Bank of Baker v. Mikelson Land Co

In Bank of Baker v. Mikelson Land Co., 1999 MT 76, 979 P.2d 180, 294 Mont. 64, the Montana Supreme Court considered whether an owner (Mikelson) who had participated in a foreclosure proceeding received proper notice of the sale. Notice had been given publicly by the sheriff in accordance with the governing statute, but neither the owner nor the owner's attorney was served under Rule 5. The court held that Rule 5 service was not required: "While Mikelson's argument relating to these rules is less than clear, it is clear that they do not--either standing alone or taken together-- require service of the notice of the sale on Mikelson or Mikelson's counsel. Nothing in the statutes governing execution sales and notice thereof renders acts associated with execution sales acts in a district court civil proceeding, as contemplated by Rule 81(c), M.R.Civ.P. Similarly, the Rule 5(a), M.R.Civ.P., requirement that every written notice be served on all parties relates only to written notices within a district court civil proceeding. That requirement does not relate to execution sales, which are governed by the notice requirements contained in 25-13-701, MCA, which--as discussed above--were met here." Id. at P 21.