. He paid the balance 9 days later. Cynthia claims that by allowing Huber 9 days to make payment, Ryberg violated the trust deed which required the trustee to sell the property to the highest bidder for cash in lawful money of the United States payable at the time of sale. She also claims Ryberg violated § 76-1010(1) which provides that the purchaser at the sale shall forthwith pay the price bid. (Emphasis supplied.) In the absence of anything to the contrary, statutory language is to be given its plain and ordinary meaning; an appellate court will not resort to interpretation to ascertain the meaning of statutory words which are plain, direct, and unambiguous. Newman v. Thomas, 264 Neb. 801, 652 N.W.2d 565 (2002). Forthwith has been given several meanings. Black's Law Dictionary 654 (6th ed.1990) provides the following definitions: Immediately; without delay; directly; within a reasonable time under the circumstances of the case; promptly and with reasonable dispatch.... Within such time as to permit that which is to be done, to be done lawfully and according to the practical and ordinary course of things to be performed or accomplished. The first opportunity offered. Similarly, Webster's Third International Dictionary, Unabridged 895 (1993) provides: 1: with dispatch: without delay: within a reasonable time.... Immediately 2: immediately after some preceding event: Thereupon. Cynthia equates forthwith, as used in § 76-1010(1), with immediately. We conclude, however, that within a reasonable time under the circumstances of the case is more consistent with the underlying purpose of § 76-1010. See Black's Law Dictionary at 654. In discerning the meaning of a statute, a court must determine and give effect to the purpose and intent of the Legislature as ascertained from the entire language of the statute considered in its plain, ordinary, and popular sense. Newman, supra . A court must place on a statute a reasonable construction which best achieves the statute's purpose, rather than a construction which would defeat that purpose. Galaxy Telecom v. J.P. Theisen & Sons, 265 Neb. 270, 656 N.W.2d 444 (2003). Most of the provisions of the Act are designed to ensure that the trustor's interest in the property is not unfairly foreclosed. But by using the term forthwith in § 76-1010(1), the Legislature meant to protect the beneficiary, not the trustor. The use of the term was meant to ensure that the winning bidder could be compelled to promptly pay the bid. If there were no time provision, the winning bidder could indefinitely frustrate the foreclosure by claiming that they were gathering the necessary funds. The use of forthwith in § 76-1010(1) does not contemplate the rigidity of immediate payment. In some circumstances, the beneficiary will not be concerned with the ability of the winning bidder to pay. In other situations, a short delay will enable a bidder to secure additional funds and cover a higher bid-something that may benefit both the beneficiary and the trustor. We conclude that while the Legislature meant to impose a time limit by using forthwith in § 76-1010(1), that time limit was not as definite as Cynthia claims. Rather, the term requires the purchaser to pay the amount of its bid within a reasonable time under the circumstances of the case. Further, we construe the phrase at the time of sale as used in the trust deed as being consistent with the construction that we have given forthwith. Here, Cummins and Huber were closely aligned. At oral argument, Cummins conceded that Huber was a straw man for Cummins. We conclude that Huber, consistent with the Act and the terms of the trust deed, paid the amount of his bid within a reasonable time under the circumstances of the case.