South Valley Bank & Trust v. Colorado Dutch, LLC

Pursuant to ORS 18.165, “If a judgment with lien effect under ORS 18.150, 18.152 or 18.158 is entered or recorded in a county before a conveyance, or a memorandum of a conveyance, of real property of the debtor is recorded in that county, the conveyance of the judgment debtor’s interest is void as against the lien of the judgment unless: (a) The grantee under the conveyance is a purchaser in good faith for a valuable consideration . . .”

Plaintiff appealed writ of execution and order that authorized a sale pursuant to ORS 19.205(3). Plaintiff assigned error to the trial court’s denial of writ challenge on the merits without holding an evidentiary hearing to allow Plaintiff to prove that it had purchased the real property in good faith and for consideration. On appeal, Plaintiff argued that whether it was a purchaser in good faith for consideration is a question of fact because Plaintiff obtained equitable title to the property in 2010 and the questions of good faith and consideration have to be assessed as of the 2010 transfer. In response, South Valley argued that due to lack of consideration, the transfer of prop¬erty to Plaintiff was void under ORS 18.165(1) as a matter of law. Pursuant to ORS 18.165, “If a judgment with lien effect under ORS 18.150, 18.152 or 18.158 is entered or recorded in a county before a conveyance, or a memorandum of a conveyance, of real property of the debtor is recorded in that county, the conveyance of the judgment debtor’s interest is void as against the lien of the judgment unless: (a) The grantee under the conveyance is a purchaser in good faith for a valuable consideration . . .” The Court of Appeals held that the trial court correctly concluded that due to the lack of consideration, the deed did not qualify for an exception under ORS 18.165(1)(a) and was void and therefore, the writ of execution was valid. Affirmed.