维吉尼亚州最高法院转移对非法拘留者诉讼的管辖权

2016年6月，弗吉尼亚州最高法院裁定 帕里什v. 房利美(Fannie Mae), setting a new precedent for the way in which some types of unlawful detainer actions are tried in Virginia courts.  This case is significant to purchasers of foreclosed properties that are still occupied by the former owners, 使获得占有的诉讼变得更加复杂, 耗时且昂贵. 

当银行将一处房产进行止赎出售时, 以前的住户有时拒绝离开房屋.  In these situations the new property owner (the foreclosure purchaser) must file an action of “unlawful detainer” with the court.  An unlawful detainer is an action against a defendant who lawfully entered into possession of property, 但是他的权利已经结束了.  It is a request for the court to declare that the foreclosure purchaser now has the legal right of possession, 之前的住户必须搬出这里. 

去理解…的后果 帕里什v. 房利美(Fannie Mae)，重要的是要迅速审查弗吉尼亚州司法系统的结构.  最低级别的法院是普通地区法院(民事法院), 交通和刑事科)和少年科 & 家庭关系法庭. The General District Courts routinely hear landlord/tenant disputes including actions for unlawful detainer. An Appeal of the General District Court decision would be heard by a Circuit Court but only 后 the appellant notes and perfects the appeal including posting a bond in the amount awarded by the lower court. An appeal of the Circuit Court decision would be heard by the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court of Virginia. 弗吉尼亚州最高法院是该州的最高法院，它的裁决是最终的. 

一般区域法院是审理大多数案件的初级法院. 法庭上的大多数当事人都是“自辩”,这意味着他们没有律师代表. Like the Circuit Courts, there are General District Courts in every city and county in Virginia. These Courts are presided over by a single judge with the authority to hear misdemeanor criminal cases and civil claims between up to $25,000美元.  Unlike the Circuit Courts, they do not have the authority to determine complete title of property.  然而, General District Courts have traditionally held the authority to determine possession of property in unlawful detainer actions. It is routine practice for General District Courts to award possession of premises to landlords who prove that the tenants, 在得到适当的通知之后, 是否拖欠房租或违反了租赁协议的条款.  

巡回法院有权审理涉及完整所有权的案件, 而普通地区法院则没有这种权力, 是关键和无可争议的吗.  

直到 帕里什 是在2016年决定的, 非法拘留者的行为未被认为涉及完全所有权的确定.  They were viewed simply as actions to determine which party in the dispute has the right to possess the property.  但是，如果该物业的前业主对所有权提出质疑，则 帕里什 decision holds that that the General District Court lacks jurisdiction to hear the unlawful detainer. 

在本案中，教区通过信托契约将其财产转交给受托人.  The trustee subsequently conveyed the parcel by trustee’s deed to Federal National Mortgage Association, 或者“房利美”.”   房利美(Fannie Mae) sent 帕里什的 a notice to vacate and filed a summons for unlawful detainer in the General District Court of Hanover County.  教区以违反信任为由进行辩护.  他们声称他们的信托契约包含联邦法规2c.F.R. § 1024.41(g), which prevents foreclosure if the borrower submits a loss mitigation statement within 37 days of receiving the initial foreclosure notice.  

汉诺威县地方法院审理了此案, 并发现止赎并不是对信托契约的重大违反.  房利美被判拥有该房产.  教区向汉诺威县巡回法院提出上诉, 维持地方法院对房利美有利的判决.  教区向弗吉尼亚最高法院提出上诉. 

在一个意想不到的决定, 弗吉尼亚州最高法院撤销了巡回法院的裁决，并做出了有利于上诉人的判决, 帕里什的.  The majority held that 帕里什的’ allegations of material breach of trust were sufficient to raise a question of complete title.  因此, 普通地方法院无权审理原案, 因为它只有决定占有的管辖权，而不是完全所有权的问题. 

Likewise, the Supreme Court found that the Circuit Court also lacked jurisdiction over the case.  Even though Circuit Courts have the authority to determine complete title in cases brought before them, this authority does not apply to an appeal because an appellate court’s jurisdiction is derived completely from the lower court’s authority to hear a case.  换句话说, 如果普通地区法院从未有权审理此案, 巡回法院也将无法审理上诉.  因此, 巡回法院的权力仅限于不带偏见地驳回该案, 之后房利美可以在巡回法院重新提起诉讼.  The Circuit Court may then exercise its own jurisdictional authority to resolve the question of title. 

作为这个决定的结果, 在普通区域法院提出有关业权的问题, the judge must now determine first whether the claim is sufficient to raise a bona fide issue of complete title.  否则，普通区域法院将保留管辖权，并可审理案件.  然而, 如果真的有所有权问题, 本案必须在没有偏见的情况下被驳回，并在巡回法院重新审理. 

The question of title is never a factor when a plaintiff had prior possession of the property then yielded it to the defendant.  例如, a landlord/plaintiff filing an unlawful detainer action against a tenant who refuses to vacate the premises will not have a title dispute with the tenant, 因为房客一开始就没有所有权.  房东只需要证明她有占有的权利.  因此，该案件可在普通区域法院审理. 

The issue of complete title may arise when a Plaintiff’s claimed right of possession has been acquired 后 被告进入财产.  在这种情况下，原告的占有权不取决于 恢复 占有，但是第一次要求占有.  因丧失抵押品赎回权而引起的非法拘留行动几乎总是属于这一类.  Thus, 如被告在普通区域法院层面提出所有权问题, 该案件将被驳回并重新提交巡回法院.  While scheduling a hearing on a Summons of Unlawful Detainer in a General District Court is relatively quick (about 21 days 后 sending 5 Days’ Notice to the defendant), 要在巡回法庭上开庭需要更多的时间. 类似的, discovery in General District Court is largely limited to a Bill of Particulars and Grounds of Defense while Circuit Court can be lengthy with interrogatories, 作证和要求出示文件. 

虽然这一决定的全面影响还有待确定, 这似乎有可能影响止赎市场.  例如, a potential purchaser who is wary of becoming involved in an extended legal process may be more inclined to hesitate before making an offer on an occupied foreclosure property.  买家可将搜寻范围缩小至只包括空置物业, thereby reducing the number of potential buyers and effectively decreasing the demand for occupied foreclosures.  交替, 有兴趣的买主可能出价较低, 推理，额外的时间, money and legal action required to gain possession of the property should cause a reduction in the purchase price.  进一步, it is foreseeable that a foreclosure purchaser might be deprived of possession until 后 they have sought remedy in Circuit Court, 同时仍然保留所有权的义务，如缴纳财产税. The potential of increased expenses and possible delays in gaining possession of an occupied foreclosure property will have to be carefully evaluated by a buyer, 最好是有经验的房地产律师的帮助.  

凯瑟琳Byler 是一个澳门亚洲博彩平台排名 & 亚洲博彩平台排名律师专注于房地产和信托业务 & 财产和监护/托管. 弗吉尼亚有执照的房地产经纪人, Kathryn is also an adjunct professor at Regent Law School where she currently teaches 房地产 Transactions.  联系Kathryn kbyler@sokoliboudy.com.   

布莱恩·皮尔普斯 是美国海军的现役军官吗, 他是摄政大学法学院的学生，也是pender的法律图书管理员 & 写这篇文章的时候是个亚洲博彩平台排名.  截至2018年10月19日，他是澳门亚洲博彩平台排名 and 亚洲博彩平台排名的律师，可以通过以下方式与他联系 bpeeples@sokoliboudy.com.