CUNA and the Alaska Credit Union League filed an amicus brief with the Alaska Supreme Court in support of Alaska USA Federal Credit Union’s claim to surplus funds from a nonjudicial foreclosure sale of real property.

Alaska USA recorded a lien judgement against a member in January 2014. The State of Alaska Child Support Services Division (CSSD) recorded a lien against the member in September 2017. Superior and district courts in subsequent years granted CSSD’s motion for summary judgement that it had lien priority over the earlier recorded judgement of Alaska USA.

CUNA and the Alaska League note that the district court made an error in determining priority and urge the Alaska Supreme Court to reverse the district court’s decision.

“The superior court and district court erred in interpreting CSSD’s enforcement statutes, providing CSSD with a new, previously unknown ‘super priority’ over Alaska USA’s senior judgment lien,” the brief reads. “The decisions below undermine the long-established law in Alaska regarding race-notice recording, lien priority, non-judicial foreclosure law.”

CUNA and the League note that this jeopardizes the predictability and security of the order of lien priorities that Alaska’s lenders rely on when deciding whether to enter into secured real estate transactions.