Mehdipour v. Holland

• Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: Edmondson
• Citation: Mehdipour v. Holland, 177 P.3d 544, 2007 OK 69 (Okla. 2007)
• Decision Date: 25 September 2007
• Docket Number: No. 101,545.,101,545.
• Parties: Ali MEHDIPOUR, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. Kenneth HOLLAND and Star Metals Company, Defendants/Appellees. James S. Matthews, Jr., Petitioner/Appellee, v. Ali Mehdipour, Star Metals Company, and Kenneth E. Holland, Respondent/Appellant.

177 P.3d 544

2007 OK 69

Ali MEHDIPOUR, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. Kenneth HOLLAND and Star Metals Company, Defendants/Appellees.

James S. Matthews, Jr., Petitioner/Appellee, v. Ali Mehdipour, Star Metals Company, and Kenneth E. Holland, Respondent/Appellant.

No. 101,545.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma.

September 25, 2007.

Rehearing Denied December 12, 2007.

Certiorari to the Court of Civil Appeals, Division I.

¶ 0 Plaintiff successfully sued defendants for specific performance of a contract to sell real property and obtained a money judgment for $67,000.00 as well. Plaintiffs lawyer, having a $17,642.37 attorney's lien, was permitted to execute on his client's judgment. The Oklahoma District Court, the Honorable Barbara Swinton presiding, refused to set aside the sheriff's sale, and the Court of Civil Appeals, Division I, affirmed. Plaintiff petitioned for certiorari.

CERTIORARI PREVIOUSLY GRANTED; OPINION OF THE COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS VACATED; JUDGMENT OF THE TRIAL COURT AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART AND REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS.

Donelle H. Ratheal, Donelle H. Ratheal, P.C., Oklahoma City, OK, Attorney for Appellant, Ali Mehdipour.

James S. Matthews, Jr., Oklahoma City, OK, Attorney for Appellee, James S. Matthews, Jr.

EDMONDSON, V.C.J.

¶ 1 We previously granted certiorari in this matter to consider the contentions of Ali Mehdipour that the trial court erred in denying his motions to vacate the attorney's lien of one of his lawyers and to set aside the sheriffs sale to that lawyer of Mr. Mehdipour's judgment against defendants Kenneth Holland and Star Metals Company. We agree with Mr. Mehdipour that the sheriffs sale must be set aside as we find the trial court was without jurisdiction to order execution on the judgment. Accordingly, we vacate the Court of Appeals' opinion, reverse the trial court's orders in part and remand the matter to the trial court with directions.

¶ 2 Mr. Mehdipour complains that his former attorney, James S. Matthews, Jr., stripped away his $67,607.96 judgment against Holland and Star Metals when the trial court allowed him to "convert" his claimed $17,642.37 attorney's lien to a judgment in favor of himself against Mr. Mehdipour's judgment and then to execute on it in his own behalf. Through his efforts, Mr. Matthews was able to purchase Mr. Mehdipour's judgment for $500.00.

¶ 3 This litigation has an exhausting history in the courts which we need not set forth fully. We mention only the facts necessary to understand the issues.

¶4 In November 1993, Mr. Mehdipour sued Kenneth Holland for specific performance of a real estate purchase contract and for damages. After having two trials and two appeals on the primary issues as well as many hearings on incidental issues, and being represented by a series of several attorneys as well as sometimes representing himself, Mr. Mehdipour was ultimately successful in the prosecution of his claims.¹ In April 2001, on remand from this Court, final judgment was entered by the trial court in Mr. Mehdipour's favor against defendants Holland and Star Metals Company, granting him specific performance of the contract for purchase of certain real property and for money damages in the amount of $67,607.96 as damages for fair rental value of the property from the time he should have been given possession. Following the 2001 award and entry of judgment in his favor, Mr. Mehdipour made several attempts to execute on his judgments but the defendants were able to avoid collection through various means, including filing for bankruptcy. The property at issue was appraised at a value of $65,000.00 for execution.

¶ 5 James S. Matthews, Jr., was the second lawyer to represent Mr. Mehdipour in this action. He entered his appearance in June 1996. In November 1998, after he was no longer attorney of record, Mr. Matthews filed a Notice of Lien for $17,642.37 in unpaid attorney fees. Notice was given to Mr. Mehdipour and counsel for the defendants.

¶ 6 In May 2000, following this Court's remand of the matter to the trial court, Mr. Matthews filed a document styled "Petition and Motion to Subject Judgment and Claim to Attorney Lien" in which he alleged he had a valid and duly perfected charging lien in the amount of $17,642.37 "against [Mehdipour's] recovery, including the subject real property, and the judgment including the attorney fees and costs awarded," and asserted he was therefore "entitled to a Judgment and Order, subjecting the entire judgment claim of Mehdipour to payment of the amount owed him." Matthews prayed for a determination that, he had a "lien to secure the payment of such amount, from the recovery" against defendants. R. 348-349.

