Reported / Citable
Background
Select Portfolio Servicing sued Raymond J. Rebecek over a 2016 $145,000 refinance loan secured by a deed of trust on property in Robstown, Texas. Select alleged that it became the note holder and deed-of-trust beneficiary through recorded assignments, that Rebecek missed the May 2025 payment, and that it provided notices of default and acceleration. Select alleged a payoff amount of $73,875.50 as of December 15, 2025, plus authorized interest, fees, and costs.
Rebecek’s wife, Stacy, who also signed the deed of trust, died in December 2025. Select alleged that no probate estate had been opened and sought to enforce its claimed in rem interest in the property, including through a statutory probate lien. After substitute service authorized by the court, Rebecek did not appear or respond. The clerk entered default, and Select moved for default judgment.
The Court’s Holding
Magistrate Judge Mitchel Neurock recommended that the district court grant Select’s motion for default judgment. The recommendation concluded that diversity jurisdiction existed, service was proper, and the Rule 55 default-judgment factors favored relief because Rebecek had not answered or otherwise participated in the case.
The magistrate judge further concluded that the admitted allegations and submitted loan documents established breach of contract, Select’s right to nonjudicial foreclosure, and a statutory probate lien against the property. The recommendation would declare that Select may enforce its judgment in rem through a Texas-law nonjudicial foreclosure sale. It also concluded that Select was entitled to judicial foreclosure as an alternative remedy. The recommendation would deny fees and costs without prejudice pending a properly supported post-judgment motion.
Key Takeaways
- This was a magistrate judge’s recommendation, subject to objections and district-court review; it was not a final district-court judgment.
- A defendant’s default admits well-pleaded factual allegations but does not relieve the court of assessing jurisdiction, service, liability, and requested relief.
- The recommended relief was in rem against the property, not personal liability against Rebecek as his late wife’s heir.
Why It Matters
The recommendation illustrates the proof a mortgage servicer can use to obtain default foreclosure relief in federal court: the note and deed of trust, chain of assignments, evidence of payment default, and notices of default and acceleration.
It also treats a deceased co-signer’s intestate interest as passing to heirs subject to creditors’ statutory probate lien, allowing the lender to pursue the encumbered property while reserving attorney-fee and cost determinations for a later, documented request.