Tag Archives: Downstream Litigation

United States District Court Grants Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s TILA, RESPA, and GLBA Claims

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The court in deciding Hopkins v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155547, 2013 WL 5888086 (D. Md. Oct. 30, 2013) granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s TILA, RESPA, and GLBA claims.

Plaintiff referenced three statutes in their complaint: TILA, RESPA, and GLBA. Plaintiff alleged that the defendant violated TILA by “withholding certain disclosures and documentation.” Plaintiff also claimed that defendant violated RESPA by making “loan servicing errors.” Plaintiff, however, did not state which provisions of these statutes defendant violated. With regard to the GLBA, Plaintiff alleged neither how defendant violated the statute, nor which provision defendant violated.

Accordingly, the defendant alleged that the plaintiff’s complaint failed to meet the pleading requirements set forth in Fed. R. Civ. P. 8, and the complaint did not include any of the basic information necessary to be properly considered a complaint. Defendant also claimed that plaintiff’s complaint contained none of the information required by Rule 8(a). Specifically, with regard to Rule 8(a)(2)‘s requirement of “a short and plain statement of the claim showing the pleader is entitled to relief.”

The defendant claimed that the plaintiff’s complaint was nothing more than an unadorned collection of vague and conclusory statements, in which the plaintiff failed to plead any specific facts supporting the claim that Green Tree somehow violated the law. Additionally, defendant argued that plaintiff failed to identify a single provision of RESPA and TILA that Green Tree allegedly violated. The court agreed and dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint.

United States District Court Dismisses Plaintiff’s Wrongful Foreclosure, Wrongful Ejectment, and Quiet Title Claims

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The court in deciding Billete v. Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155544, 2013 WL 5840105 (D. Haw. Oct. 30, 2013) dismissed with prejudice the portions of plaintiff’s actions, including: Count I (wrongful foreclosure, wrongful ejectment, and quiet title), Count III (fraud), and Count V (unfair and deceptive acts and practices) based upon the closure of Deutsche Bank’s trust, to which MERS purportedly assigned plaintiffs’ loan, and any other alleged violations of the Trust’s Pooling and Servicing Agreement (“PSA”).

The court granted in part and denied in part Deutsche Bank’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint. Specifically, the defendant’s motion was denied as to the portions of Amended Counts I, III, and V based on the assertion that the assignment was invalid because HCL was dissolved prior to the assignment.

Further, the defendant’s motion regarding the portions of the plaintiffs’ claims that alleged that the foreclosure was invalid because Deutsche Bank failed to comply with Haw. Rev. Stat. § 667-5 were denied without prejudice.

California Court Determines Plaintiff’s Claims are Barred by Res Judicata

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The court in deciding Maxwell v. Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155930, 2013 WL 5882457 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 30, 2013) concluded that the plaintiff’s claims were barred by res judicata and therefore granted [with prejudice] the defendant’s motion to dismiss.

Plaintiffs brought this action against defendants Deutsche, OneWest, and MERS. Plaintiff alleged various violations of California and federal consumer protection statutes. The plaintiff asserted a claim for an invalid transfer of a trust deed, and sought declaratory and injunctive relief.

The defendants moved to dismiss the proceedings, arguing that the claims were barred by res judicata. The court, after considering the evidence presented, concluded that the plaintiff’s claims were barred by res judicata. Accordingly, the court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss.

Northern District of California Court Dismisses Plaintiff’s Claims for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction

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The court in deciding Murphy v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155923, 2013 WL 5883675 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 29, 2013) dismissed the plaintiff’s action without prejudice.

The plaintiff in this case brought this action against defendants [Bank of New York Mellon and MERS] for (1) violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1001; (2) violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1341; (3) violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”); (4) violations of California’s Business and Professions Code Section 17200; (5) slander of title; (6) cancellation of void instruments; (7) quiet title; and (8) wrongful foreclosure. Compl., ECF No. 1.

The plaintiff’s complaint revolved around the main theory that the defendants lacked the authority to execute any foreclosure proceedings. After considering the plaintiff’s arguments, the court first concluded that the plaintiff’s action must be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Second, the court found that the federal claims in the operative complaint failed as a matter of law.

Michigan Court Finds MERS Had Capacity to Assign Mortgage, and Bank of New York Mellon Had Capacity to Accept MERS’s Assignment of the Mortgage

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The court in Maslowski v. Mortgage Elec. Registration Sys., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155970, 2013 WL 5876608 (W.D. Mich. Oct. 31, 2013) found that dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) is appropriate.

The plaintiff in this case [Maslowski] challenged a foreclosure and foreclosure sale. Essentially, the plaintiff claimed that the foreclosure proceedings were invalid because defendant MERS lacked capacity to assign the mortgage, and defendant Bank of New York Mellon lacked capacity to accept MERS’s assignment of mortgage.

The court rejected the plaintiff’s reasoning and noted that once the redemption period has expired, a plaintiff must meet a high standard for a federal court to invalidate or set aside a mortgage foreclosure by advertisement in Michigan. In particular, a plaintiff must show both fraud related to the foreclosure process itself and that he or she was prejudiced by the defendant’s failure to comply with the foreclosure statute’s requirements. The Court agreed with the lower court and found that the plaintiff had made no allegations or showing of prejudice, and that therefore, dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) is appropriate.

Michigan Court Dismisses Plaintiff’s State Law Based Claims of Wrongful Foreclosure

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The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division after considering the arguments in Ashford v. Bank of Am., N.A., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 156159, 2013 WL 5913411 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 31, 2013), dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint, with prejudice.

Plaintiff alleged claims against Defendant BANA for breach of contract (Count I), wrongful foreclosure/declaratory judgment (Count II), wrongful foreclosure (Count III), and violation of the Michigan Mortgage Brokers, Servicers, and Lenders Licensing Act, Mich. Comp. Laws § 445.1651 et seq. (Count IV). Defendant BANA filed the instant Motion.

Defendant argued that Plaintiff’s complaint should be dismissed because there is no valid basis to overturn the sale of the Property after the redemption period terminated. The Court agreed and found the rest of the plaintiff’s claims lacking or without merit.

Massachusetts Land Court Finds Defendant Was Not Entitled to Service Member Relief Act

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The Massachusetts Land Court in deciding Suntrust Mortg., Inc. v. Forsberg, 2013 Mass. LCR LEXIS 159 (Mass. Land Ct. 2013) found that defendant (Alfred Forsberg) was not entitled to the protection of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. §§ 510 et seq., at the time of foreclosure; and that service and publication of the notice naming SunTrust Mortgage LLC rather than SunTrust Mortgage Inc. did not invalidate the foreclosure sale.