Anilus v. One West Bank

28 Mass. L. Rptr. 406
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedMay 3, 2011
DocketNo. NOCV201001774
StatusPublished

This text of 28 Mass. L. Rptr. 406 (Anilus v. One West Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anilus v. One West Bank, 28 Mass. L. Rptr. 406 (Mass. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

Dortch-Okara, Barbara A., J.

By this action, the plaintiffs seek to retain possession of their residence which has been sold at auction as a result of the foreclosure of the mortgage held by the defendant OneWest Bank, FSB (“OneWest”). Now before the court is OneWest’s motion pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) to dismiss counts one, two, three, six, and [407]*407seven of the plaintiffs’ complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

After hearing, and having reviewed and considered the arguments, memoranda and pleadings, the motion is ALLOWED.

BACKGROUND

The plaintiffs are the former owners and current occupants of the real property located at 24 Glen Lane, Randolph, Massachusetts. Plaintiffs purchased the property on October 26, 2007, subject to a mortgage (“Mortgage”) in the amount of $285,000 executed in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”) as nominee for Indymac Bank, F.S.B. (“Indymac”) and registered in Norfolk County Land Court. The Mortgage was assigned from MERS to OneWest via an Assignment of Mortgage dated August 28, 2009.

As a result of financial hardship brought on by a job loss, the plaintiffs became delinquent on their Mortgage payments. Plaintiffs attempted to modify their loan obligation through a forbearance program and through the federal government’s Home Affordable Mortgage Modification Program (“HAMP”). The loan modification, however, was not granted, and on May 18, 2010, OneWest invoked the Statutory Power of Sale pursuant to the Mortgage. On June 3, 2010, title to the property was transferred to Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”).

DISCUSSION

In count one of the complaint, the plaintiffs assert that defendant breached its contract with the plaintiffs by delaying and ultimately neglecting to process plaintiffs’ HAMP loan modification application. Essentially, plaintiffs make two arguments: (1) plaintiffs and defendant entered into an oral agreement wherein plaintiffs agreed to submit loan application materials and defendant agreed to consider them for a loan modification and not to foreclose on the Mortgage while it considered them for a loan modification; and (2) defendant was party to a HAMP contract with Fannie Mae in which it agreed to review all eligible borrowers for loan modification and to grant loan modifications to qualified borrowers in compliance with that contract. Plaintiffs profess to be third-party beneficiaries of that contract.

As to the first argument, it does not appear in the record, and plaintiffs do not assert, that the terms of the Mortgage included a provision for loan modification. Therefore, plaintiffs had no existing contractual right to a loan modification. Federal Nat. Home Mortgage Assocs. v. Tong, 60 Mass.App.Ct. 1105, 2003 WL 22881029 (2003). To the extent that plaintiffs are arguing that a new oral contract was formed between the parties, their argument fails. In order to show a breach of contract, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the parties had a contract supported by valid consideration that the defendant breached, causing damage to the plaintiff. City of Revere v. Boston/Logan Airport Assoc., LLC., 443 F.Sup.2d 121, 126 (D.Mass. 2006). At most, the plaintiffs allege that the defendant implicitly agreed to consider plaintiffs for a loan modification. “[To] create an enforceable contract, there must be an agreement between the parties on the material terms of the contract, and the parties must have a present intention to be bound by that agreement.” Situation Mgmt. Sys. v Malouf, Inc., 430 Mass. 875, 878 (2000). It is clear that, at most, this was an “agreement to agree” that did not rise to the level of an enforceable contractual obligation and was merely a negotiation with the plaintiffs. Tong, 60 Mass.App.Ct. 1105.

Even if plaintiffs had shown that there was an agreement, they have failed to allege any consideration for this contract, a necessary element of any contract claim. Singarella v. City of Boston, 342 Mass. 385, 387 (1961). No consideration arises from the fact that the plaintiffs complied with the loan modification application process. And, to the extent that they argue they continued to make payments on their mortgage during the loan modification process, they were under a preexisting duty to do so. It is a “well-settled rule . . . that performance of a pre-existing legal duty that is neither doubtful nor subject to honest and reasonable dispute is not valid consideration where the duty is owed to the promisor." In re Loyd, Carr & Co., 617 F.2d 882, 890 (1st Cir. 1980) (applying Massachusetts law). Therefore, the plaintiffs have failed to state a claim for breach of contract with respect to any promises the defendant may have made regarding loan modification.

As to the second argument, HAMP does not provide a basis for a third-party beneficiaiy contract action. See McKensi v. Bank of America, N.A., 2010 WL 3781841, *5-6 (D.Mass. 2010). Plaintiffs fail to cite any case law allowing borrowers to sue their mortgagee under HAMP based on a third-party beneficiary theory. The case cited by plaintiffs, Williams v. Geithner, 2009 WL 3757380 (D.Minn. Nov. 9, 2009), does not support the proposition that HAMP creates a property interest. In fact, the case unequivocally holds that “[HAMP] did not intend to create a property interest in loan modifications for mortgages in default. . . [T]he statute does not create an absolute duty on the part of the Secretary to consent to loan modifications; it is not ‘language of an unmistakably mandatory character.’ ” Williams, 2009 WL 3757380 at *6. Furthermore, the statute itself dictates that requests for loan modifications are contingent upon the buyer both meeting the minimum eligibility requirements and obtaining a positive net present value (NPV) result. “Thus loan modifications are not an entitlement, but are linked to decisions that result in profits to the taxpayers. Congress did not intend to mandate loan modifications.” Id. The proper avenue for redress for violations of HAMP is through Freddie Mac, which serves as compliance officer for HAMP. U.S. Dep’t of Treasury, Sup[408]*408plemental Directive 2009-08, at 4 (Nov. 3, 2009). Therefore, plaintiffs have failed to state a cognizable breach of contract claim based on defendant’s HAMP contract with Fannie Mae.

In count two, plaintiffs allege that defendant breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by failing to process their application for a loan modification and by failing to suspend the foreclosure during the HAMP process. The implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing simply obligates each party of a contract not to act in such a way as to impair the other party’s right to reap the fruits of the contract. Anthony’s Pier Four, Inc. v. HBC Assocs., 411 Mass. 451, 471-72 (1991). A claim for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing is dependent upon the existence of an enforceable contract between the parties. As previously stated, the parties did not enter into a valid contract. Thus, defendant could not have breached the implied covenant. See Speleos v. BAC Home Loans Serv., L.P., 2010 WL 5174510, *7 (D.Mass. 2010).

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Bluebook (online)
28 Mass. L. Rptr. 406, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anilus-v-one-west-bank-masssuperct-2011.