ROBERT GLENN JOHNSON, JR.,
Plaintiff,
v
.
Wilkes County
No. 05 CVS 356
LEE Q. MCMILLAN,
Defendant.
Vannoy, Colvard, Triplett & Vannoy, P.L.L.C., by H.C. Colvard,
Jr., and Daniel S. Johnson, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Jordan and Jordan Law Offices, PLLC, by Tracie M. Jordan, for
Defendant-Appellant.
STEPHENS, Judge.
On 16 December 1999, Defendant executed a promissory note for
the sum of $200,000.00 (the Note) in favor of Branch Banking and
Trust Company (BB&T). The Note stated that it was granted by
Defendant in connection with a deed of trust executed by Thomas B.
Burch dated 16 December 1999 (the Deed of Trust). Mr. Burch's
signature does not appear on the Note. The Deed of Trust, executed
by Mr. Burch and recorded in the Wilkes County Register of Deeds
Office that same day, secure[d] the payment of the Debt evidenced
by the Note. The security contained in the Deed of Trust was a
tract of land owned by Mr. Burch. By general warranty deed
recorded 20 March 2002 (the Deed), Mr. Burch conveyed theproperty that was subject to the Deed of Trust to Plaintiff. The
Deed indicated that the conveyance was specifically subject to
the Deed of Trust.
On or about 9 August 2004, Defendant fully paid BB&T the
balance due under the Note. On 24 January 2005, BB&T executed a
document which assigned to Defendant all of its right, title and
interest in and to the Note and the Deed of Trust. This document
was recorded in the Wilkes County Register of Deeds Office on 24
February 2005.
By Complaint filed 10 March 2005, Plaintiff sought a
declaratory judgment that the indebtedness evidenced by the Note
had been cancelled and that, therefore, the Deed of Trust was void
and of no force and effect. Plaintiff also sought an order
cancelling the Deed of Trust from the public land records of Wilkes
County. In his Answer filed 10 June 2005, Defendant alleged that
he had signed the Note as an accommodation party to Mr. Burch and
that he had only paid off the Note when Mr. Burch failed to make
payments to BB&T. Defendant further alleged that, due to BB&T's
assignment, Plaintiff was responsible to Defendant for amounts paid
by Defendant under the Note. Defendant sought a declaratory
judgment that the Deed of Trust represented a valid lien on
Plaintiff's property and that Defendant should be allowed to
foreclose on the property unless the Note was paid in full by
Plaintiff.
On 26 August 2005, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Summary
Judgment. Defendant submitted a seventeen-page Memorandum inOpposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment. Following
a hearing, on 19 October 2005, the trial court entered an order
granting summary judgment in favor of Plaintiff, declaring the Deed
of Trust to be void and of no force and effect, and ordering the
Register of Deeds of Wilkes County to cancel from the public land
records of Wilkes County the Deed of Trust. Defendant timely
filed Notice of Appeal on 14 November 2005 from the order granting
summary judgment.
On 19 January 2006, Plaintiff moved to dismiss the appeal on
grounds that Defendant had not timely served a proposed record on
appeal, the parties had not settled a proposed record on appeal by
agreement, and Defendant had not obtained an order extending the
time to prepare and serve the proposed record on appeal. Plaintiff
also moved to correct the order granting summary judgment because
Defendant's last name had been incorrectly spelled.
On 15 February 2006, Defendant filed an Answer to Motion to
Dismiss the Appeal and Answer to Correct Order of Summary Judgment.
In this filing, Defendant acknowledged his failure to timely serve
a proposed record on appeal, but alleged that this failure was due
to counsel's serious health problems as detailed in attached
affidavits. Defendant requested a fifteen-day extension of time
within which to serve the proposed record. Defendant also
contended that the granting of Plaintiff's Motion to Correct Order
would give Defendant an additional thirty-five days within which to
serve the proposed record. A hearing on the Motion to Dismiss the Appeal was held 23
February 2006. By order filed 6 March 2006, the trial court denied
Defendant's request to extend the time within which to serve the
proposed record on appeal, granted Plaintiff's motion to correct
the spelling of Defendant's last name in the summary judgment
order, and dismissed Defendant's appeal. On 8 March 2006,
Defendant filed a Notice of Appeal excepting to the order
dismissing the appeal. On 14 March 2006, the 19 October 2005
summary judgment order was recorded in the Wilkes County Register
of Deeds Office, thereby cancelling the Deed of Trust.
On 30 March 2006, Defendant petitioned this Court for a writ
of certiorari. The petition was granted 26 April 2006 for the
purpose of reviewing the 19 October 2005 order. Defendant then
withdrew his appeal from the trial court's 6 March 2006 order. In
his brief and by motion filed 11 August 2006, Plaintiff argues that
the appeal currently before this Court should be dismissed as moot.
For the following reasons, we agree with Plaintiff.
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