Eddie Denhardt v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

── Eddie Denhardt v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A. ── Case No.: 25-11283 Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: March 23, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 25-11283 Document: 17-1 Date Filed: 03/23/2026 Page: 1 of 13 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-11283 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ EDDIE DENHARDT, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus WELLS FARGO BANK N.A., Defendant-Appellee. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia D.C. Docket No. 1:24-cv-00109-JRH-BKE ____________________ Before JORDAN, ROSENBAUM, and GRANT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Eddie Denhardt appeals the district court’s order granting Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.’s motion to dismiss his complaint for fail- ure to state a claim. After review, we affirm. USCA11 Case: 25-11283 Document: 17-1 Date Filed: 03/23/2026 Page: 2 of 13 2 Opinion of the Court 25-11283 I Mr. Denhardt filed a complaint in the Southern District of Georgia alleging state law claims for conversion and money had and received, in relation to the disbursement of excess funds from a tax sale of real property in Augusta, Georgia. The property at issue was purchased by Jimmy and Ruthie Loftin in 1998. They later obtained a loan of $76,000 from Wa- chovia Bank, N.A. (“Wachovia”), secured by conveyance of a secu- rity deed to the property to Wachovia. Many years later, on No- vember 3, 2020, the property was sold in a tax sale to the highest bidder for $60,000. After the payment of taxes, expenses, and fees, the excess funds from the sale were $56,639.33, which the county tax commissioner held in escrow. In September 2021, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells Fargo”), the successor in interest to Wachovia, claimed the excess funds. As a result, a check was made payable to Wells Fargo in the amount of the excess funds. About a month later, Wells Fargo redeemed the property from the tax sale pur- chaser, and, in April of 2022, foreclosed on the Loftins and sold the property. In 2024, the Loftins assigned their interest in the excess funds to Republic Title Company LLC, which subsequently assigned those interests to Mr. Denhardt. As a result, Mr. Denhardt con- tends that he, and not Wells Fargo, was entitled to the excess funds as the assignee of the Loftins, the record owners of the property at the time of the tax sale on November 3, 2020. USCA11 Case: 25-11283 Document: 17-1 Date Filed: 03/23/2026 Page: 3 of 13 25-11283 Opinion of the Court 3 Wells Fargo moved to dismiss the complaint, asserting that Mr. Denhardt’s claims for conversion and money had and received failed because both claims depended on Mr. Denhardt’s theory that Wells Fargo, holder of a security deed to the property, did not have any legal entitlement to the excess funds. The district court agreed with Wells Fargo that it did have such an entitlement and granted the motion to dismiss. The only issue Mr. Denhardt raises on ap- peal is whether Wells Fargo, as the security deed holder of the property, was entitled to the excess funds from the tax