Atreus Comunities of Am. LLC v. Keybank Nat'l Ass'n

This appeal follows a non-judicial foreclosure sale of property consisting of four houses and one developed lot. Appellee, KeyBank National Association, conducted the sale in August 2009 after appellants, Atreus Communities of America, LLC et al. collectively referred to as “Atreus”,1 defaulted on payment of a nearly $66,000,000 loan. KeyBank was the highest bidder at $480,000, and thereafter sought confirmation of the sale, which the trial court granted following a hearing. This appeals follows. At the confirmation hearing, Atreus did not challenge the validity of the statutory notices given, advertisements published, and/or reports filed by KeyBank regarding the foreclosure sale or that the sale was “regular,”2 but instead argued only that the property was not purchased at its true market value as required by OCGA § 44-14-161b.3 The trial court disagreed, holding that KeyBank carried its burden of demonstrating by a preponderance of the evidence4 that the true market value of the subject property at the time of the foreclosure sale was indeed $480,000. On appeal, Atreus argues that the appraisal as amended proffered by KeyBank to the trial court for purposes of confirming the foreclosure sale was insufficient to support the true market value of the subject property. We disagree and affirm.

At the outset, we note that a party seeking to confirm a non-judicial foreclosure sale must present the trial court with competent evidence of the subject property’s true market value,5 and the court may not confirm the sale “unless it is satisfied that the property so sold brought its true market value on such foreclosure sale.”6 Moreover, the trial judge in a confirmation hearing sits as a trier of fact, and the findings and conclusions reached by the court have the effect of a jury verdict.7 As such, witness credibility and the weight of the evidence proffered by the parties at a confirmation hearing are to be judged by the trial court, and not this Court on appeal.8 For this reason, we will not disturb a trial court’s finding that property sold for its true market value if there is any evidence to support that decision,9 and we view the evidence presented below in the light most favorable to the trial court’s judgment.10