2026-09-27 · Federal · Courts

What happened. A divided Ninth Circuit panel on September 25, 2026 ruled for the lender in SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 25-754, a Nevada HOA-foreclosure case. The majority held that the association's 2007 notice of lien, which covered only fines and fees, began enforcement of a lien that had no superpriority portion — so the association's later foreclosure did not extinguish the first deed of trust. Judge Collins dissented. The memorandum is unpublished.¹

The superpriority rule

Under Nevada's version of the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, NRS 116.3116, part of an association's lien outranks a first deed of trust. As the majority put it, “the superpriority piece, consisting of the last nine months of unpaid HOA dues and maintenance and nuisance-abatement charges, is ‘prior to’ a first deed of trust.” Which nine months count depends on when the association instituted enforcement of its lien.¹

The majority and the dissent

• Majority. The 2007 notice of lien instituted enforcement. Because it covered only “violation and collection fees,” there were no unpaid assessments in the look-back window, the lien had no superpriority piece, and the deed of trust survived.
• Dissent. Judge Collins read NRS 116.31162(4) as having “squarely prohibited” foreclosure based only on fines, so “a fines-only notice of lien cannot count as that first step.” On his reading, a 2009 assessment notice started enforcement, the lien carried a superpriority component, and the foreclosure extinguished the deed of trust.¹

A companion ruling on tenders

In SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC v. Bank of America, N.A., No. 25-2180 (August 14, 2026), the Ninth Circuit held the lender's tender excused because the association's collection agent had an “across the board” policy of rejecting conditional superpriority tenders and had rejected “at least 176 tenders” from the same bank. The court held the deed of trust survived on that basis.²

Why it matters

Both rulings turn on documents an association or its collection agent generates: what a notice of lien covers, and how an agent handles a lender's payment. In Nevada, those details decide whether an association foreclosure passes title free of the first mortgage. The decisions are unpublished and apply Nevada law; they are not binding precedent.

What to watch next

With a dissent, a petition for panel or en banc rehearing in No. 25-754 is possible; the ordinary deadline is 14 days after the decision.

1. SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 25-754 (9th Cir. Sept. 25, 2026) (mem.) ↩
2. SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC v. Bank of America, N.A., No. 25-2180 (9th Cir. Aug. 14, 2026) (mem.) ↩