By Gina Tabonares
Variety News Staff

THE scheduled private foreclosures of 17 Gill-Baza Subdivision lots were temporarily suspended for a month after the Supreme Court granted the emergency motion filed by the homeowners of the besieged subdivision.
Guam Supreme Court Chief Justice F. Philip Carbullido issued an order on Monday, a day before the scheduled pending the foreclosures.
The high court granted the emergency motion for an injunction filed by the homeowners’ attorney, Wayson Wong, pending the appeal made by the subdivision homeowners before the Superior Court of Guam.
The litigation between homeowners and the subdivision developers is still ongoing in trial court.
The case originated from the complaint filed by Kini Sananap and Iowanna Sananap on Sept. 27, 2002.
The plaintiff, who was later joined by 40 other lot owners, asked for a recovery of money to build a sewer and water line which were not available when they purchased their land.
Last year, Superior Court Judge Anita Sukola ordered the subdivision developer to shoulder the cost of sewer lines for subdivision landowners and ordered the payment of $580,000 for the residents’ claim.
The trial court also ordered Cyfred Ltd. to pay the plaintiff’s attorneys some $700,000.
A month after the trial court decision, Cyfred Ltd. began its private foreclosures for the 33 lots.
On Oct. 18, 2006, 10 private foreclosures were made. The homeowners moved to set aside the said foreclosures and sought a preliminary injunction but according to the plaintiff’s lawyer, the subdivision developer disregarded the Nov. 4, 2006 stay order of the trial court.
Wong indicated in his motion that five additional foreclosures were made on Nov. 17, 2006 and on Nov. 20, 2006.
He stated that there had been two private foreclosures even before the 33 lots owners joined the lawsuit.
Wong said the 17 pending lots that Cyfred Ltd. scheduled for April 17, 2007 foreclosures are the same lots previously privately foreclosed.
The plaintiff’s lawyer argued that Cyfred Ltd. has no valid mortgages upon which to foreclose because it had already foreclosed on them and never took the proper steps to set aside the previous foreclosures and foreclosure deeds.
“This alone justifies the issuance of the requested injunction or stopping the pending foreclosure sales,” Wong stated in his motion.
Chief Justice Carbullido ruled that if the trial court grants the stay pending appeal, then the instant stay shall be automatically dissolved but in the event the Superior Court denies the appeal, then the homeowners may renew their motion for a stay pending appeal in accordance with the applicable rules of procedure.