Dispositions Other Than By Published Opinion | March 15, 2023
Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals
Division I
120,682 – In the Matter of the Adoption of D.R.L.. A.C.L. & E.T.L., minor children, Briana Lazrine, Respondent/Appellant, v. Karee Malugani and Roger Newton, Petitioners/Appellees. Appeal form the District Court of Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Honorable Kurt G. Glassco, Trial Judge. Respondent/Appellant, Briana Lazrine (Mother), appeals from the trial court’s Orders finding that the above referenced minor children were eligible for adoption without her consent, that it is in the best interest of the minor children to complete the adoption without Mother’s consent, and granting of the adoption to Petitioners/Appellees, Karee Malugani (Wife) and Roger Newton (Husband). The trial court held a hearing on the application for adoption without consent on August 11, 2021 and December 21, 2021. At the conclusion, the trial court found Petitioners met their burden by clear and convincing evidence. The trial court held the best interest hearing March 24, 2022 and June 7, 2022. At the conclusion of that hearing, the trial court found Petitioners again met their burden and proved by clear and convincing evidence that it was in the best interest of the minors to be adopted, contingent on the approval of a home study. The Decree of Adoption was granted and filed August 12, 2022. Upon review of the record before us, we AFFIRM. Opinion by DOWNING, J.; SWINTON, J., concurs specially and BELL, J., (sbd) concurs. March 8, 2023
120,714 – Triad Bank, N.A., Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant/Appellant, v. Adam W. Curran Homes, Inc., an Oklahoma Corporation; Adam W. Curran, an individual; Defendants/Cross-Defendants, and Mill Creek Lumber & Supply Company, an Oklahoma Corporation, and Turner Roofing and Sheet Metal, Inc., an Oklahoma corporation, Defendants/Counterclaimants/Cross-Claimants, Robert N. Fitzgerald and Lori L. Fitzgerald, Intervenors/Appellees, and Tolga M. Ertugrul and Angela K. Ertugrul, Intervenors. Appeal From the District Court of Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Honorable Daman Cantrell, Trial Judge. Plaintiff/Appellant Triad Bank, N.A., appeals from summary judgment granted to Intervenors/Appellees Robert and Lori Fitzgerald. Bank sought to foreclose on a mortgage given by Defendants Adam W. Curran Homes, Inc. and Adam W. Curran, individually (collectively, Curran). Fitzgeralds paid Curran $80,000 as a down payment for the construction of a house. Curran later gave a mortgage to Bank for the purchase of the lot and for a construction loan. Fitzgeralds sought to intervene to recover their down payment. The material facts are undisputed. On de novo review of the question of law presented, we find Fitzgeralds had a vendee’s lien in the amount of their down payment which had priority over Bank’s mortgage. Accordingly, Fitzgeralds were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The trial court’s October 5, 2021 order granting summary judgment in favor of Fitzgeralds adequately explains the decision and we therefore affirm under Oklahoma Supreme Court Rule 1.202(d). Opinion by SWINTON, J.; DOWNING, J., and MITCHELL, C.J., (sbd) concur. March 8, 2023
Division II
Division III
120,626 – Crossfirst Bank, a Kansas Banking Corporation, Plaintiff/Appellee, V. Shamrock Group, LLC, an Oklahoma Limited Liability Company; and Ladder Companies, INC., a Delaware Corporation, Defendants/Appellants. Appeal from the District Court of Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Honorable William D. LaFortune, Trial Judge. Defendants/Appellants Shamrock Group, LLC (Shamrock) and Ladder Companies, Inc. (Ladder) appeal from a summary judgment entered in favor of Plaintiff/Appellee Crossfirst Bank (Bank). Bank brought this suit seeking to avoid a deed between Ladder and Shamrock, claiming the transfer was fraudulent. The trial court partially denied Bank’s motion for summary judgment, finding the question of whether Ladder acted fraudulently is one of fact. The court found, however, that the transfer violated a receivership order in Bank’s pending foreclosure action against Ladder and others. The court entered summary judgment based on that finding, declared the deed void, and certified its order for immediate review. After de novo review, we find Ladder and Shamrock fail to show the court erred. Opinion by MITCHELL, C.J.; PRINCE, P.J., and BELL, J., CONCUR. March 9, 2023
120,785 – Mildred Greer, Plaintiff/Appellant, V. State of Oklahoma ex rel. Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Defendant/Appellee. Appeal from the District Court of Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Honorable Kelly Greenough, Trial Judge. Plaintiff/Appellant, Mildred Greer, brought this action for negligence against Defendant/Appellee, State of Oklahoma, ex rel., Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT). After midnight on August 19, 2018, Plaintiff was riding a bicycle and fell into a concrete drainage hole within a highway system’s drainage area and sustained injuries. Plaintiff crossed a major highway, climbed over a fence with barbed wire and several other barriers, and trespassed across a rough and uneven grassy field in order to ride her bicycle in the area. The drainage hole was in an area not intended for bicycle or pedestrian traffic. The district court granted summary judgment to ODOT holding ODOT has immunity against Plaintiff’s claims by virtue of several exemptions delineated in the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act, 51 O.S. 2021 §151 et seq. (“GTCA”). The court also held the drainage hole was open and obvious, Plaintiff knew about the route, and Plaintiff did not show ODOT failed to warn of an unsafe condition. After de novo review of the record, we AFFIRM. Opinion by BELL, J.; MITCHELL, C.J., CONCURS, and PRINCE, P.J., CONCURS IN RESULT. March 9, 2023
Division IV