The Supreme Court of Nevada stirred a great deal of controversy in its 2014 opinion SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank, N.A.,[1] holding that a 1991 statute granting superpriority status to certain homeowner’s association (HOA) liens[2] created a true priority lien such that its foreclosure extinguishes all other liens, including a first deed of trust on the property.[3]

Prior to the SFR Investments decision, most lenders assumed the statute merely provided for a payment priority, so that upon a lender’s foreclosure of its deed of trust, the HOA would recover a portion of its overdue assessments—they certainly did not anticipate that an HOA would have the ability to wipe out a “first position” deed of trust.  As one can imagine, the SFR Investments decision did not sit well with lenders and prompted a flurry of additional lawsuits, including a constitutional challenge claiming that the statute violates the Due Process and Takings Clauses of both the United States and Nevada Constitutions.