April 19, 2013
Robo-Signing Complaints Must Sing A Different Toone
The Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit took a hard look at a complaint alleging robo-signing misbehavior relating to a promissory note and its various endorsements in Toone v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. et al., (Mar. 8, 2013, No. 11-4188). The court noted that
Ordinarily, we accept the well-pleaded factual allegations of the complaint as true for purposes of resolving a motion under Rule 12(b)(6). But there are exceptions to this rule. Courts are permitted to review “documents referred to in the complaint if the documents are central to the plaintiff’s claim and the parties do not dispute the documents’ authenticity.” The Note falls squarely within this exception: We may consider it in evaluating the plausibility of the Toones’ claims because it is mentioned in the complaint, it is central to their claims, and its authenticity is not disputed. (7, citations omitted)
The Court found that
The face of the Note contradicts the Toones’ allegations. The first endorsement states that Accubanc is Premier’s “agent and attorney in fact,” Aplt. App., Vol. II at 209 (capitalization omitted), and the Toones present no argument why the endorsement would be invalid when signed by Premier’s agent. Likewise, the other endorsements look regular on their face. Of course, the endorsements may be forged or otherwise fraudulent. But the complaint alleges no facts from which one could infer such misconduct. It does not explain what “robo-signing” is or why it renders the endorsements fraudulent, let alone include factual content indicating that it occurred in this case.(8)
The 10th Circuit now joins many other courts in finding that “bald allegations of “robo-signing” do not suffice under the Rule 8(a)(2) standard set by Iqbal.” (8)
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