Foreclosure battle in Boulder continues with new filing

BOULDER — One of the parties to the 1002 Walnut St. foreclosure action, arguing that a last minute flurry of legal filings resulted in an error, is asking the judge to reverse himself for the second time and permit a single foreclosure to occur instead of a series of foreclosures.

Attorneys for 1007 Walnut Investments LLC filed a motion to reconsider late Tuesday in Boulder County District Court.

Today, Judge Patrick Butler set a deadline of July 12 for objections and gave parties seven days to respond to any of those objections.

The background: George Williams LLLP borrowed $5.78 million from 1002 Walnut Investments in December 2020. The loan was secured by a deed of trust. When the note came due a year later, no payments were made, thus setting up the foreclosure process. The foreclosure of the property at 1002 Walnut in Boulder, which includes multiple units, was supposed to occur June 15. But on June 13, the property owner filed a motion requesting an injunction to stop the sale and an order forcing the lender to foreclose on individual units sequentially until the debt had been cleared. The lender argued, also on June 13, that language in the deed of trust that secured the loan gave it unilateral authority to foreclose on the property en masse.

The judge issued an order permitting the sale en masse, then reversed it, in the process twice admonishing the parties for putting the court in a last-minute position. The Boulder County public trustee moved the sale until later in the month.

On June 21, the lender asked the court for reconsideration, saying that “As a matter of law, the court must enforce that agreement [the deed of trust] as written.” The deed of trust, as cited in the filing, says that “if this deed of trust encumbers more than one parcel of real estate, foreclosure may be by separate parcel or lot or en masse, as lender may elect in its sole discretion.” 

The lender contended in the filing that the court has no choice but to enforce the clear language of the contract and has no authority to rewrite contracts between private parties.

The lender said the last minute filings put the court in a difficult position in which it was unable to fully consider the issues.

If the court is unwilling to enforce the deed of trust, then the lender asked that the court clarify its order to indicate whether it is a preliminary injunction, which would then give the chance for appeal.

Thysson George Williams, representing the property owner, did not return multiple requests for comment over the past week. He texted BizWest today saying he would call back at 3 p.m. but had not responded as of the filing of this report.

The case is George Williams LLLP v. 1002 Walnut Investments LLC filed in Boulder County District Court, case number 2022cv30387.

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