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Chase Plaza Condominium Ass'n, Inc. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (2014)

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Chase Plaza Condominium Ass’n, Inc. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (2014)

Citation: 98 A.3d 166 (D.C. 2014) · Court: District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Nos. 13-CV-623, 13-CV-674 · Argued: April 17, 2014 · Decided: August 28, 2014 · Author: McLeese, J.

The District of Columbia’s leading hoa-super-priority decision. The Court of Appeals held that a condominium association can extinguish a first deed of trust by foreclosing on its six-month super-priority lien under D.C. Code § 42-1903.13(a)(2). Like Nevada, D.C. follows the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act split-lien model. See district-of-columbia, sfr-investments-pool-1-v-us-bank.

Facts

Brian York bought a condominium unit, financing it with a loan secured by a deed of trust later held by JPMorgan Chase Bank. After York defaulted on his monthly condominium assessments, the Chase Plaza Condominium Association foreclosed on the unit; Darcy, LLC acquired it at the association’s foreclosure sale. JPMorgan, as current holder of the note, sued to set aside the sale, contending it could not extinguish the first deed of trust. The Superior Court granted partial summary judgment for JPMorgan, finding the sale impermissibly purported to extinguish the deed-of-trust lien. The association appealed.

Holding

The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded, holding (among other rulings on standing and bankruptcy stays) that a condominium association’s foreclosure sale based on its statutory super-priority lien can extinguish a first deed of trust.

A condominium association’s foreclosure sale of a unit pursuant to its statutory super-priority lien — arising from six months’ worth of unpaid condominium assessments — could extinguish a first deed of trust on the property.

Reasoning

  • Bifurcated lien with a true six-month super-priority piece. D.C. Code § 42-1903.13(a)(2) gives the association’s lien priority over a first mortgage/deed of trust to the extent of six months of unpaid common-expense assessments. The parties agreed that this super-priority piece had higher priority than the JPMorgan first deed of trust.
  • General foreclosure-priority principle. Under ordinary foreclosure law, “liens with lower priority are extinguished if a valid foreclosure sale yields proceeds insufficient to satisfy a higher-priority lien.” Because the super-priority lien outranked the deed of trust and the sale proceeds were insufficient to reach the junior interest, the junior first deed of trust was extinguished by the senior super-priority foreclosure.
  • No requirement that the sale be “subject to” the mortgage. The court rejected the argument that the association could foreclose only subject to the first deed of trust; the statute’s grant of genuine priority means a proper foreclosure wipes out the junior interest.

Practical impact

  • For investors / operators: A purchaser at a D.C. condominium super-priority foreclosure may take title free of the first mortgage — a result parallel to Nevada’s sfr-investments-pool-1-v-us-bank. Diligence on the particular sale’s compliance and on later D.C. statutory amendments is essential. See lien-survival.
  • For mortgage lenders / servicers: A D.C. first deed of trust can be extinguished by a condo association’s six-month super-priority foreclosure; monitoring association delinquencies and curing the super-priority amount is the defensive move. (D.C. later amended its condominium-foreclosure notice and procedure rules; confirm the version applicable to a given sale.)
  • For surplus analysis: The decision determines who holds equity after a D.C. condominium foreclosure, framing any surplus-proceeds claim.

Good-law status

Still good law on its core holding. Decided August 28, 2014; the super-priority/extinguishment holding has not been overruled as of last_verified 2026-06-02. Note that the D.C. Council subsequently amended condominium-foreclosure provisions (notice and procedure); the statutory backdrop for sales after those amendments should be verified against the current D.C. Code rather than assumed from Chase Plaza.

Why it matters

Chase Plaza makes the District of Columbia a true super-priority jurisdiction alongside Nevada and is the anchor for lien-survival and equity-capture analysis at a D.C. condominium-association foreclosure.

Applies in →

district-of-columbia (binding precedent). Persuasive in other UCIOA six-month-super-priority jurisdictions.

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes a court decision for educational purposes and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Verify against the primary opinion and consult a licensed attorney in the relevant jurisdiction before acting. Last verified 2026-06-02.

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