¶ 7 By order filed August 25, 2000, the trial court granted Mr. Matthews' petition and motion for recognition of his attorney's lien over jurisdictional objections and various defenses to the validity and amount of the lien raised by Mr. Mehdipour. The court's order was captioned "Judgment and Order Granting Petition to Subject Judgment and Claim to Attorney Lien" and provided that a lien "is imposed in and recognized in favor of Mr. Matthews and against the judgment and claim of Mehdipour in this action, for attorney fees and reimbursement of expenses ... due and owing ... in the amount of $17, 642.37, including but not limited to, Mehdipour's Judgment granting specific performance of a real estate purchase contract, as to certain property." R. 465. Mr. Mehdipour did not appeal this order impressing the attorney lien on his judgment.

¶ 8 On June 15, 2004, Mr. Matthews filed execution proceedings in his own name and in his own behalf against Mr. Mehdipour to sell Mr. Mehdipour's judgment against defendants at sheriffs sale. He did not personally serve Mr. Mehdipour with notice of his execution. His documents portray his attorney's lien impressed on Mr. Mehdipour's judgment on August 25, 2000, as a regular "judgment" in Mr. Matthews' favor against Mr. Mehdipour. His notice of lis pendens recites that he "caused execution to be issued on his judgment against Ali Mehdipour" and speaks of his "attorney judgment lien," his "judgment lien" and the "Matthews judgment filed of record in the Office of the County Clerk." R. 520-522.

¶ 9 Mr. Matthews' amended writ of execution and order for sale of personal property commanded the Sheriff to levy upon and sell the judgment of Ali Mehdipour against defendants, described as follows:

The Judgment or Judgments obtained and in favor of Ali Mehdipour against Kenneth Holland and Star Metals Company, and all rights and security appurtenant thereto, including judgment obtained by Ali Mehdipour for specific performance and for money damages, as evidenced by the orders and judgments entered by the Court in this action (filed of record) on the 26th day of April, 2001(money damages), December 10, 1998 (Attorney fees and costs), Minute Order of July 8, 1998 (Minute Entry for Specific Performance), and February 12, 1999, and September 11, 1998.

¶ 10 The Sheriff was commanded to apply the proceeds to the "judgment of Matthews" with a balance due of $17,642.37, plus accrued and accruing interest in the amount of $5,016.18, the "interest at the judgment rate subsequent to entry of judgment," and, after deducting costs, to pay any surplus to Mr. Mehdipour. R. 525-526.

¶ 11 The Sheriff reported in his return of sale that he had executed on Ali Mehdipour's judgment against defendants "by virtue of the execution issued on the judgment of James S. Matthews, Jr.," and caused the property to be sold at public auction on July 8, 2004, for the sum of $500.00 to "James S. Matthews," the highest bidder. R. 532-533.

¶ 12 Once he learned of Mr. Matthews' sheriffs sale of his judgment, Mr. Mehdipour filed a motion to set it aside contending that' Matthews did not have a judgment against him, but had instead, at most, only an attorney's lien on his judgment, and that Matthews bad made no attempt to personally serve Mr. Mehdipour with notice of the execution and sale. That motion was denied by the trial court as was Mr. Mehdipour's subsequent motion for reconsideration of that order which is appealed here.

¶ 13 Mr. Mehdipour then sought to execute on defendants' real property based on his judgment, but Mr. Matthews filed a motion to quash Mehdipour's execution and order of sale and a motion to recall the sheriffs sale, wherein he alleged:

"The Movant Matthews has acquired the Judgment by execution and sale, which provides the only possible basis for collection action by Ali Mehdipour. As a result, Mehdipour has no standing to issue execution or to take other action to collect the judgment against Kenneth Holland and Star Metals in this action." R. 604.

¶ 14 The trial court granted Mr. Matthews' motion to quash Mr. Mehdipour's execution and recalled the sheriffs sale. The court's Order recited:

"The Court, having heard the evidence and argument presented, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, finds the Motion should be granted, for the reason that James S. Matthews, Jr. has acquired all judgments against Star Metals Company and Kenneth Holland, and only he can pursue collection or enforcement action of any kind with respect to any such judgment." R. 657.

¶ 15 Additionally, the Order cautioned the Sheriff's office that because Mr. Mehdipour's sale had been recalled, "no sale may take place based on any collection action of or in behalf of Ali Mehdipour for judgments originally obtained by him in this action...." R. 658.

¶ 16 Mr. Mehdipour subsequently filed a motion to vacate the August 25, 2000, order imposing Mr. Matthews' attorney lien on his judgment, which was denied; then he filed a motion to reconsider that order, which was also denied, and Mr. Mehdipour appealed.

¶ 17 After commencing appeal, Mr. Matthews initiated an execution proceeding against Mr. Mehdipour's judgment to sell the real property of defendants which has been appraised at $65,000.00. Based on the...